Jennifer 883 Posted March 1, 2017 Share Posted March 1, 2017 i took the february act (don't get how they graded it in 2-3 weeks esp since i took the writing section but w/e) and did not do that well... honest to god, i didn't study for it except doing a math practice section the night before so i ended up getting a 22 and it was my first act test... (reasons for not studying: had a calc test the day before, stayed up pretty late, and the week before was pretty hectic too, so studying for it was kinda not on my mind. doesn't make me less accountable but welp) i struggled especially with reading and science (slow af at reading pretty sure i only read like 2 1/2 passages), and i didn't even get a pass on those sections... what are the ways you increased your act scores (w/o tutoring)? my friend ended up getting a 28 and she didn't study that much either, but she's significantly smarter than me and in a gifted program so i don't think i have a right to compare myself to her but i cried a little lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*lesigh* 6,759 Posted March 1, 2017 Share Posted March 1, 2017 First things first: Actually study. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demasta 23,252 Posted March 1, 2017 Share Posted March 1, 2017 study and do practice tests while timing yourself Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MineMuses 6,687 Posted March 1, 2017 Share Posted March 1, 2017 First things first: Actually study. says the person who's a gifted student and never does Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HardWorkBeatTalent 1,096 Posted March 1, 2017 Share Posted March 1, 2017 If you don't want to study, then learn how to cheat lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KR!ST!Ñ@ 1,678 Posted March 1, 2017 Share Posted March 1, 2017 lol that happened to me too, I was not ready for the test at all ( i took the February one, but I haven't gotten my scores) Haven;t tried it yet, but supposedly this website https://www.prepscholar.com/ is a good study tool The writing scores come in after multiple choice, you must have saw your mc one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunshinetrbl 783 Posted March 1, 2017 Share Posted March 1, 2017 the first time I took it in 10th grade ish I didn't study or know the format that well and got 27 but that's because my school is pretty heavy on standardized testing. I managed to raise it to a 33 to submit to my colleges. But that was through a lottt of studying and my parents paid for a tutor at tutoring centers. Is there a specific reason you don't want to do tutoring? Is it because of cost? If it is there are also practice problems and tests online that you could do. Get lots of review/practice set books!!! Depending on where you want to go for college, a 31-32 is the minimal for top tier schools. But I think as long as you are in 28-30 range you should be good for most schools. It was only your first time so you have a lot of time to improve! You got this!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quail 290 Posted March 1, 2017 Share Posted March 1, 2017 I had trouble on the timing of the reading and science sections as well, taking a lot of practice tests (you can find a ton at www.crackact.com) while timing yourself will help you get used to the pacing. I know how it feels to see gifted friends breeze through everything but grind through a few months of practice and you'll improve for sure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*lesigh* 6,759 Posted March 1, 2017 Share Posted March 1, 2017 says the person who's a gifted student and never does DON'T EXPOSE ME HOE Hnnnn she's right, though. This is why I advise people to do as I say and not as I do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzo 4,159 Posted March 1, 2017 Share Posted March 1, 2017 never took the act but the sat. I hate the sat so much ldksafjsd;kfjdas;. Just practice but know that one exam isn't going to matter much in 3 years (unless of course you apply for those really competitive finance jobs that want you to put your sat down lol....) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer 883 Posted March 1, 2017 Author Share Posted March 1, 2017 the first time I took it in 10th grade ish I didn't study or know the format that well and got 27 but that's because my school is pretty heavy on standardized testing. I managed to raise it to a 33 to submit to my colleges. But that was through a lottt of studying and my parents paid for a tutor at tutoring centers. Is there a specific reason you don't want to do tutoring? Is it because of cost? If it is there are also practice problems and tests online that you could do. Get lots of review/practice set books!!! Depending on where you want to go for college, a 31-32 is the minimal for top tier schools. But I think as long as you are in 28-30 range you should be good for most schools. It was only your first time so you have a lot of time to improve! You got this!! yeah, act/sat course classes here are around $250+ which is kind of the lower end but my parents don't have that much money to spare so idk i mean i'll be working pretty soon so i guess i can save up for it, but what did you think of it? did the tutoring help you in terms of speed and efficiency? