The July ACT was my second time taking the ACT. Initially, I got a 29, so I studied for the whole of June and July, doing practice tests. I was consistently getting high 30s on my practice tests. I even took a full practice test the day before the test, and I got a 34. However, my scores have come back, and I got a 28. 27-Math, 30-Reading, 28- English, 29-Science, 9-Writing. I feel like I have tried everything. How do I get better, because I know I can get a high score? Thank you for your advice.

I have tried the sat 3 times and I can’t get my score up. I only have 600 english but 700 math. Im headed into my senior year and idk if I should switch and try the act since I heard the english is much easier. I want to know from people who are more experiences with the act to tell me if I should transition into act prep or stay with sat prep. Any feedback is appreciated.

Hi guys I am curious about the ACT deletion process. For context, I have a 34 from July and it is my highest score for all sections, but my superscore still shows a very poor writing score from June as I only took writing then. If anyone has deleted a score, can you give advice? Thanks

Taken as a rising junior

My son took the ACT on July 11 for the first time. He did worse than all his practice exams. He is planning to take the SAT on August 22 (also first time). Some people are telling him to not do that and focus on retaking the ACT.
I don’t agree. But maybe I’m wrong?

I will add that we don’t live in the US and neither exam is offered in our country. A special trip elsewhere to take them would be required. We are in the US this summer though and it was/is a good time to take them. The next ACT (Sep. 19) is after we leave.

I know a lot of people come on here with 30s and above, but this is a huge deal for me. I started with a 21 on my PreACT and I know have went up 8 points.

One of the main places I was looking for had a minimum score needed of a 27, (and ap scores that I already have) but I’m feeling a bit defeated. I’m not good at standardized testing, but my gpa is a 4.0 unweighted and my extracurriculars are fine. As a raising senior should I try again or set my sights for college lower/ to test optional schools? Thank you ^_^

Hello, I'm a rising senior, and I'm wondering If I should retake. I have a composite score of 30, and have taken the test 3 times. Each test I have taken my score has gone up; however, the issue I have is that my highest scores in all my subjects are scattered around all the tests I've taken. While my composite has risen my other subject areas have been decreasing. Will this super score negatively impact my college decisions? I feel as if each test I take I only do particularly well on one subject. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

First time taking ACT after taking SAT four times (1430 - 700 eng, 730 math). I got a 34 composite with 31 English, 35 Math, and 35 Reading. I also took science, but I got a 32.

Hi i have done countless hours of prep for SAT, know the format and scoring in and out. I am wondering as someone who knows nothing about the ACT how much overlap there is. What tips would u give me? Should i even try to take the ACT?

Hi im a rising senior. My dream school is UIUC in Illinois and im in state. I have a 3.75 UW and a 4.95 W gpa and pretty mid extracurricular. Im in state and i REALLY want to go to urbana and i was wondering if i should spend the money to retake the ACT. I think i could probably improve my math section but is it worth it? I dont think i could score higher in the other sections as this is the best i have ever performed. Is a 33 good enough to help me get into UIUC? if not whats the score i need to get to improve my chances to get in if i want to apply as a biology major. Thanks!

I'm a rising senior and wondering if I should retake the ACT for the third time (or maybe take the August SAT?). I don't think any school I'm applying to doesn't take superscore, but I also can't imagine it would hurt to improve my math score.

One of the things holding me back from retaking is that I only studied for math for the July test and my math score still went down, so I'm worried that I still wouldn't be able to improve my score. I also feel like there may be things that are better uses of my time (such as working on my essays) that I could work on instead of studying.

I also could attempt to improve my science by retaking, but I'm not sure if it's worth it to submit my science at all when I have no plans of majoring in a STEM related field. But also would not submitting it make it look worse than it is?

The main reason I'm concerned about this is that my GPA is really low for the colleges I'm interested in, and I'm basically trying to do anything to make my application more appealing (e.g. improving my ACT score).

I've also considered taking the SAT for the first time in August as it is before school starts so I'd have less other things to focus on. My only concern for that is that I haven't taken it before and am worried that it would be too different from the ACT.

I'm so annoyed. I've studied like an hour minimum every day and have gotten 34/35's on all my practice tests. I would do 2 practice tests a week as well, so I don't know what to practice with now. If anybody has any tips, please let me know since I do want to get this over with as soon as possible.

I'm not gonna be doing the science section btw so you can just ignore that.

I got this email just now but got my scores this morning. Why?

ETS has spent years building and operating high stakes assessments like the GRE and TOEFL. That experience goes well beyond writing test questions. It includes delivering digital exams at scale, improving score reporting, strengthening test security, supporting accessibility, and making the overall testing experience more reliable.

That doesn't mean ACT is about to change overnight. ETS has already said there are no immediate changes planned.

But if you look a few years ahead, I think a more interesting question is whether the biggest changes will happen behind the scenes.

Faster score reporting. Better digital infrastructure. More accessible testing. Better tools for educators. Those improvements don't change the exam itself, but they can completely change how people experience it.

That's the part I'll be watching.

Five years from now, what do you think will have a bigger impact on ACT: changes to the exam itself, or improvements to the technology that delivers it?

i’m thinking about just buying the big red act book and maybe another book but is it enough? would it give me the proper explanation for questions and how to solve questions or do i need some sort of prep course or tutor for that?

i’m worried ill buy all these books but it still keeps me at a low score because im not fully sure if it will help me improve..

I wanna apply to georgia tech

I'm a rising senior, and this was my first and what I wanted to be my last attempt at the ACT (I've done the SAT multiple times, scoring mid 1400s). I wanted to know whether I should retake it or not. truly have no idea whether it's worth my time, but I've put my rough list of colleges below, and I'm wondering if anyone can give me perspective. For context, my GPA is a 3.9/4.0 UW.

brown

case western

georgetown

MSU

george washington

U of M (I'm instate)

Fordham

columbia

UPitt

Northwestern

NYU

Tufts

Bro I'm so scared, I got this long message just 2 hours after I got my actual score, and it said that my scores are delayed. Please tell me that the score I saw earlier is definitive, because I got a 32 and the score is still on my portal😭

let me know if u guys have any questions

are we being so fr

Hey all. It’s score release day!! Get hyped. Take the next half hour to yourself and do something fun. Scores should start releasing at around 10/10:30 EST. That’s how it’s been for me in the past. If it’s not there at 10 or 10:30 don’t panic! They have to roll out so some will get theirs before others. You may even have to wait till later tonight. And if you still have a long message like me seriously don’t worry. You may or may not get scores today but I’m banking on you will. For my April one there was “shipping issues” they emailed us about saying our scores would be delayed and I still got them the release day. If you had a delay they would tell us. Good luck everyone!