17 replies to this topic

[Stone]

anybody here take the ACT if so do you have any tips for the test?

also what specifically is it on? (like essay? etc)?

[Hawk]

http://www.act.org/

[Jewbert]

I took the ACT my senior year.

One tip, don't spend too long on one question because they do not give you much time to do each section. Go with your first quess.
The reading section is LONG, be quick.

Uhh...just do well! Hehe.

[Stone]

I took the ACT my senior year.

One tip, don't spend too long on one question because they do not give you much time to do each section. Go with your first quess.
The reading section is LONG, be quick.

Uhh...just do well! Hehe.

do the results get sent to the colleges? my mom signed me up for it and im a freshman 0_O and i was told today i was going to take it

[Jewbert]

do the results get sent to the colleges? my mom signed me up for it and im a freshman 0_O and i was told today i was going to take it

As far as I know they only get sent to colleges you plan to attend or choose from a list....

[Insanedragonz]

As far as I know they only get sent to colleges you plan to attend or choose from a list....

Correct and they wont send until you agreed and picked the school you want to send the score to. You can do so at collegeboard.com

[foogie]

... is this another version of that SAT thing? D:

I would ask your instructor. lol

[jillian]

Collegeboard is SAT. And well, the ACT and SAT are both standardized tests for college admission but they aren't affiliated at all.

From my experience, the differences in the ACT and SAT are variety of problems and relative length of test. I was raised on the ACT so I go VERY QUICKLY on standardized tests. Actually the first time I took the SAT, I expected it to be as fast as the ACT and ended up with an extra 15 minutes at the end of the first section, and was sitting there wondering what I did wrong.

So yes. The ACT has you list four colleges specifically that you can send your scores to for free (this is optional). There's nothing wrong with sending your score to a school if you're young and don't get an optimum score, though I don't think your mom would send them anywhere without telling you. Also, the good thing about the ACT as opposed to SAT is that you pick and choose the scores that you send to each college (on the SAT you're forced to send every single score you've ever received). However, remember that no matter what, you can always improve and if you sent them one test with a 20 and then another a few years later with a 26, they'll either ignore the 20 or say "hey, look at that improvement, that's impressive"

Tips! Have a good attitude. Yeah, I know I know, but I'm totally serious. I don't just mean be happy, I mean, go in knowing it is possible to get a perfect score. Every kid I know has this stupid idea that it's impossible to get everything right, so they'll easily give up on a section. It's really really really possible to get a perfect score, and I'm sure that 75% of my score or more was due to me realizing that. I beat everyone in my grade by at least 5 points.

Go quickly. Don't read the instructions, you already know them. Skim the science experiments, skim the reading passages, go straight to numbers in math problems. It's all to the same pattern, they never try to slip trick questions in or confuse you on purpose. The ACT has nothing you don't already know. Also, there's no penalty for guessing so listen for the last time warning, fill everything in as you glance through the last problems to find a simple, short one. (Oh, but since you are a freshman, especially in math, ignore any problem that has a funny symbol or a technique you've never seen yet. I remember up until my junior year I ignored everything that mentioned circles. )

okay yeah. sorry for rambling but I LOVE standardized tests. They're what I'm good at. I'm terrible at homework, writing, that kinda stuff, but I'm a good test-taker. that's the other thing, don't be down if you don't get the score you wanted. Just remember that these tests don't test anything except how good you are at taking them. I'm a terrible student but like I said, I easily got the top scores in my high school. Doesn't make me smart or talented or anything. k? k.

[Alicia]

do the results get sent to the colleges? my mom signed me up for it and im a freshman 0_O and i was told today i was going to take it

It's not that odd to take it as a freshman, since you can take it as many times as you want. I took it today, and I'm a sophomore.

The only section I had trouble with was math, and i think I knew about half the answers...guessing ftw! The only section I didn't have alot of time at the end of was the science part- with everything else I had about 10 minutes or more left. I was the only one who did the writing part, and i got done in fifteen minutes, so I got to leave earlier.

[Stone]

It's not that odd to take it as a freshman, since you can take it as many times as you want. I took it today, and I'm a sophomore.

