If you scored in the 30's on the ACT...

Test Preparation ACT Preparation
21

<p>English–typically the most concise answer is the correct one. ACT English isn’t difficult and generally if it “sounds right” or would make sense in a text, it’s the correct choice.</p>

<p>Math–anything you can do on a calculator, do first. This will help you get ahead time-wise and if you have to spend more time on a
question, you can. Make
sure you’ve mastered the
basics up to trig, because
there’s a lot of that.
Reading–the chronology of the questions match that of the passage. Skim the question for key words and you’ll find the answer fairly quickly.</p>

22

<p>And I definitely second using the Barrons book. Start studying it a few weeks in advance–there are a lot of concepts it covers, but if you can learn them all you’ll get a score in the high 30s. </p>

<p>I did it, and without the extended time I get on all my other tests. Barrons is great.</p>

23

<p>Got a 36 on math and science so I will discuss my thinking on those 2. Btw I had no prep nor had I ever taken a practice ACT.</p>

<p>Science: Go straight to the question, you don’t have to read the introduction passages that they provide. 95% of the time you can get all the information needed to answer the question from the table, graph, data, etc. I went straight to the questions for every section and then referred back to the table or graph that it asked for and pulled off a perfect score. When you look at the question, recognize the x-variable and y-variable that it asks for as quickly as you can and then go straight to the table/graph/data. Use your time efficiently and keep pace.</p>

<p>Math: Review algebra 1 and 2, geometry, and basic trigonometry. If you are not gifted in math, take some UNTIMED practice tests making sure you know how to do every question and concept correctly. If you have time, take 1-2 timed tests as well. You don’t have time to double check your answers so work at a comfortable pace to make sure you do not make any stupid mistakes.</p>

<p>Didn’t do so well on Reading/English so no advice there. Good luck :)</p>

24

<p>I got a 32 and I didn’t study whatsoever. I think the only advice I have is don’t overprep. If you confuse yourself with rules and tips and hints you’ll probably end up wasting time looking for how to apply them instead of using the knowledge you already have. The ACT goes much faster than the SAT and you need to pace yourself. I answered the questions in sweeps. For the reading sections I would read the passage, answer the easy questions, then go back and try to answer the others. This works better on the Math section but it is helpful not to stress over hard questions right away. Don’t waste your time. Answer everything. If you can eliminate even TWO of the answers you have a 50% chance of getting that question right so don’t leave anything blank because you don’t lose points for wrong answers. Anyway, I think that this test is so much better than the SAT and I think as long as you are well rested, have had breakfast and payed some attention in school you’ll do fine. Just breathe, relax, and believe in yourself. :)</p>

25

<p>I got a 31 my first time I took it. Just drink a lot of coffee before. it works.</p>

26

<p>I got a 34, my best advice is to retake the test after you take it the first time, I took it once and got a 31, second time 34. Study the science section a bit, it can get trippy, I got a 29 the first time and a 36 the second, so just a few practice tests can really help you out</p>

27

<p>I got a 31 with absolutely no prep, I even asked the proctor how the timing worked lol.
I guess that gives me an opinion that is unbiased by outside ideas… I’ll be retaking in oct and studying(so do that) move quickly and carefully, sleep a lot beforehand, and wake up early enough that you can become alert before the test</p>

28

<p>Got a 32 with no prep. Just make sure you finish all the sections.</p>

29

<p>I managed to pull down a 35 after gaining from a 30 to a 33 to a 34. Don’t be afraid to take it multiple times, because honestly, you are more likely to do better the more times you take it. (or at least that was true for me.)</p>

30

<p>I got a 33. That was my first try and I’m happy with it, so I doubt I’ll retake it. The most important thing for me was timing. Practice working fast. It’s like a race. These are the timings a counselor recommended and they worked fine for me:</p>

<p>English: 9 minutes per passage.
Math: 17 minutes on 1st 20 questions, 20 on next 20, 23 on last (Math timing wasn’t so much of a problem for me so I just worked really fast and finished with 10 minutes to check over my work.)
Reading: 8.5 minutes per passage. (I had trouble working with the half minutes so I just practiced doing 8 minutes per passage.)
Science: Spend 4 minutes on each charts and graphs passage, 5 minutes on each experiments passage, and 6 on each of the scientist arguments passage. </p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

