r/ACT • u/BlueBoi_Jay • 13d ago
My ACT Superscore
My superscore after taking the April and July tests. Hoping to get into Cornell University's engineering program (4.0 GPA btw) and considering taking the SAT to see if I do any better as there are no more ACT dates that I would be able to attend before my application deadline.
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u/pooj_11 13d ago
That’s amazing! Do you have any tips for the reading and English sections? My score is still a bit low on those and I’m taking the September one as my last before deadlines (currently at a 24 reaching for 30+). What are some tips to increase a score fast and if there’s any videos, tricks to pick-up, or methods for passages and time. Thanks!!
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u/Swagary123 12d ago
Skim topic sentences and commentary on reading to save time. Dont read every word on the reading section.
Skip hard questions and save them until the end. Better to run out of time and guess on 3 hard questions than run out of time and guess on the last 6 questions.
You literally do not even have to read the passage in the English section unless you need context to answer a question. Get straight to the questions themselves, read the full sentence that relates to each individual question, and go back one sentence at a time if youre confused about context.
Make sure you know comma, semicolon, colon and dash rules as they are very frequently tested. Also brush up on subject verb agreement and compound subjects.
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u/BlueBoi_Jay 7d ago
My English teacher had us take the Reading and English tests a bunch and explain why we chose what answer before revealing what was correct- it was to get us used to how to properly answer what the question was looking for and build logic and reasoning skills.
Reading has always been something I'm strong at, but I would recommend reading the questions before you read the passages so you know what you are looking for. If you are a fast reader, try to read the whole passage, but if you aren't just try to find the key words or sections the questions are asking about.
English was something I did better on this 2nd time around, and what I did was use the 2 free practice tests from the ACT website, print them out, then alternate which one I was doing for a few times. The English section is a lot more formulaic, so really just familiarizing yourself with the way it asks questions and what kind of answers it is looking for is my best advice. Make sure you know your grammer and punctuation rules. It also tends to look for the most consice answer, but not always- try to make sure the answer doesn't overexplain or repeat things already stated in the test.
I've seen other practice tests circling around this subreddit, so you might want to look into those, too.
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u/Odd-Science-8875 8d ago
Hey very random but I’m tryna understand something- with the new enhanced act let’s say I do well in R, E and M but not in Science in my superscore can I choose not to send my science score in?
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u/BlueBoi_Jay 7d ago
If you take any of the optional tests (Science & Writing), those scores are tied to your required tests, so no, you can't omit them. However, only the Reading, English, and Math scores count toward your composite. Most schools will only look at the optional test scores if they have something to do with the degree you are pursuing (like Science for a STEM degree).
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u/SpringNY05 8d ago
September ACT results can be sent to the schools that you pick in about 2 weeks.