<p>I’m a college counselor and have an extremely smart student, top grades/extracurrics/all-around; felt she would have a shot at top schools, but she got a 21 on ACT, which surprised me</p>
<p>With an intensive amount of studying, what do you think is the highest she’d be able to get?</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>There is no single, meaningful answer to this question; the potential for improvement varies significantly student-to-student. Some may improve by 10 points upon preparation; others max out around where they began. Have her grab a prep book and try practice tests; see where that gets her.</p>
<p>Trying the SAT is also a good idea. Some students find one test to be more well-suited to their strengths.</p>
<p>is there a book you suggest/online websites? are you a student yourself? what did you use? thanks</p>
<p>These are often cited as good resources:</p>
<p>[Amazon.com:</a> The Real ACT Prep Guide: The Only Guide to Include 3Real ACT Tests (9780768926750): ACTOrg: Books](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Real-ACT-Prep-Guide-Include/dp/0768926750/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1275356603&sr=8-1]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/Real-ACT-Prep-Guide-Include/dp/0768926750/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1275356603&sr=8-1)</p>
<p>[Amazon.com:</a> Cracking the ACT, 2010 Edition (College Test Preparation) (9780375429620): Princeton Review: Books](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Cracking-2010-College-Test-Preparation/dp/037542962X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1275356603&sr=8-2]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/Cracking-2010-College-Test-Preparation/dp/037542962X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1275356603&sr=8-2)</p>
<p>I am a high-school junior, but I didn’t use preparatory resources (got a 36, though).</p>
<p>I used Cracking the ACT by the Princeton Review. It really has a very solid review and helped me to get a higher score. It seemed to model the actual exam very well.</p>
<p>Most students who underperform from their projected scores on the ACT do so because of the time factor. Did your student get her score report? We just got my daughter’s, who also underperformed on the April test, and it was quite obvious that time was a huge factor on at least two of the sections, although she only recalls running short on time on the reading section. 75% of her wrong answers in reading and 50% in math were in the last 10 questions. My advice would be to have your student do official ACT practice tests, under timed conditions. She should look closely at the type of questions she misses, particularly in math and science, and review those particular topics. And as far as the science section is concerned, I believe it is a crapshoot! My daughter got near perfect scores on several practice tests and low 20s on others. Her actual test results were 27 I think. She is hoping the June science section will be more to her liking.</p>
<p>As far as review books, one that I think is very useful, especially for busy kids without a lot of spare time, is the Princeton Review Crash Course for the ACT. It is only 224 pages, has some good tips for the english section and decent explanations of the types of questions typically seen on the ACT. Another that I really like for the detailed explanations is Dissecting the ACT. It provides explanations for answers to the 2009/2010 Preparing for the ACT practice test.</p>
<p>Best of luck to your student!</p>