31

<p>Science I got 33
Make sure you read the background info and all the graphs. Every single answer can easily be found if you understand what the question is asking and what graph or table it can be found in</p>

32

<p>Hey, thanks for the posts everyone! I really appreciate it.</p>

33

<p>None of you are reporting on your essays?</p>

<p>I got a 32 first try.
35 English
33 Math
29 Reading
30 Science
11 Essay (34 Combined English/Essay)</p>

<p>I actually went REALLY fast on these, some with 30 mins to check, like on math; I probably went too fast for the reading part.</p>

34

<p>I’m not going to say what I got, but I can assure you that it was a good score. Here are my tips:</p>

<p>1) Don’t get caught up on studying. Math is the only subject on the ACT for which you can really study, so drill the basic algebra, geometry, and little trig that you need to know for the test.</p>

<p>2) Don’t worry about what other people are doing. Some kids say you have to go to bed at a certain time, some say you have to have a certain thing for breakfast, some say to do practice problems in the morning, some say to bring glucose-laden snacks for the breaks…trust me. It’s all ********. The biggest thing is to not overthink the test. It’s one day in your life. You can always retake it. Stay calm. It will work to your advantage later on.</p>

<p>3) While I don’t advocate reading through a whole prep book cover to cover, I do recommend buying at least one to get a sampling of what questions look like and to do a few practice tests. Here’s a hint: BUY THE PRINCETON REVIEW’S CRACKING THE ACT BOOK. I’ve seen almost every prep book out there, and trust me, it’s the best. They have extremely helpful hints in there that you’ll actually use when taking the test (the biggest for me was that, although ACT doesn’t directly say so, all of the diagrams on the math section are drawn to scale; this is invaluable when you’ve narrowed it down to two answer choices and have to make a guess). The book will also provide you with common “trick” questions that the ACT likes to use to keep kids from getting those 36’s. They’re very accurate; both times I took the ACT, not only did I recognize these questions immediately, but I answered them correctly.</p>

<p>4) Take the test more than once, but no more than 3 times. I recommend taking a “practice” test to get an idea of what’s within your range. Keep in mind, it’s still a real ACT, but if you don’t send your scores to anyone, no one will ever find them out (unless you plan on applying to one of the few schools that request your whole testing history; UPenn comes to mind…). If you get a good score, you’ll be much more calm for the second test you take. Even if you don’t do as well as you would have liked, you’ll have a realistic picture of what’s possible in the future. After three times, it’s overkill.</p>

<p>5) Go FAST. Don’t secondguess yourself. Your gut is usually right. I know twenty-five kids at my school alone who could have gotten 36’s if they had five more minutes on each section, but that’s not how it works. Time is the most critical factor when taking the ACT. Remember, if you have less than a minute left, bubble in all of the blank questions you can, as there is no penalty for guessing.</p>

<p>6) Last but not least, do NOT worry about stupid patterns in the answer sheet, like if you’ve been having two A’s in a row for the past three lines. It will only hurt you in the long run. And I don’t even think I have to say it, but I will…DON’T CHEAT.</p>

<p>Good luck. Remember, it’s only a few pieces of paper (that could, albeit, decide your future college options for you). </p>

<p>Just kidding. :)</p>

<p>Have fun with it!</p>

35

<p>take it more than once</p>

<p>my son raised his ACT score from a 31 to a 34, with zero studying</p>

36

<p>I got a 31 on my first try without really studying and I’m retaking it again.</p>

<p>The #1 thing is to RELAX!
If you dont’ relax yourself, you could run out of time like on fast paced sections like reading and science. You need your mind to be clear and pumped for the questions. As long as you don’t get nervous, the knowledge and skills just comes out naturally. Calm down while you’re taking the exam and practice exams does help.
If you have confidence in yourself that you studied hard and did the best you can, you probably did do the best you can.</p>

37

<p>I can’t give you advice for other sections except math (got a 35). The reason I probably did well on math is because I paid attention in math class. Just do what you school teaches you :slight_smile:
Hope that helps!</p>