Would I Be Foolish to Put Hope In a 33 ACT Composite?

Test Preparation ACT Preparation
1

The situation is pretty simple, I’m a well involved student in lots of extracurriculars, in hard classes, over 4.0 GPA weighted and currently have a 31 on the ACT. Junior right now, in the 4th quarter though.

I took the ACT as a sophomore over the summer before taking any Junior classes and got a 31 on it-- but I studied fairly hard for it, taking a lot of practice tests. They say you can improve your score simply by taking it a second time just due to familiarity with the test, but I’m not sure if that’ll be the case for me since my score was already conservatively high, and since I already had studied so diligently.

I live in Ohio, and today they made all the juniors take the ACT for free. I didn’t really want to take it considering I was content with my previous score but I knew I had an opportunity to improve my weaker sections. The math seemed easier than previously, and the science also seemed much less overwhelming (I think from being in AP chem-- the big words didn’t freak me out).

One of the two schools I’m looking at is Miami University Oxford, and they superscore, so I’m feeling good about the fact that my math and science (which were my weaker sections) may have gone up on this test-- but even if they didn’t, Miami’s top merit scholarship requires a 33+ ACT and they’re willing to pay from half up to full tuition, according to their website.

This got me thinking… my current scores are; Eng: 33, Read: 34, Math: 27, Sci: 30.

If I can get my math and science up as follows; Eng: 33, Read: 34, Math: 30, Sci: 33 Then I get a 32.50 – 33

.Or Eng: 33, Read: 34, Math: 29, Sci: 34. Also a 32.50 – 33

Considering all the prep I did last time, is this really even possible, or is my ability basically maxed out here? I don’t want to waste my time, and I know I’ll have to invest study time to raise these scores. Really kinda looking to hear from people with past experience that may have been in similar situations and gone for it… did it work?

All help is appreciated in advance-- Thank you!!

2

I also struggled with Math and Science far more than English and Reading. Even if you don’t study as much as you want to, you should try to take it at least one more time. Maybe it will go up to a 32 or something, you never know.

To study, I would recommend focusing on just math and science. Meaning, don’t even take English or Reading practice tests, just do science and math sections whenever you have time. It’s a lot easier to fit 45 minutes of science into your schedule than the whole test.

I would also recommend only taking practice tests from past ACTs or that have been released by the ACT company. The “Real ACT Prep Book” (The big red one) has real tests, and there are some online. (Also, the test has changed over time, so I wouldn’t take any that aren’t from at least this century).

Then, if you have the money, consider meeting with a tutor. Even just once can give you some strategies you’ve never considered.

If you have the time to study, your ability isn’t maxed out. I raised my ACT by three points from when I first took it to when I last took it.

3

Thank you @stlgirl99