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunshinetrbl 783 Posted March 1, 2017 Share Posted March 1, 2017 yeah, act/sat course classes here are around $250+ which is kind of the lower end but my parents don't have that much money to spare so idk i mean i'll be working pretty soon so i guess i can save up for it, but what did you think of it? did the tutoring help you in terms of speed and efficiency? it definitely helped me because i feel like when I study alone at home I get distracted really easily but when I'm with a tutor I'm almost forced to concentrate. Also I did probably around 6 full sets of ACT every two months (around 1 full test a week) from the tutoring and it DEFINITELY helped with my speed cuz i was a lottt slower before. If you can't get a tutor try to get lots of practice tests and books and keep taking them WITH A TIMER & pace yourself you'll definitely improve. I thought I wouldn't be able to go faster but eventually you get used to the pacing. When I took it a girl who sat next to me had an ACT watch and it's basically customized for the ACT times and the moderator let her keep it on so maybe you can get one of those while you practice & when you actually take it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sour Patch 5,568 Posted March 1, 2017 Share Posted March 1, 2017 If you don't want to study, then learn how to cheat lol "HardWorkBeatTalent" Your username and comment is so ironic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foo 3,048 Posted March 1, 2017 Share Posted March 1, 2017 Take practice tests and focus on reading Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HardWorkBeatTalent 1,096 Posted March 1, 2017 Share Posted March 1, 2017 "HardWorkBeatTalent" Your username and comment is so ironic If the OP didn't want to study, the only solution is cheat. Btw you need to work hard to master cheating technique lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dorkyu 776 Posted March 1, 2017 Share Posted March 1, 2017 I agree. Actually studying helps, as well as doing regular exercise. Personal experience: I also took the ACT and got a very good score in my first sitting (and never took it again lmao). Admittedly I'm very used to standardized testing BUT I didn't start prepping until 2 weeks before, and improved my composite by 3 points within those 2 weeks. Here's some tips that worked for me, and feel free to PM me if you need more advice/help/stuff like that: 1. I had the entire spring break to study for it, so I just did exercises. ACT is all about speed, and honestly if you read slowly that test is not for you, but read the questions before reading the passage. Skimming the questions before reading the passage really helps for slow readers because you eliminate the need to go back repeatedly to the passage. You're not taking AP Eng Lit, you don't need to fully understand - just enough to answer the problems, so don't waste your time on that (if you need help on speed reading I can always talk more about it, but I feel like that's a secondary point). 2. If that doesn't work for you, try developing a sense of what questions they might ask. One thing I always ask myself when I skim a passage is "what might they ask about this?" and 9/10 I get at least one or two of my questions. That honestly comes from practice and a sense of what standardized testing tries to do to assess your ability, but it's also worth a try if you still can't get your speed up. 3. Science is just common sense and pure practice. I don't know when your next sitting is but honestly, all of them end up being similar in some way. Trust your intuition and don't overthink; practice reading graphs and picking out the most important info (independent/dependent variables, relations, in the case of 2 or more graphs the differences, etc.). Science is honestly a lot easier than you think it is - when I first did the science section I just blazed through all of it without thinking (picking out the answer that made the most sense). 4. Skip questions you're unsure about. This may seem simple but it's a lot harder to do during test time; the more questions you skip the more you start to panic and the less likely you'll continue to skip. Do more mock tests and do at least 2 full practice tests in the week before your actual sitting; otherwise doing timed individual sections are good enough. Keep in mind that only practice tests aren't enough, doing actual practice problems and targeting your weakest areas (which type of reading questions? what type of science questions? a particularly weak area of math? etc.) will boost your score a lot - because once you get it you get all of it. When I prepared I just finished an entire ACT prep book in 2 weeks and that was it. I might sound slightly delirious right now because I'm running off no sleep and food, but feel free to PM me later - I don't mind helping you prepping/setting a schedule or directing you to more resources! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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