ACT help

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PG#7

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Hi guys. I am a 2025 high school grad looking who is really interested in serving my country in the armed forces. Plan A is obviously attending a service academy followed by plan B of going the ROTC route. I am a 2 sport athlete (cross country, Baseball) and am a captain on both teams. I am currently enrolling in a Brazillian jiu-jitsu class. I am currently testing for the Mitchell, and I am one of the commanders for the color guard in my CAP unit. At the moment, I have a 3.9 GPA, am a member of NHS, and am active in a couple of school clubs. I have attended the USNA summer stem, USNA summer baseball leadership camp, and the USAFA baseball camp. I will also be applying to all of the seminars for next summer.

Now for the downside. I attend a very small rural school that does not offer advanced courses. I have taken the ACT twice and my best score was an 18 with a superscore of 19. In order to help remedy this, I took 2 math classes at the local community college this past summer and I am currently taking one this semester. The reason for this is twofold. First I want to improve the strength of my diploma and secondly to help increase my ACT. I am also using the available materials on the ACT website. My question is, have you guys found anything that really helps boost the ACT by a significant margin? I figure that I need to increase my score to at least a 28 to be competitive in the academic area. Sorry for being long-winded, and thanks for the input.
 
Excellent resume, other than the ACT.

I would take the SAT as well - some find that easier. I would also sign up for a course or tutor, and money is an issue there are free resources.

Work hard at it.
 
My DD improved significantly by hiring a private tutor. It's very expensive though. A good private tutor will cost at least $100/hour or more. She went from low 20s to a super score of 31. She did work very, very hard though, and took the test 5 times. I also hear the Red ACT official study guide is very good and you can purchase that from Amazon for $75, a much cheaper option.
 
The ACT is an easier test to prep for than the SAT from my personal experience. My advcice is this: sign up to take it twice. Take an advanced math class, preferably calc or pre-calc. That will help with the math section. Spend a moderate amount of time studying for the test itself.

A great site to find old test forms is crackab.com. Preferably take tests issued in the 2010s, as those will be most similar to the modern test. I would usually just study by taking one timed practice test section per night. One night 45 minutes of english, next night 60 minutes of math, etc.

Learn how to manage time, as thats the biggest element of the ACT to improve upon. It's all about thinking clearly and logically under pressure / in a time crunch. Bring a stopwatch to the test, they're allowed. Use a stopwatch when taking practice tests too. My time management for the ACT was this:

English: Aim to spend 8.5 minutes per section.

Math: try to get the first 40 questions done in 30 minutes. The math section gets more difficult as it goes on. That leaves you 30 minutes for the last 20 questions.

Reading: 8.5 minutes per section. 4 sections in 35 minutes, 3 minutes to spare. Some reading sections are harder than others.

Science: in each science section there are 3 'data analysis' sections, 3 'research summary' sections, and 1 'conflicting viewpoints' section. Most people find the conflicting viewpoints section the hardest, so if it's harder for you too then leave that section for last. DO NOT read the passages for the data analysis passages. Go straight to the questions and look at the graphs when needed. You'll start to put together what the passage is about anyways as you're working through the questions. For the reasearch summary and conflicting viewpoints sections DO read the passages. You should spend about 4 minutes on the data analysis sections, 5.5 minutes on the research summary sections, and 6.5 minutes on conflicting viewpoints.

If you need any more advice or study materials DM me. Credentials: 36E,30M,35R,35S. Good luck!!! Study hard.
 
Test-taking technique can improve. Practice can help too. But managing time better or repeatedly testing may not be enough. After practicing, are you consciously, deliberately reviewing what you missed, diagnosing any patterns or themes, and figuring out exactly how to achieve the right answer?

It’s been said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, hoping for a different result. So the antidote is this intentional studying of what went wrong, asking why and then actually learning the logic.

PG#7 said:
Plan A is obviously attending a service academy followed by plan B of going the ROTC route.
Click to expand...
Why do you say “obviously”? Prestige, challenge, setting, single-minded focus, like-minded classmates — those are all very good reasons to favor an SA. But they don’t necessarily make it the obvious choice for any individual. Look instead for the BESF FIT. For many, that best fit is ROTC or OCS, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

DD’s perceived best fit was an SA, and it turned out so. DS’s perceived best fit was ROTC, and it’s turned out so. All accession sources result in butter bars, and once on AD, no one gives a diddly how you got those bars.

So keep plugging away at the ACT (or the SAT). Pursue your goal of becoming a commissioned officer. But also be open to other paths.
 
