ACT Prep help

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Ruggermom17

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Hello everyone. My DD scored 26 on her ACT when she was a Junior in HS. When she decided she wanted to pursue USMA, we enrolled her in Huntington Learning Center for their ACT prep program. It cost about 2K up front, BUT, their deal was that you would get a refund if you ended the program early. When they meet with you, you set goals and timeframes as to when you want to achieve your goal based on the ACT testing dates. She started the program in Feb and her goal was the June 2019 test date. Long story short, she completed the weekly sessions, the homework and in April she got a 32 on the ACT (her goal was a 30). At that point, we ended the program and got a refund from Huntington for the remaining sessions. I'm not employed by Huntington and have no vested interest in the company, but they got her to where she wanted to be very quickly. Just posting in case anyone is looking for help boosting scores.
 
Ruggermom17 said:
Hello everyone. My DD scored 26 on her ACT when she was a Junior in HS. When she decided she wanted to pursue USMA, we enrolled her in Huntington Learning Center for their ACT prep program. It cost about 2K up front, BUT, their deal was that you would get a refund if you ended the program early. When they meet with you, you set goals and timeframes as to when you want to achieve your goal based on the ACT testing dates. She started the program in Feb and her goal was the June 2019 test date. Long story short, she completed the weekly sessions, the homework and in April she got a 32 on the ACT (her goal was a 30). At that point, we ended the program and got a refund from Huntington for the remaining sessions. I'm not employed by Huntington and have no vested interest in the company, but they got her to where she wanted to be very quickly. Just posting in case anyone is looking for help boosting scores.
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Great results. Congrats to your DD
 
Ruggermom17 said:
Hello everyone. My DD scored 26 on her ACT when she was a Junior in HS. When she decided she wanted to pursue USMA, we enrolled her in Huntington Learning Center for their ACT prep program. It cost about 2K up front, BUT, their deal was that you would get a refund if you ended the program early. When they meet with you, you set goals and timeframes as to when you want to achieve your goal based on the ACT testing dates. She started the program in Feb and her goal was the June 2019 test date. Long story short, she completed the weekly sessions, the homework and in April she got a 32 on the ACT (her goal was a 30). At that point, we ended the program and got a refund from Huntington for the remaining sessions. I'm not employed by Huntington and have no vested interest in the company, but they got her to where she wanted to be very quickly. Just posting in case anyone is looking for help boosting scores.
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HUNTINGTON???? First off great job by your DD on a great ACT score! Thumbs down in my opinion on Huntington and here’s why....my older boy, Class of 2017 Grad went for an evaluation for test prep in his junior year of high school, probably 2012. While he was taking the evaluation test between SAT or ACT, my wife and I were in the managers office at Huntington getting the plan info and cost info etc. If I remember correctly they wanted $4000 for a bunch of tutoring for test prep. When my wife heard $4000 her jaw hit the ground and I guess the manager noticed her shock, the manager said “let me give you a few minutes to talk it over” she left us in her office for 5 minutes. As my wife was yelling at me I noticed a small red light on the bookshelf and realized it was a baby monitor!!! The manager left her office but was eavesdropping on us!!! When the manager returned her jaw hit the ground when she saw me holding the baby monitor. I told her I was calling the Star Ledger, CBS News and the BBB (which I never did but thank you for letting me finally vent about Huntington) we left immediately and eventually used a smaller local tutoring company with excellent results. I agree tutoring with hard work is required to achieve on standardized tests, but in my opinion not with Huntington! I wish your DD the very best and I hope she receives an appointment!
 
Wow! That's awful! Fortunately for us, not the same experience. All in all, the intended result was achieved.
 
If you can find a quality tutor they definitely can be worth it.
My son was disappointed in his ACT science score and his tutor, who was primarily preparing him for the SAT test, showed him a trick which raised his science score by 7 points. She wasn't cheap but it only cost me $10 dollars a point for the one hour session.
 
Overwhelmed said:
If you can find a quality tutor they definitely can be worth it.
My son was disappointed in his ACT science score and his tutor, who was primarily preparing him for the SAT test, showed him a trick which raised his science score by 7 points. She wasn't cheap but it only cost me $10 dollars a point for the one hour session.
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Overwhelmed can you share the science trick that you reference? My younger DS is a candidate for 2024 with a 31 composite but only a 26 Science score. He is retesting on Dec 14, any help is greatly appreciated!
 
