<p>I started a thread in the SAT section and here is my same question for the ACT. </p>
<p>any search of amazon.com for ACT help will yield about 3475036087530340 results. Instead of reading through thousands of reviews and being unsure about a book, i was wondering: what books have worked for you guys? What one book do you feel that, if without it, you would have scored significantly lower on the ACT?</p>
<p>(anyone who needed extra help on math, and purchased an ACT math prep book that definately helped prepare you- what book did you use or would you suggest for me? im awful at math.)</p>
<p>There are two books that I think you'll find to be awesome. I did.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Amsco's ACT Math and Science Prep book. <a href="http://www.amscopub.com/frameset.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.amscopub.com/frameset.htm</a>, then go to "price list and book information", then there's a dropdown menu on your left, then click on ACT.</p></li>
<li><p>Peterson's ACT for Braniacs. Better because it focuses on the tough stuff that distiguishes a decent score from a good score.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>i heard the real ACT book was really good, yet some people said the only good thing about it was its view on tactics for completing the test...ive heard different things tho...was it any good?</p>
<p>Going over the Real ACT book raised my score from 27-30. </p>
<p>I hate how the book is set up though, constantly flipping to search for answers is a pain. But it's informative and well-rounded in all the sections, so meh.</p>
<p>i dont think any of the information on how to take the test helps at all
pretty much everything youre tested on you learned in like 9-10th grade..
i just took the practice tests to better my time management, thats pretty much all you can do</p>
<p>The clock's ticking for the april 8th test date, but.. out of the books i've read, which is just about every one out there except the Kaplan:</p>
<p>Best for the math: AMSCO's Math/Science. It has a very thorough review on all math subjects on the ACT.
Best for the science IMO: Barron's. It had a ton of practice passages. They were tougher than the real ACT's, but practice on that couldn't hurt.</p>
<p>Reading and English.. not sure, math and science were my main two concerns.</p>
<p>With only a couple weeks to go though, overall, i'd probably recommend the Princeton Review. It's the most down to earth book and does a great job at covering many of the topics that are actually on the ACT (at least from what I can see based on old ACT practice tests)</p>
<p>Haven't gotten to the real ACT prep book yet. But it should at least be good for the real practice tests in it.</p>
<p>I checked out both the 2004 and 2006 Princeton Review ACT books from the library to study from. I finished the 2004 book about two weeks ago, and just started on the 2006 book days ago.</p>
<p>From what I can tell the 2006 book is nearly an -exact- carbon copy of the 2004. The study guides are the same, just about word for word. The practice questions in the study sections are the same. But perhaps the most disappointing fact to me is that even the actual practice tests themselves in the book appear to be the same.</p>
<p>I'm just glad I didn't actually pay for the 2006 book. It seems that all they did with it was take the 2004 book and change the cover.</p>
<p>i think the best way to study for the act is to go over PR for tactics (or others you feel they are good study guides), then go over Barron's since it's uber-challenging, then tackle the real act guide to take the practice tests.</p>
<p>yeah barron's is retarded. i mean i only think it's retarded because it definitely can not be identified with the act tests administered...i actually really like kaplan</p>