The only section I had trouble with was math, and i think I knew about half the answers...guessing ftw! The only section I didn't have alot of time at the end of was the science part- with everything else I had about 10 minutes or more left. I was the only one who did the writing part, and i got done in fifteen minutes, so I got to leave earlier.

ah okay.

so there is

science
math
english

3 sections total?

What is in Science (i dont know at all what is on the test )

[Chris]

i just took it today its my 2nd time. the test today was really easy compared to the one in december

[Stone]

i just took it today its my 2nd time. the test today was really easy compared to the one in december

tips? how long is it? xD im kind of worried, since i havent studied at all due to being told about it yesterday

[Chris]

Well, it is pretty long, 45 minutes for 75 english questions (pretty easy) 60 minutes for 60 math problems (pretty easy, but im pretty good at math) 45 minutes for 40 reading questions (i think?) and same for science(i think) well, never read the science passages, go right to the questions then go back to where in the passage it is. You probably wont finish the reading or science, so when they announce 5 minutes, fill in your remaining blanks then go back and maybe guess logically. for reading, do the ones that you find interesting first, there are 4 different articles, prose fiction, humanities, social science, and something else. there are 10 quesitons for each one. those are the hardest for me and i never seem to do well on it. But in kaplan they told us to take notes on the story to the side which helped me pretty well. for math, just keep track, work fast and remember, you get 1 minute per problem, so look up at the clock to see that you are on time. most of them are really easy, and remember, they are out to trick you. one tip about the act english is, the act usually likes the shortest answer ( NOT ALWAYS SO DONT PICK THE SHORTEST ONE) just like The person in the story, he is a very good person. or is a very good person you get it? the 2nd one would be shorter (not too good of an example, but i hope you see the point. um.. dont take too long, probably wont get done.. i think i covered most of it? but remember, you should take it more than once, you will almost most definatly do better

[Stone]

Well, it is pretty long, 45 minutes for 75 english questions (pretty easy) 60 minutes for 60 math problems (pretty easy, but im pretty good at math) 45 minutes for 40 reading questions (i think?) and same for science(i think) well, never read the science passages, go right to the questions then go back to where in the passage it is. You probably wont finish the reading or science, so when they announce 5 minutes, fill in your remaining blanks then go back and maybe guess logically. for reading, do the ones that you find interesting first, there are 4 different articles, prose fiction, humanities, social science, and something else. there are 10 quesitons for each one. those are the hardest for me and i never seem to do well on it. But in kaplan they told us to take notes on the story to the side which helped me pretty well. for math, just keep track, work fast and remember, you get 1 minute per problem, so look up at the clock to see that you are on time. most of them are really easy, and remember, they are out to trick you. one tip about the act english is, the act usually likes the shortest answer ( NOT ALWAYS SO DONT PICK THE SHORTEST ONE) just like The person in the story, he is a very good person. or is a very good person you get it? the 2nd one would be shorter (not too good of an example, but i hope you see the point. um.. dont take too long, probably wont get done.. i think i covered most of it? but remember, you should take it more than once, you will almost most definatly do better

amazing thank you Reading will probably be the worst section for me. xD

One more question, what types of questions do they ask in the Science question? As i do not have much knowledge in that area. (other than astronomy/some atom crap)

[Grizzly]

Also, the good thing about the ACT as opposed to SAT is that you pick and choose the scores that you send to each college (on the SAT you're forced to send every single score you've ever received). However, remember that no matter what, you can always improve and if you sent them one test with a 20 and then another a few years later with a 26, they'll either ignore the 20 or say "hey, look at that improvement, that's impressive"

Just to clarify.. although collegeboard sends all your SAT grades to colleges, most colleges (even the most selective ones) look at your highest grade. Some even mix and match your highest of each section.

For example:
You take the first time and you get a 500 in math and an 800 in english (1300)
You take it again and you get a 800 in math but a 500 in english (1300)
Some take the first english score and second math score so they actually count your grades as a 1600.
(Its out of 2400 now but you get the idea)

Theres a few though that average your two scores, so it's not always a good idea to take the test multiple times.

---

Anyways Stone, I'm assuming your taking it sometime soon? If you have a few days or something borrow a friend's prep book or something and just glance through the tests to get a taste of what its like. It will help if you knew what you were taking before you take it.

