(Part 2) Top products from r/ACT

I think if you want it a lot you can do it (at least get your score to a 32+ range)

So first you want to get all your test scores to a solid 30. For English, this is gonna be pretty easy for you, but obviously a lot harder for science and reading. I think, since your scores are below that 30 range, i think you should focus on content THEN on time and understanding the test.

I'll advice you, if you are financially able to get the actual ACT book (the one ACT inc. sells) as well as this ACT black book. The ACT black book literally has everything you need for a good score, INCLUDING CONTENT and TIPS. And then you probably want the actual ACT book for practice tests and stuff. But PLEASE don't use other ACT books (and if you aren't able to get both, purchase the black book only because you can find practice tests online. If you aren't able to purchase either, I've included links to help with gaining that information)....

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For English, improvement is all dependent on knowing the rules (esp COMMA rules) and recognizing the pattern of ACT questions. To do this, you have to learn ALL OF THESE grammar rules, (and given that your score is at a 29, then you must know most of them). Then you must strive for consistency and perfection. Every time you miss a question on an English question, please think about why you got it wrong and WHAT THOUGHT PROCESS you needed to go through to get it write. I used to keep a notebook to do this because writing it down helped me remember. English is the easiest score to improve, and it is the quickest so getting your english score to a 35/36 would be really good. It all comes down to consistent practice and understanding your mistakes. Make sure to do a lot of practice questions (but only real ACT English questions, do not use Princeton, Barron, etc.), this builds up your intuition for knowing the correct answer and you begin to recognize patters this way.

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For Math, you obviously have content issues. Go to this link for strategies, tips, and TOPIC guides. The topic guides are good for reenforcing concepts you don't know. I'm also assuming that time is a problem for you. It was a problem for me too. First, do the math section with no time limit and try to do your best, and if you get to the 30+ range that way, you need to take a lot more sections under the time limit and train your brain to go faster, esp on the first 30 questions. I'm pretty sure that you can still get a 30 on math by missing 10 questions (fact check me on this I might be wrong).

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For Reading, you need to learn HOW to read and COMPREHEND a passage correctly. You need to understand that all the questions in this section only have one answer, and this answer ALWAYS has evidence in the passage. Even if an answer is partially right, IT IS WRONG. It must be 100% correct to be the correct answer. The black book really reenforces this concept. You also might have time problems. The correct way to do ACT reading is to give yourself 8.5 min per passage. If you're a slow reader, give yourself 5 min to read and process the passage, then head to the questions but know you are going to have to rush. Try to get through all the questions with accuracy and precision.

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For Science, you don't need to know any actual science. It is all reading graphs and analyzing them under the time limit. There might be like one or two questions that require ACTUAL science. NEVER read the blips of texts unless you absolutely need to, unless it is the Conflicting Viewpoints passage, then and only then READ EVERY SINGLE WORD. Know that you will only have a max of 5 to 6 minutes per passage. That's why you need to keep the reading to a minimum.

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I think if you really put all the work and heart into studying you can get your score up to maybe even a 34+. It is all about consistency, accuracy, and precision in your practice. You have a month and a half so you should get going as soon as possible. I'd suggest splitting out the sections into a full practice test for the first 2 weeks, and then taking a practice test each week until the test. AMA or PM me if you have any questions or need help, I'm more than happy to. Hope this helps, and that you get your score up!

I never read or even looked into either of those books, so I can't give a fair comparison but she bought it off amazon. It's honestly actually a great read because it's concise and the examples are hilarious. But I have to be fair and say that both of us attend a pretty selective/rigours program for math, science, and english (which is literally what the ACT is), and the program itself helped us a lot in terms of content/time management since we did covered a lot of this material early on in highschool. I'd love to help out in any way I can if you ever need it :)

https://www.amazon.com/Your-Score-2018-2019-Underground-Outsmarting/dp/0761193669/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1511133974&sr=8-1&keywords=up+your+score+act+2018+2019

If you're scoring 25's everywhere, you have a lot of content you need to learn.

