Finally got the score I wanted !!!!!!

After 6 attempts and 1 attempt with the SAT, I finally hit the score I wanted. Progress was so slow until the enhanced ACT came to the paper versions. I’m so happy 😭

I am currently stuck at a 24 math score both times I have taken the ACT. Both raw total scores were 29 and my superscore is 30. I have to bring my math up to a 28 to have a 32 superscore by March to be eligible for a huge scholarship in my state. I have tried taking practice tests and got the same scores even though I felt I better understood the material. I have my answer key from the June 13 test as well. Are either of these a good way to study? Or what would be better? Thanks!

Finally free…

It seems everyone posting here got 30+.
Anyone actually get less?!

My son got 24 (much worse than all his practice exams) and is devastated. He thinks he will not only never get into any college on his list, but into any college at all now!

I scored a 35 on the June ACT. Here's my top tips!

1. Learn how the test works. The Black Book by Mike Barret is worth it, even though it's old.

2. Practice only with tests made by ACT.

3. Focus on learning from mistakes rather than taking more tests.

4. Read everything carefully. Every question counts.

5. English tests mostly grammar rules and is an easy section to improve on.

6. Most math questions are simple but presented in a complicated way.

7. Every reading answer should be found in the text.

8. Know your calculator and use it to your advantage.

9. Bring an analog watch and set it backwards so it counts down time remaining. For example, English has 35 minutes, so you would set the watch to 11:25 and start it at the beginning of the test. Your time will be up when the watch says noon.

Good luck!

When I was in high school, I thought a perfect ACT score would open a lot of doors.

I got a 36 ACT and was nominated for the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program, one of if not the most prestigious general academic award a high school student can achieve. Perks of winning include an all-expense trip to D.C. that involves going to museums, hearing major policy addresses by senators, cabinet members, officials from the Departments of State and Defense, and other federal agencies, as well as participate in meetings with the president and a justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. You also get personally awarded a medal by the President of the United States of America, even if it's Trump currently.

I did the full IB Diploma with HL Math AA, Chemistry, and Physics. I spent two summers doing computational biology research, tutored standardized tests, volunteered for years, and had strong extracurriculars.

My cumulative high school average at the time I applied an A.

I still got rejected or waitlisted from every T40 school I applied to.

The rejection that hit me the hardest was Texas A&M. As an in-state student, I genuinely thought I'd get in. When I didn't, I was devastated. For a while, I honestly thought that if I couldn't get into A&M, I wasn't going to get into college anywhere I wanted to go.

Now that I've had time to reflect, here's what I've learned.

1. A perfect ACT is no longer a golden ticket. Thousands of applicants have near-perfect scores. It's impressive, but it's just one piece of the application.
2. Grades over four years matter more than one test. Even though my cumulative average before applying was above a 90, admissions committees care about trends and consistency. My junior year wasn't as strong as I wanted it to be, and a 36 ACT couldn't completely make up for that.
3. Admissions are holistic, whether you like it or not. Essays, recommendations, course rigor, institutional priorities, geography, intended major, and plain randomness all play a role.
4. You can do almost everything right and still get rejected. That's probably the hardest lesson. A rejection doesn't necessarily mean you weren't qualified.
5. Prestige means something, but definitely not everything. I ended up committing to a top 70 university with a half-ride. It wasn't where I expected to go, but it's still a place where I can build relationships with professors, do research, prepare for medical school, and create opportunities for myself.

Looking back, I spent too much time believing that admissions results determined my worth. They don't.

If you're applying this year, don't make the same mistake I did. Aim high, but build a balanced college list. There are far more qualified applicants than there are seats at highly selective schools.

Your acceptance letters don't define your potential. What you do after you enroll matters much more.

I'm still ambitious. I still plan to work hard. My path just looks different than I imagined a year ago.

I'm a rising senior. This is my 2nd test my math has been 26 and now 28. I am good with desmos because of SAT, is it worth switching to digital to fix math or is it doable on paper? Also should i focus more on reading to get that 34/35 superscore. Please help!!

I want to apply for CS at like big engineering schools (GT, UIUC, MIT as a long shot lmao) so I really wanted to hammer in the math and I’m not completely sure but I’m guessing a 35 is probably enough. The elephant in the room is science, but since it’s optional, I was planning on not reporting it in case that’s not like a super big no no. The main thing is I don’t know about is if my English and Reading is sufficient enough for the schools to not care too much about them (e.g how I’ve heard that MIT focuses a lot on having perfect-ish scores for SAT math but isn’t too heavily focused on RW as long as you get 700+) so I just wanted to know what people think the move would be.

I'm a rising sophomore and I really want to get a 36 and improve my score. Any tips would be greatly appreciated

will this get me into utd?

I took the July 11th act and got a 25/27 on the reading. I've seen posts from other people who had that same score but ended up with a 35. For context I had the passage with albert and the music lessons, the dude comparing translation and making crossword puzzles, a lady watching as a new couple moves in and paints the house white, and the duel ab one about cells and memory.

I’ve taken the sat a total of 3 times and have score between 1230-1310 but when i took the act once i got a 31 with my weakest section being math and science. I don’t know if my act studying would translate well if i took the sat again because i know the math sections are very different. should i double down and just lock in and take the sat a few more times or try studying for act math. not sure if its worth mentioning but my dream school has an average act rate of 32-35 so thats why act is more appealing to me.

Super score is the same score as my july test for math, reading, and english + science score and mediocre writing score. I know that science and writing dont really matter. But, should I send my super score or just my July test that already has all of my best performances in the categories that matter.

Some of you may have seen my post about how I got into zero top 40s with my stats, nor did I get into A&M despite multiple people with lower gpas and test scores from my school getting in. Some of you thought I was hiding something or lying about something. Here is all the evidence you need to know that that is not the case.

I had no prep time to study properly for this test cuz of personal issues. Im not targetting too hard in terms of colleges js UT Austin for mccombs (finance) and a&m and maybe ED Rice. I don't know if i would be able to retake but if anyone could help give me a ballpark for this score that would rlly help

i took it in MA and the scores still havent came out, nor has a eta of the scores.

I am currently stuck at a 24 math score both times I have taken the ACT. Both raw total scores were 29 and my superscore is 30. I have to bring my math up to a 28 to have a 32 superscore by March to be eligible for a huge scholarship in my state. I have tried taking practice tests and got the same scores even though I felt I better understood the material. I have my answer key from the June 13 test as well. Are either of these a good way to study? Or what would be better? Thanks!

This was my first time taking the ACT after preparing for roughly 3-4 weeks. I’m a rising senior and I’m desperate for a 36 in order to receive a scholarship at my state school. I will be taking the ACT again in September and I’ll probably just leave science as it is. Please give your best advice below (even if you didn’t score a perfect)!

I am a rising senior who spent the last year trying to improve her own math score. I got it up from a 17 to a 31. Im still stuck at a 21 on the English and I can't get out. First time I took it I got a 23. The past two have been a 21. How can I increase my score on the english? Also, feel free to give me tips on the reading because I want to at least get a 33+ on the reasing.

Tips? Advice? Pep talk?

Took the ACT twice already, both paper. Thinking about doing my next attempt digital since I want to improve my Math score and the built-in Desmos calculator seems like it could really help. Since all three would be Enhanced ACT just different formats, superscoring should combine fine across them, right? Anyone have experience with this or know if certain colleges treat digital differently?

Hi everyone, I took the digital July act, J09 I believe, and was just wondering when I can expect my writing score to release, is there a defined date like there is MCQ release?

pls let me know i’m so impatient