<p>I took the ACT on June 9th and scored a 27. I took it in September and scored a dismal and very dissappointing 25.</p>
<p>I SERIOUSLY need to increase my score to AT LEAST a 28+, given the fact I'm applying to the following schools:</p>
<p>Vassar-EDII
Lewis and Clark-EA
Middlebury
Reed
Oberlin
Grinnell
Whitman
Macalester
Bard
Skidmore</p>
<p>I plan to begin studying...Well, now. That gives me...3 weeks? What do I need to do? I have, on previous practice tests done very well on english, doing decently on reading and science, and bad at math. Math is not my best subject?</p>
<p>What books should I buy? Study methods? Plans?</p>
<p>I'm seriously in need of help with this damn standardized testing...</p>
<p>studying healthily the first 2 weeks. Don't study at all the last week, especially if you have testing fatigue.</p>
<p>use the red book and white/blue book. Don't know what they are called, but confusingly, they both say "Official ACT prep". </p>
<p>Princeton review is also good.</p>
<p>As for math, just keep doing the problems over and over. Pretty soon you'll know how to do all the math-type questions. The values and wording will be different, but concepts all the same nonetheless.</p>
<p>I highly recommend the REAL ACT Prep Guide because it contains actual tests. I used this the first time I took the ACT and got a 28. </p>
<p>Then this last test I bought the Princeton Review ACT guide and was able to boost my score to a 30 (I only prepped for 1-2 weeks this time). I really like the Princeton Review because their strategies work (I liked their reading strategy best).</p>
<p>I hope that helps you out. But yeah, these two books are a must-have in my opinion. Good luck!</p>
<p>lol kutibah I did the same thing. Took the act in June, got a 24. Slept the whole summer, did a weekend of grammar and math review the week before the test and got a 30.
To study for most of the Act you need to study the material, as opposed to the SAT where you should just take practice tests. This means reviewing Geometry, Algebra, Trig, etc... for the math. For English get a grammar book and look up the uses on apostrophes and how to avoid redundencies and the restrictions on independent/dependent clauses, etc. For science and reading though, there is unfortunatley not much to study and thus these are the tests you should practice on. Hope this helps.</p>
<p>Back in June, I used the REAL act prep book, and quite enjoyed it. I prepped with it breifly for the september test.</p>
<p>So, use that and the PR? Let me identify my weaknesses:</p>
<p>Math...I'm just not good at it.
Reading...Honestly, I'm good at RC, my difficult comes in time management and STRATEGY
Science...Really, idk. i do amazing on practice tests (getting 28-30) then I do poor on the real exam...</p>
<p>So what do you reccommend? What's this white book?</p>
<p>Don't even bother with Barron's ACT prep book, that's my advice. Princeton's and Peterson's are both good practice, but Barron's is way off the mark (I don't know what they were thinking when they wrote their practice tests.)</p>
<p>Do as much practice as you can. Use as many sources as you can. The important thing is to work at it. Save the best types of practice tests: Kaplan, Princeton, and Real, for when you want to practice the format.</p>
<p>Otherwise...Math is Math...English is English...Reading is Reading...and Science...good luck.</p>
<p>Like I said, REAL is best for practice, PR is good for practice and strategies, and Kaplan I found was good for the English portion. But forthe other stuff, Kaplan was just not that great. Get as much as you can afford, but if you're low on cash, I suggest sticking with REAL and PR.</p>