We also did Huntington!
I do mean "we" because I had to PAY for it! $$$

If self prep and Khan/Books don't work, consider a private tutor or program, but make sure you set up the 3-4 month window and which exam(s) you are targeting. Be deliberate and make it a priority. Not the only one, but it has to be a high priority. Do not rely on just one test, make sure there are several chances in your window. Given what is happening now - harsh pre-determined curves, invalidated tests, etc, do NOT put all your eggs into one test!

Khan and books did not work for DD - there is always some schoolwork that would come first, and I could see she wasn't putting in the time or setting up a schedule for arguably the largest and most important part of a college application. She needed to physically go somewhere else, outside the house, dedicated to SAT/ACT time. Huntington gave a really good structure - decided to peak for Sept/Oct Junior year ACT and SAT - so that it would also piggyback and help her PSAT. Paid for 40 sessions, 4 months out starting when school was over and took the July ACT, Sept SAT, Oct ACT, and Oct PSAT. The idea was to have submission ready (and final) scores so she'd be done with standardized tests by the beginning of junior year. 33, 1420, 33, superscored to 34, improved from 29 and 1280. National Merit Commended. With the "1500" concordance superscore/1520 USNA superduper score, we considered that "Not immediately disqualified" and that she had "walked the bases" for SAT/ACT. She would have 1 more chance in each to "hit a home run" with the school administered SAT/ACT.

Huntington will want you to take practice tests along the way. DD opted to take the real tests instead, and also waived the initial test by already having the 29 score. After the first test 33 E36 M28 R36 S30 (the lucky .50!) W 7, we met and discussed fully switching gears and the remainder of the sessions to math and science, and writing since her goal was SAs who superscore; Plan B was single sitting schools. We eyed her particular civilian backups and she was in the merit aid band where a higher ACT/SAT score would not mean more money. Final test 33 E35 M31 R 36 S31 W 11 (the dreaded .25!). Math improved 25-28-31. SAT Math 580 - 720. Sent all scores to 4 SAs each exam, and I suspect that is how she was selected for CVW.

"We" did great!
Older DD "made" money in the merit aid differential! 28-34; 1370-1510
This DD - well, early still, but very promising so far! 29-34 ; 1280-1450
 
@Roadking
I spoke to DS. Basically, he said the main challenge of the science section is the time constraint. He said try to avoid reading the passages. He said most of the questions can be answered, with the exception of one section, through graphical and data analysis. He said your son will save a substantial amount of time which will allow him to answer more questions. Try it on a couple practice tests first to see if it is beneficial.
 
Overwhelmed said:
@Roadking
I spoke to DS. Basically, he said the main challenge of the science section is the time constraint. He said try to avoid reading the passages. He said most of the questions can be answered, with the exception of one section, through graphical and data analysis. He said your son will save a substantial amount of time which will allow him to answer more questions. Try it on a couple practice tests first to see if it is beneficial.
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Thank you very much! I will pass this on and fingers crossed!!!
 
From my experience with two children in college and reading multiple posts on the topic, here are my thoughts. Seek out multiple opinions from parents and students about test prep companies and tutors in your area. Use your best judgement to determine what is best for you/your child. There are definitely ACT and SAT test specific tips that can be gleaned from these services. What I believe made the biggest difference for my DS (current WP plebe) was three weeks prior to test date, committing to taking one practice test section 4-5 days per week. After taking practice test, he circled all the questions he got wrong then used the answer key, internet, tutor and/or high school teachers to help him understand WHY his answer was wrong and HOW to arrive at the correct answer. Using this method he raised his super-score SAT 200 points and ACT 4 points.
 
UFDMD said:
From my experience with two children in college and reading multiple posts on the topic, here are my thoughts. Seek out multiple opinions from parents and students about test prep companies and tutors in your area. Use your best judgement to determine what is best for you/your child. There are definitely ACT and SAT test specific tips that can be gleaned from these services. What I believe made the biggest difference for my DS (current WP plebe) was three weeks prior to test date, committing to taking one practice test section 4-5 days per week. After taking practice test, he circled all the questions he got wrong then used the answer key, internet, tutor and/or high school teachers to help him understand WHY his answer was wrong and HOW to arrive at the correct answer. Using this method he raised his super-score SAT 200 points and ACT 4 points.
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This!...and it’s free. Going over wrong answers and understanding why you got them wrong is key.
 
