How to get a better score on the ACT?

Elizabeth777, BSN, RN · Jun 27, 2017

You may want to try finding a forum that is geared towards ACTs, rather than a nursing one.

However, since you did post here, I'm going to say that it is highly unlikely that you will go from an 18 to a 30. This is comprehensive knowledge that can hardly be crammed for. If you do want to improve your scores, I suggest signing up for an in person class to focus on your worst areas.

kai_altair · Jul 7, 2017

Hi Alexis,

First of all, I'm assuming you're still in high school, hopefully with a good chunk of time left before college applications start. Just to make this clear, I've never heard of a student raising their score by more than a few points...most can raise their scores by around 3-4 points. Maybe if you study for a couple months you can raise it higher, but I highly doubt that you can make a 30.

As for studying, I would suggest taking an ACT specific class or getting a tutor. I took a class and my score the first time was much higher than expected. Of course, the class cost a lot. If you can't go to a class, I'd find out if your school has a college information center that can help you with ACT prep. Then I'd hit the books.

For the math section, are you having trouble pacing yourself (do you run out of time), or do you just not understand the questions. If you have trouble with the former, I'd suggest to take several practice exams. Math really isn't my strongest suit, but with practice, I managed to get a 27 on that portion. Just memorize the essential formulas, and practice practice practice. There's really no way to do better in math other than by practicing. You might want to read up on good test taking skills, i.e. skipping questions that you truly can't understand, and ones that will take more than 30 seconds to answer.

As for the English section, I'd read up on correct grammar(your, you're/it's, its), and punctuation (such as comma usage). Maybe look up the 100 most common ACT vocabulary words. When you see a passage, try to look at the questions before reading the passage. If there are simple vocabulary questions, or grammar ones, try to only read the sentence they occur in. For usage questions, read the entire paragraph. For general understanding questions, you have to read the entire passage. If you can, just skim through the section, but make sure to note key points. Remember than you can mark up your test book as much as you like, so I would underline as needed.

Welp, I hope that my rambling has helped you a bit!