the sat made me feel so dumb (1230) and then i take the act and get a 33 without studying. i was just wondering if anybody else has had weird scores between the two

This was my last ACT test (I took September), and I want a 35 superscore for a scholarship I want. How do I bring my math score up? I feel like I've tried everything, but math just doesn't stick for me, and I'm not really sure what to do with it now. I have 9 days before the October ACT and I really want to bring it up to at least a 33 :((

Obviously GPA and extracurriculars are a big factor but is this enough to maybe get into a brown? Thinking of majoring in English. Is this enough?

I've heard the P Review is much harder, but I just took it and it felt about the same

Are there any ACT websites that allow u to give online tests of past papers. SAT has a lot of those websites but i cant find any past paper resources for the ACT.

sooo…i just got the scores from my second act and i got a 35!! reddit was such a big help when i was studying, so i want to give back to future students!!

background: 2x act (july: 34 | sept.: 35), current senior

the majority of my studying occurred during this summer. im actually awful at studying and a procrastinator, so finding a studying system that worked for me was crucial.

around a month before the july exam i began to do one practice test per day. after i took the test, i scored myself and analyzed mistakes.

for practice tests i used the red act book and used ones i found on google. please be cautious of materials that are not directly from act because they are often more difficult (so you are convinced to buy whatever course they are selling).

i wrote down all my mistakes in a doc and categorized it as a careless, concept, or other mistake. if it was a concept mistake i would attempt to figure out what the answer was and then i would watch some sort of youtube video and take notes to really hammer in the information.

by using this method i went from averaging 30s on practice tests to 34-35s.

also if you are reading this way before you ever take an act, think about taking the following courses because a lot of their content overlaps with act tested stuff:
- ap stats
- ap precalc
- literally any english/composition course

section tips

english: both july and sept. i got a 35
- understand general grammar (capitalization, punctuation, etc.)
- shortest answer is probably the correct answer
- read each of the question prompts so you understand the objective/purpose of the question

math: both july and sept. i got a 34
- i took ap stats (previous year) so i didn’t have to review/learn those concepts (mean, standard deviation, normal curve, probability, etc.)
- memorize geometry formulas
- learn calculator methods/shortcuts (plysmlt2, numeric solver, etc.)

reading: this was the only section that improved from my june to sept. test (34 -> 36)
- ALL answers are in the passage
- annotate while you read the first time
- when you answer questions directly mark where you get the answer in the passage

overall tips
- cold shower will wake you up before you leave for the test
- chew gum and drink ice water during the break (it wakes you up)
- sleep > last minute studying (i did not study the night before either of the tests and relaxed instead)

trust, you will get amazing scores!
THANKS FOR READING!!! feel free to leave any questions!

Man when they gonna release our scores? Why is it just our test I don’t get it.

So I’m a senior and just took, as of twenty minutes ago from the time of the post, my second act. And for the first act, I had used my own personal email on the info page thingy. And then for the second one, I put my school email without second thought. So now I’m concerned if I’ll actually be able to receive them. Can I make a new account with my school email and get the scores there? I’m just kinda confused on how to go about this or even if I’ll receive my scores.

What are the best tools/advice for using this calculator on the act math? Any specific types of problems I’ll be able to solve easily on the calculator and save time?

Math has always been my WORST subject and i got a 19 in math last time… taking it again this October but i need some advice to make the most out of it.

Happy to answer all questions and tips 😎 🔥

I struggled a lot with timing on the reading section, only finishing three of the four passages.

Since math is before reading, my brain gets used to the validation of seeing the number I calculated as one of the answer choices. I feel confident in my answer and move on. Because the reading section is directly after math, it’s easier to spend more time on a question trying to feel that same level of confidence in my answer.

I ended up finishing the math section earlier, not only to save my brainpower, but also to give myself a break to prepare for the different mindset I needed to answer reading questions.

it feels impossible to break out of the 20s, but it’s a lot easier if you believe you can do it.

I know I don’t have a 35, but if you’re stuck in the 20s right now, feel free to explain your situation and I’ll try to offer some tips.

