<p>I’ve been browsing through these forums lately and enjoy seeing how people overcome and do better on the ACT but…that’s just not the case for me…I’m a really bright person, I’m always the person people want to be paired up with in the group projects. I take weighted courses AP and all, I get straight A’s I even tutor people and I still do terrible on my ACT…the first time I took it…I got a 19 :(. I was absoutely distraught from seeing that…My parents particularly my mother was very upset with me it was as if she shunned me away, well I decided to take the June 10th one and I got a 20, my heart sank, I used the online prep course and I’ve read this board for tips and all. I feel like a total failure in life, my mother is once again very upset with me and I feel like I let her down as she came to this country for her kids to pursue a better oppurtunity. She talks of how her friends kids get above a 25 and how horrible my score is. What can I do guys??? I really want to get into FSU my overall GPA is around 3.5 but I believe the ACT score will just not cut it…should I retake for the third time??? Are there any tips you all could give out on books or anything to help me out? I want to make my parents proud and I want to do better. </p>
<p>It really frustrates me when people who just don’t care about school or try in general get a 30 (my friend) and my other friends who are involved in AP courses and after school activities get the same score as me…any help is appreciated and thank you for your time on listening to my ‘rant’. Much appreciated.</p>
<p>I’m not quite sure what to tell you. Have you tried the SAT? It seems people generally do better on one or the other, and perhaps the ACT just isn’t your game.</p>
<p>Also, how hard did you prep for the test? I’ve never taken the online course, but I doubt it’s going to be everything you need for a good score. I read three prep books, took seven practice tests, reviewed my answers, and watched closely for any trends.</p>
<p>If you do decide to try taking it again, perhaps you should get a tutor, or at least try a different method. A bad ACT/SAT score probably won’t be enough, on its own, to stop you from FSU, but they have to know that there isn’t a larger problem behind that.</p>
<p>Buy the red Real Act Book. Do the practice tests. Know why you missed the queastions that you did. You will do a lot better if you keep practicing. I know your mom may be acting unreasonable, but she just wants what is best for you. Take it again, you are a smart kid and will be able to do well on it. Is timing an issue on this? If you do not know the answer, make sure you eliminate choices that you know are wrong first.</p>
<p>I’ve got the timing down, I believe I just need to refresh my sophmore and freshman skills as a lot of the material on the test pertained to the stuff I learned those 2 years, I will look into the red ACT book and I’m going to study hard and retake it for the third time. Thank you for your advice so far guys, much appreciated.</p>
<p>I’m not one to offer advice, I took the June test without really any prep and my score isn’t online yet so I have absolutely no knowledge on the subject, but I would say just from what I’ve read, try to understand the types of question the test asks, any little tricks that will trigger an answer on the test day. Like, for example, if you’re able to understand even a basic “its” vs “it’s (it is)” then that was like a good 3 questions on the June test. The test asks rule type questions, not questions that are meant to trick you, it’s just to see if you know them or not, and I found they can get repetative so if you don’t know something, that’s going to hurt you. The red ACT book, from the little I looked at it, seemed to have some common errors and basic stuff for the other sections that you can “study” and hopefully benefit from.</p>
<p>Other than that, just practice I guess…don’t get down on yourself if you get a low score on the practice test, go over every question and make sure you fully understand why it’s wrong until the answer makes sense… the next time, you will see the same error and be able to identify it, particularly with math and english.</p>
<p>For the reading and some science, I think don’t overthink the questions. Sometimes, what I felt like anyway, I found myself interpreting the passages instead of maybe taking them for what they were worth, which I think is what the test is. </p>
<p>Sooo again, I don’t think I did too well and thus have no reason to be giving advice… =P Good luck!</p>
<p>anyways calsun buy a review book instead of online courses and take the practice test.
you should aim for atleast a 24 because I know two people who got into fsu with a 3.2 gpa and a 24 act, unless your an OOS which you should then aim for atleast a 25.</p>
<p>I’m in a similar boat, don’t feel bad. I was reading an article and it said it wasn’t uncommon to see bright people overthinking the ACT. I took the ACT on the 8th of April, with some prep, and received a 22. It seemed to me about 4x harder than the practice tests I took, as I was getting 30+ on the practice. I took it again with the school on the 26th of April. This test was much easier, about as easy as the practice tests. I was expecting around a 30. To my suprised, I got a 22 again. I figured there was absolutely no way that could be right, so I paid the $25 to have it hand-scored, and they said no change, I wasnt suprised, considering that if they changed my score, that would make them look extremely bad, so regardless, I didnt think they would change it. Well, I am going to practice more this summer, and in October, I’m going to give it 1 final attempt, and hope for the best. I am not going to worry about it too much though, because I have a 4.0 unweighted GPA (have taken many APs, honors, etc.) as Valedictorian. I know I can do the math, read and understand the material, but maybe being rushed is my problem. All you can do is try. If you can do well in high school, you’ll probably do well in college, regardless of the damn ACT. Good luck.
Patrick</p>
<p>Post your subject scores first. It’ll be easier to make specific recommendations then. </p>
<p>There’s a real possibility of looking too deeply into the problems. I think some of the prep books also exacerbate this and perhaps can even lower your score. The ARCO ACT is by far the hardest and most unrealistic that i’ve found. And although the Kaplan is far easier than the ARCO, it’s probably the next in line from the more popular books. The Princeton review is probably the ‘easiest’, but it’s still very close to the real thing. </p>
<p>I believe that some of these prep companies (Like the makers of ARCO) want you to falsely think you’ve improved a lot from using their books whenever you compare the terrible scores from their practice tests to the much higher and realistic test scores of the real ACT test.</p>
<p>I would recommend a class of some sort. I took a class at Allen Educational Services in Michigan and it was phenomenol. I can’t tell you how much it helped. I got a 33 on my ACT and I owe it all to them.</p>
<p>On the side, I don’t mean to be rude Patrick, but don’t be so much of a cynic. I have read your earlier posts and you seem to think the ACT should bow down at your feet. They are a very reputable company and that’s why so many people take their test.</p>
<p>Try a combination of both the Princeton Review and the Real ACT prep book. Self-study 1 to 2 hours daily and at the end of every 1 or 2 weeks take a practice test to evaluate how you are doing. Make sure that you figure the strategy that works best for you for the reading and science in particular. Aside from what is mentioned above, you should read one or two books, a novel and a science book. If you follow this I’m sure that you score will improve-Good Luck</p>
<p>Important! Make sure that you develop the mindset that you can do well- believe in yourself man. And not to seem impudent to your mother, but you should not let the things she says get to you.</p>