Most of the 3rd party books are crap. Sorry. They are. I've read almost all of them, and it's filler.

I like Webster's grammar: https://amzn.com/0375719679
+understanding the rhetorical questions by using practice tests and making your own steps
Cheap math book: https://amzn.com/1592441300
Reading: Man, I've covered this on other posts
Science: a basic understanding of scientific concepts + practice

A 7-point increase is not easy on your own, but you can do it if you make a study plan and stick to it. You're going to have to search out why you don't get questions right if you don't understand the explanations. You're going to have to hold yourself accountable to your own knowledge level. Doing something that hard on your own is extremely difficult, but, if you can do it, you will be supremely prepared for college and will be a very successful person.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not in any way trying to discourage you from doing this on your own. The fact that you're on this subreddit and asking for help already shows that you are a lot more mature than your peers. Make a plan; stick to it; and re-evaluate it periodically.

If you go content-driven (which is the evidence-based way to increase your score the most), you're not going to get linear score increases. You might study for a month and get 1 point. Some weird click moment happens when things get easier and recall of topics starts to happen more. But isn't it like that for almost everything?

In all honesty, you don't need big-name practice workbooks (PR, Barron's, Kaplan, etc.) to do well on the exam. Take as many of the ACT practice tests (the real ones, skypetutor has a link on reddit), and each time you miss a question, be sure to review what you got wrong. For English, if you're a beginner, study the ACT English bootcamp: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9-UcKc39-U&list=PLWrx3HAZbAqGTrgoMjihz1tHLdhJ3YwdR

For math, I would recommend Richard Corn's book on the ACT math section: https://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Guide-Math-Richard-Corn/dp/0998584916/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1537652751&sr=1-2-fkmr0&keywords=ultimate+guide+to+the+math+ACT+2nd

He gives a really good explanation of all the concepts on the ACT math section and even includes practice questions.

For reading, I would recommend you just grind as many of the practice tests as possible. Also remember, one of the answer choices is 100% correct, while the three others are 0% correct. In other words, one of the questions is completely, without a doubt, correct, while the others contain something that is completely wrong.

For science, I would recommend you grind as many practice tests since this section is similar to the Reading section, but I would also recommend For the Love of ACT Science by Michael Cerro, found here: https://www.amazon.com/Love-ACT-Science-innovative-standardized/dp/0996832203/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1537652960&sr=1-1&keywords=for+the+love+of+act+science

He gives a thorough review of ALL types of questions on the test, and even includes several practice tests that are based off of the real exams.

I will stress this one more time, NOTHING BEATS PRACTICE WITH A REAL ACT TEST. Don't spend 30 dollars off on Amazon to buy a Princeton Review or Barron's practice book with only 3-4 practice tests. There are over 70 real tests on reddit, courtesy of skypetutor: https://www.reddit.com/r/ACT/comments/8l7xhc/links_to_free_pdf_downloads_of_all_65_and/

I would assume you would have a solid shot at Cornell. Cornell is actually the most transfer-friendly of the Ivies. I just applied to Cornell as a transfer student with a 34 and am waiting on my decision. However, most of the other Ivy League schools take a more limited number of transfers. Not to say that it would be impossible to transfer somewhere like Yale, for example, but your shot would be significantly lower than that of a first year applicant's. I think you should check out Cal Newport's "How to Become a High School Superstar." The title may sound corny, but the author details the stories of many successful gap year students. Here's the Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/How-High-School-Superstar-Revolutionary/dp/0767932587. Also, as a prospective transfer student I've read a lot of material on the tips and tricks of transfer admission so feel free to PM me if you'd like to ask me anything! Hope this helps!!

I mean there are basically two ways. One: improve your fundamentals. That's like the long-term strategy. Basically, read like crazy. New Yorker, the Atlantic, New York Times, non-fiction books, and what not. It's like if you don't even have the muscle to throw a three-pointer, then it's pretty much pointless to practice 3pts.