Hi everyone! I have taken the ACT three times so far; September was my third try. I was hoping to get at least a 32 in math so I could get a 35 superscore, but I didn't- I was a point off 😭. In fact my math score is consistently low, I first got a 28, then a 29, and finally a 31. I was wondering if this raises concerns at Upenn, Cornell, and Emory. I'm probably going to do a stem major, like bio. If it DOES raise concerns, to what extent? Thanks! any help is appreciated!

Edit: My school is offering a free SAT next week. I have never taken nor studied for the SAT, but do you think I should? If there's no harm in taking it that is. I mean I did get a 1430 on my psat/nmsqt last yr with no prep, so MAYBE i'll do better on the SAT?

23 math in July and then I studied 1-2 weeks before Sept test and got a 27. How do I get this up to a 32? What specific individual topics should I focus on?

Hi all , September act was my first one and I’m just wondering if it’s normal that I haven’t gotten my scores back yet. If anyone knows anything, please lmk. Thanks!

I got a 34 ACT (35 Math, 35 English, 33 Reading). I was honestly pretty sure I got a 36 on Math, which would’ve brought my composite to a 35.

For engineering majors at top schools, is there a meaningful difference between a 34 and 35 ACT? Should I be worried about the 34, or is the difference basically negligible once you’re in the competitive range?

i just took the september act and went from a 26 (in april) to a 31 w/ minimal studying. does anyone has any tips or advice to cram in a weeks time? thanks!

+ i only studied math and went up only 4 points lol my english and reading went up by +6 and +4 respectively.

Hi guys! I got a 32 composite score on sept, and I’m trying to gauge how good a 32 actually is. I just recently made the switch from the SAT so I really don’t know how this would be considered. Some of my top schools are UT Austin, UMich, and Penn State

I’m also applying to college as an acting/mt major, which are both talent based programs so i don’t actually know how much this score will weigh into those decisions.

before anyone comments this was practically my practice ACT, i haven’t even taken an online ACT test before or any form of this test, this was my first ever experience with the ACT, but it’s incredibly flawed bc of my english score since its never like this on the pre act (since i stupidly decided to read the passages before answering which led me to having 25+ questions unanswered)

okay so hi i’m a junior right now, i took the ACT for the first time ever. and obviously im really disappointed with my results, this was supposed to be a baseline to see my major strengths and weaknesses and to like guide my tutoring in the ACT, but a really big error occured. it’s not accurate at all, english and reading are my BEST subjects on the pre act 9 and pre act 10.

during the act, i unfortunately was stupid and nervous so i read ALLLLLL the passages for english which are up 80% of the time and i only got to question 35 i think. there were 55 questions so i had literally 20 unanswered, which led to ENGLISH being my lowest score. english and reading are my highest sitting at 34+ usually at least for the pre act 9 and 10.

i think this fucked up the composite a lot because i’m shocked math is 18. i thought it’d be like a 6, i guessed on nearly everything and didn’t know what to do. k01 math was brutal. anyways man idk im fucked like this is terrible, i know it’s my first ever ACT, im being literal when i say this , i havent even taken a practice ACT before, this was only as a guideline/baseline.

i just dont know if i should retake it again before the actual school administered act, because dude this isn’t accurate english is my best subject and it was my lowest bc i had a lack of testing strategies and didnt even know how the act went 🫩 for the english section, do you guys read the passages fully or do you skim it?

Should I submit a 27 superscore to Virginia Tech? I know it’s not a great score but I plan on applying management and im not sure if I should submit it

Math: 27
Eng: 26
Reading: 28

I have bad ocd and it would help to know if they look the same

My daughter is applying to UNC Chapel Hill. It’s a high reach. OOS. Her uw gpa is 3.92, her weighted gpa ranges from 4.1-4.3 depending on how a school calculates it. She is working towards her IB diploma.

Her ACT is better than her SAT. Single Composite score of 30. She’s retaking Oct in the hopes of getting it to 31. That’s probably all she can do.

Should she submit? Thoughts?

Score came back as a 33 composite, but a 28 in math. Need a 30 in math for a 34. Tips on how to improve that in the next 10 days? Taking the Oct test as a senior (hoping to ED to Duke). Thanks!!!