MidCakePa said:
Test-taking technique can improve. Practice can help too. But managing time better or repeatedly testing may not be enough. After practicing, are you consciously, deliberately reviewing what you missed, diagnosing any patterns or themes, and figuring out exactly how to achieve the right answer?

It’s been said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, hoping for a different result. So the antidote is this intentional studying of what went wrong, asking why and then actually learning the logic.


Why do you say “obviously”? Prestige, challenge, setting, single-minded focus, like-minded classmates — those are all very good reasons to favor an SA. But they don’t necessarily make it the obvious choice for any individual. Look instead for the BESF FIT. For many, that best fit is ROTC or OCS, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

DD’s perceived best fit was an SA, and it turned out so. DS’s perceived best fit was ROTC, and it’s turned out so. All accession sources result in butter bars, and once on AD, no one gives a diddly how you got those bars.

So keep plugging away at the ACT (or the SAT). Pursue your goal of becoming a commissioned officer. But also be open to other paths.
Click to expand...
I just stated obviously as I was in the service academy side of the forum. After visiting 3 of the academies and talking to numerous cadets and midshipmen, I feel like they are the place for me. Not shortchanging the ROTC programs as they may be the only option for me moving forward, but I love what USAFA has to offer in the way of soaring, jumping, and powered flight, as well as other opportunities. These activities will be minimal at the average university. I am also a huge fan of Coach Kaz with the baseball team. Talking with him and the players have really opened my eyes and given me some really needed insight into the offerings of an academy. My number one goal is to be an officer, preferably in the USAF, and I know that there are many paths that lead there.
 
With that ACT score your best hope for admission is to get recruited and go through prep. Not sure if your game is on that level, but such a low math score makes you inadmissible by USAFA’s own published standards.
 
Try the SAT. DS did much better on the SAT and used Khan academy to raise his score dramatically.
 
Korab said:
With that ACT score your best hope for admission is to get recruited and go through prep. Not sure if your game is on that level, but such a low math score makes you inadmissible by USAFA’s own published standards.
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He has a full year to study and raise the score. He is high school class of '25. He is very wise to be tackling this now.
 
Prep. Private tutor if possible. If that isn't an option, Khan Academy, practice ACT / SAT books, and practice tests. Take the SAT as well. There is no drawback to taking them multiple times. I hope you are registered for the next available tests. Ask for help from your teachers.
 
DS used these two books last year. They go together, the black book refers to the red book. Make sure that the red book is 2018 edition, so you may have to buy used and erase the answers. He said they really helped him. Key is to do a lot of timed practice tests. Good luck to you.

Amazon.com: ACT Prep Black Book: The Most Effective ACT Strategies Ever Published: 9780692078396: Barrett, Mike, Barrett, Patrick: Books

Amazon.com: ACT Prep Black Book: The Most Effective ACT Strategies Ever Published: 9780692078396: Barrett, Mike, Barrett, Patrick: Books
www.amazon.com

 
PLC007 said:
DS used these two books last year. They go together, the black book refers to the red book. Make sure that the red book is 2018 edition, so you may have to buy used and erase the answers. He said they really helped him. Key is to do a lot of timed practice tests. Good luck to you.

Amazon.com: ACT Prep Black Book: The Most Effective ACT Strategies Ever Published: 9780692078396: Barrett, Mike, Barrett, Patrick: Books

Amazon.com: ACT Prep Black Book: The Most Effective ACT Strategies Ever Published: 9780692078396: Barrett, Mike, Barrett, Patrick: Books
www.amazon.com

Click to expand...
These books are very good as well as the SAT Prep Black Book! I am an SAT/ACT tutor and use them a lot. However, my students only improve if they put in the work. That means practice, practice, practice. Most of my students know the material but need help applying what they know to a timed test. Some of my advanced students need good algebra and geometry review because they are so far removed from those classes. Kahn Academy has a great free SAT program so I encourage my students to utilize that as well. The Kahn test prep stuff will also help the ACT.

Definitely take the SAT. Both test cover the same material but in different ways. The ACT is faster (less time per problem) but the problems are straight-forward. The SAT gives more time per problem but the questions are tricker.

One of my boys was able to increase his SAT score by 350 points so it is possible. He knew the material but had never taken a standardized test before. We worked on reading speed and not fully working out math problems which solved his time management problems and allowed his to display his true scoring potential.

The good news is that you have a lot of time!
 
Khan Academy and take practice tests. Look at what you got wrong, figure out why you got it wrong.

Also, as others have said, give the SAT a try. It's not unusual to do better on one as opposed to the other. You got this!
 
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