Second is to learn some reading skills. Annotations, skimming & scanning, etc. Personally I'm not a big fan of these, but they do come in handy if you don't have, like 5 months to incrementally improve your reading.

If you do have the time, I would recommend the following two books:
https://www.amazon.com/How-Read-Literature-Like-Professor/dp/0062301675/ref=pd_sim_14_7?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0062301675&pd_rd_r=35Q5NY3NKYMXGNRRAZZ6&pd_rd_w=4BP03&pd_rd_wg=oJkPO&psc=1&refRID=35Q5NY3NKYMXGNRRAZZ6

https://www.amazon.com/How-Read-Book-Classic-Intelligent/dp/0671212095

You should try Dr. John Chung's SAT II Math book.

link: https://www.amazon.com/SAT-II-Mathmatics-level-Designed/dp/1523381531/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1519009778&sr=8-2&keywords=dr+chung

I know it's not for ACT, but I used this book and scored really well on both the ACT and SAT II Math test. The concepts are pretty much the same.

If you are going to spend 150$, get the NSpire CX II. It is actually cheaper but just a better calculator, as well as much newer

TI-Nspire CX II Color Graphing Calculator with Student Software https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07SDG5719/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_CccADbTCWH9PS

you definitely want some way to get explanations for questions. I would recommend the Official ACT book (the red book) and the black book.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Real-Edition-Prep-Guide/dp/0768934400?ie=UTF8&keywords=act&qid=1459302080&ref_=sr_1_2&sr=8-2

http://www.amazon.com/ACT-Prep-Black-Book-Strategies/dp/0692027912?ie=UTF8&keywords=act&qid=1459302080&ref_=sr_1_4&sr=8-4

This is also great for english
https://www.amazon.com/Elements-Style-Fourth-William-Strunk/dp/020530902X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1498363410&sr=8-1&keywords=the+style+of+writing

I've been using this one Link. It's helped me a lot but also crackact.com is extremely helpful.

ACT Prep Black Book, Ultimate Guide to the Math ACT and Top 50 ACT Math Skills for a Top Score are used by lots of students and tutors. I won't recommend you reading the whole book though. Smart prep is all about finding your weak knowledge points first through practice and work on those specific skills through targeted and focused practice or reading related materials to fill the content gaps.

yes
https://www.amazon.com/Love-ACT-Math-This-math/dp/0996832262

I used to tutor ACT back in the day and found this book really helpful for students struggling to remember math concepts from a few years prior. CliffsNotes Math Review for Standardized Tests, 2nd Edition (CliffsTestPrep) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0470500778/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_sscZxbMXVF5MM

Here ya go:

https://www.amazon.com/College-Pandas-ACT-Math-Advanced/dp/0989496473/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1501080359&sr=8-5&keywords=college+panda

This is the one that I've used: https://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Practice-Tests-College-Preparation/dp/1101881984

was this the book you used ACT Prep Red book?

https://smile.amazon.com/ACT-Prep-Red-Book-Strategies/dp/1494253879/ref=sr_1_13?keywords=act+red+book&qid=1564073363&s=gateway&sr=8-13

I'm not sure, I haven't opened them yet. But they've got tips to eliminate answers from some of the preview ones I saw.

Here's the ones I bought, you can preview them on the site if you want: https://www.amazon.com/Barrons-ACT-Flash-Cards-2nd/dp/0764167685/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1526237037&sr=8-16&keywords=barron%27s+flashcards

I'd go out and purchase a prep book. I have the Kaplan 8 ACT Practice Tests book. It's pretty cheap. You can go to the math section, try it, and then skip to the back where they have thorough explanations for each problem. They also categorize each problem under a math topic, so if you realize that you're weak in a particular topic, you can go to Khan Academy or something to relearn it.

Practice won't help you at this point, you're not scoring well due to a lack of understanding rather than a lack of knowledge. I suggest reading the first ~80 pages of the black book (https://www.amazon.com/SAT-Prep-Black-Book-Strategies/dp/0692916164/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=black+book&qid=1572112910&sr=8-1) (or try finding a PDF online).