<p>I want to increase my score 4 points from where I am at now (I’m in the 30s). I have already taken the ACT twice with different study plans and tactics, but nothing has worked! I got the same score twice. This is my last chance, and I’d really appreciate it if anyone who has increased their score significantly would share their ACT study plan with me. What worked for you, and what didn’t?</p>
<p>@TheFellowMello sounds like you want to go from an almost perfect score to a perfect score. That’s a tough goal, it will take a lot of work.</p>
<p>Can you tell us what you have already tried so we can recommend some new things?</p>
<p>@banjoandstuff I have already tried The Real Act (have gone through it twice, just incase), the Princeton Review 1296 book/Math and Science Workout book/Reading and English Workout book, the online ACT prep from the test makers, and practice review from a private prep company. I have been working through each resource a little each week (3 or so passages), until the test date gets closer and I tend to do a passage everyday. I have also taken ACT practice tests in real test conditions 3-4 times already. </p>
<p>Gosh, you have already done a ton of work. I bet your score has improve substantially. Keep in mind that your future improvements will require more work. But it is possible. Here are some suggestions.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Before anything really question your goal. Why do you want to improve by 4 more points, what kind of opportunities will it get you that you don’t have now. It may sound silly, but it is easy to get wrapped up in a huge project without thinking carefully if you actually want the outcome. Be extra, extra, sure about this. Test your assumptions too. If you are trying to get into a particular school, talk to your guidance counselors, maybe there are easier ways to improve your application than getting a perfect act score.</p></li>
<li><p>You need to change your study methodology. You are out of practice exams and frankly you have been wasting time going through sections where you already get most of the answers right regularly. Now is the time to figure out exactly what you don’t understand and study it very carefully. Assay the questions you still miss. What are the underlying concepts that are causing you problem. Then work on each of these skills in great detail. For the math Khan Academy is really good. For English grammar rules there are a ton of books and online resources you can practice with. Reading and Science are harder, they depend a lot on vocabulary and reading comprehension which takes a ton of practice in both cases.</p></li>
<li><p>Seek individual attention for your individual problems. Once you have identified what is going wrong, get help with exactly those problems. Instead of a post “How can I improve”, post, “Where can I learn to solve problems like X” then list a few problems that are causing you trouble and let people suggest patterns and resources that help you understand exactly those kinds of problems.</p></li>
<li><p>Seek a deep understanding. When someone is really good at math, its not because they understand the ‘one way to do a problem’, its because they understand the problem in many ways. They are like a master craftsman that could build a table with many different set of tools. If you don’t feel this way about a problem, then your understanding is brittle and it will break down when you encounter problems just a little different than the one you studied for. You should be able to justify an answer from multiple perspectives, if you can’t your knowledge may not be deep enough.</p></li>
<li><p>You would probably benefit from a good tutor. If you can find someone smart they can really push you to the highest level. The trick is to make sure they really know their stuff. A lot of tutors out there would actually score in the 30s themselves. You need to find someone who can easily get a perfect score. The trick there is that you have to test them yourself. Before entering a contract with someone ask them to explain some problems that are really tough for you, if they can’t do it, then you need to find someone else.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Anyways, that’s a ton of material. I bet some of it is not relevant to you. But that’s because we don’t have that many details on what is going wrong. And essentially that is the problem. You need to define exactly what is going wrong and work on each part one at a time.</p>
<p>Hope that helps,</p>
<p>good luck!</p>
<p>Ben</p>
<p>Thanks Ben!! I will use your advice and hopefully my score will improve :)</p>