when to retake?

<p>im a junior, on oct 28 i took my first act without prep
score breakdown:
comp-33
english-35
math-30 (i did well in all areas except PRE-ALGEBRA...what is wrong w. me?)
reading-35
science-33
essay-8 (blehhh!)</p>

<p>so im trying to figure out when i should retake as i eventually want a 35 comp... june 9 is out bc im taking sat 2s in may/june. soo.... act feb or april? but im scared that february would be too soon to retake (ideally i only want to take it once more to save $ and time) and i wont see enough of an increase. would it be a good idea just to wait until the earliest date in senior year or would that be a bad idea?</p>

<p>also, what should i do to prepare (i have no $ to spend on classes or tutors)? i got barrons ACT (is this a good one?) in the fall, but didnt have time to open it before oct 28. does doing all that book practice actually help?</p>

<p>one good review book is the PR Cracking the ACT; nicely organized and very clear.</p>

<p>takin it in feb. would b better since ur taking the tests in close proximity in time with each other...and ur score should be higher in feb.</p>