[Chris]

amazing thank you Reading will probably be the worst section for me. xD

One more question, what types of questions do they ask in the Science question? As i do not have much knowledge in that area. (other than astronomy/some atom crap)

all of them just ask you to interpret graphs. they dont require you to have knowledge about anything

by the way: for essays (if you are taking essay portion)
PLAN OUT WHAT YOUR ARGUMENT WILL BE!!! they will ask you a question like "do you think your school should serve soda at lunch" then you have to say your opinion, i never plan writing, but in this you have to otherwise you will forget. just take 2 minutes and write it down in the space they give you. then present the other side like lets say you chose to serve sode then say "well even though people think soda is not healthy, i think it provides energy required to get through the day" or something like that. stay on topic, and make it a clean and simple 3, 4 or 5 paragraph essay. (intro and conclusion dont forget )
also remember, THE TEST ISNT MEANT TO BE FUN! so you have to defeat the test by keeping a clear mind, dont think about anything else and focus as hard as you can... then look forward to going home afterwards once you get confused on these damn reading stories, it can take a lot out of you! trust me. half of the time i have to re read the sentences just to comprehend them.

[Cataliste]

Don't take too long per each question. Don't study. Sleep late. Don't eat breakfast. Don't stress.

It works, I did all of that and made a 28. PWNAGE.

I might take it again just to see if I can make 36.

[Hater_Boxden]

Collegeboard is SAT. And well, the ACT and SAT are both standardized tests for college admission but they aren't affiliated at all.

From my experience, the differences in the ACT and SAT are variety of problems and relative length of test. I was raised on the ACT so I go VERY QUICKLY on standardized tests. Actually the first time I took the SAT, I expected it to be as fast as the ACT and ended up with an extra 15 minutes at the end of the first section, and was sitting there wondering what I did wrong.

So yes. The ACT has you list four colleges specifically that you can send your scores to for free (this is optional). There's nothing wrong with sending your score to a school if you're young and don't get an optimum score, though I don't think your mom would send them anywhere without telling you. Also, the good thing about the ACT as opposed to SAT is that you pick and choose the scores that you send to each college (on the SAT you're forced to send every single score you've ever received). However, remember that no matter what, you can always improve and if you sent them one test with a 20 and then another a few years later with a 26, they'll either ignore the 20 or say "hey, look at that improvement, that's impressive"

Tips! Have a good attitude. Yeah, I know I know, but I'm totally serious. I don't just mean be happy, I mean, go in knowing it is possible to get a perfect score. Every kid I know has this stupid idea that it's impossible to get everything right, so they'll easily give up on a section. It's really really really possible to get a perfect score, and I'm sure that 75% of my score or more was due to me realizing that. I beat everyone in my grade by at least 5 points.

Go quickly. Don't read the instructions, you already know them. Skim the science experiments, skim the reading passages, go straight to numbers in math problems. It's all to the same pattern, they never try to slip trick questions in or confuse you on purpose. The ACT has nothing you don't already know. Also, there's no penalty for guessing so listen for the last time warning, fill everything in as you glance through the last problems to find a simple, short one. (Oh, but since you are a freshman, especially in math, ignore any problem that has a funny symbol or a technique you've never seen yet. I remember up until my junior year I ignored everything that mentioned circles. )

okay yeah. sorry for rambling but I LOVE standardized tests. They're what I'm good at. I'm terrible at homework, writing, that kinda stuff, but I'm a good test-taker. that's the other thing, don't be down if you don't get the score you wanted. Just remember that these tests don't test anything except how good you are at taking them. I'm a terrible student but like I said, I easily got the top scores in my high school. Doesn't make me smart or talented or anything. k? k.

Actually only some colleges accept ACTs. Like i know alot of really big colleges wont accept them. Most State colleges do though but prefer you take the SAT because SAT is harder. ACT is basically all problems u learn in school and are taught to do. SAT has those combined with tricks and twists. Though it is well known that there are patterns and tricks u can do yourself to make the test easy you have to study alot of vocabulary and math. SAT is basically harder. Also what i don't think Jillian said was in SAT you have to go in order. Math, Reading, Harder Math, Harder Reading, and then essay.