For those parents that are considering paying for a tutoring service I have some advice. First of all, I did not hire a tutoring service for my older DS (USMA Plebe Class of 2023), but I definitely considered it, and I do not think it is a bad idea, there are just too many people who’ve had success with tutoring services for me to be critical in light of the results. That being said, there is a significantly less expensive way to achieve the same or similar results. The last I checked there are six ACT practice tests and ten SAT practice tests available in PDF format for free download that can be printed and used for practice. These are actual SAT/ACT tests that were used and then retired for practice use.

Here is the method I used for my older DS (and am now using for my younger DS):
  • Study test taking tips & techniques from numerous, FREE online resources (youtube, prepscholar.com, magoosh.com, varsitytutors.com, etc.)
  • Print a copy of a retired SAT/ACT test and proctor the test to your DS/DD at a quiet location (Library or Church) using the exact same timing as the real test, and the tips & techniques they’ve learned. This will cost some money for reams of paper and printer ink. TIP: Have your DS/DD mark every question they are less-than-sure about while taking the test, then have them review those questions, even if they got them right, along with the questions they got wrong. If they’re unsure about a question, then that could be an area that needs strengthening even if they semi-guessed the right answer.
  • Buy a few books from Amazon.com (Princeton Review, Barron’s, Panda), The OFFICIAL SAT & ACT test books are essential. You can usually find used books on Amazon.com that are not marked up, and/or you can buy an older edition as they haven’t changed the format in years, so the older books are no less useful than the current ones.
  • RINSE & REPEAT!!!
When all is said & done you could achieve remarkable results using this method. It will require a great deal more of your time (plan on 4+ hours for every practice test), but it could save you thousands of dollars. Youtube is a GOLD DIAMOND mine of knowledge and information. Brilliant people love to share their knowledge, and they love to do it for FREE on Youtube.

They say that the proof is in the pudding…….well here’s the pudding:

SAT Date Composite EBRW Math Essay
October 7th, 2017 1320 660 660 2-2-3
December 2nd, 2017 1360 710 650 2-3-4
March 10th, 2018 1490 720 770 4-4-5
August 25th, 2018 1460 730 730 6-4-6

ACT Date Composite Math Science English Reading Essay
October 2017 27 28 28 21 31 6
December 2017 31 27 27 35 33 5
February 2018 33 32 29 35 36 6
July 2018 33 29 33 35 36 7

SAT Super-Score: 1500 (730 + 770)
ACT Super-Score: 34 (32 / 33 / 35 / 36)

Please don’t misunderstand, I’m not saying that hiring a tutoring service isn’t worth it. Some folks have more money than time and vice/versa. But for those of us that do not have a budget that can accommodate such an expense, and you have the time, energy and will to see this through, then this may be a viable option for you.
 
Excellent post @birdwatcher4125 !

To pay or not to pay, that is the question!

Just one data point WHY we paid: The expense was worth it for both my DDs. We don't belong to a club sport (varsity only), never paid for summer sports camps, private lessons, etc, no fees for JROTC, volunteering is free, so for both DD's activities, we weren't paying anything. I even don't believe in a "fastsuit" for DD unless she swims 2 sectional bonus times - she races in a Yingfa ("starter fastsuit for $49.99!) But when everyone around her was scoring 33's-34's - it surprised us and then DDs WANTED to do Huntington, and were COMMITTED to it - I think that is the main point - if you decide to go the tutoring route, make sure you and your child are going to buy into it 100% because parents aren't made of money! And why I feel it was such a big "we" including me! It is absolutely a financial commitment!!!

Summer rising Sophomore is a good time to take your first test, see which one you favor, and explore study methods - DD did Khan academy, but didn't improve, so this alerted us that a personal tutor/program would be better, and she did a group Princeton review paid by the district, but that wasn't effective either, moving at the pace of the slowest people in the group, which was far below her current level. So private tutoring it was!

We used the time to/from Huntington (summer rising Jr year) to get in her driving hours and then test for her license in August before Jr year. I also suggest getting your license during that summer to take another thing off your plate before the junior year beatdown.

The SAT free tests are also in book form if you want to splurge and buy it. We bought that and the Blackbook, which is the ANSWER KEY for the first 4 tests and they give DETAILED explanations for those. DD did those while waiting at the DMV for her license, etc.

Sorry about your experience @Roadking ! I think these are franchises so that was not a good one!
 
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@birdwatcher

SAT Date Composite EBRW Math Essay
October 7th, 2017 1320 660 660 2-2-3
December 2nd, 2017 1360 710 650 2-3-4
March 10th, 2018 1490 720 770 4-4-5
August 25th, 2018 1460 730 730 6-4-6

ACT Date Composite Math Science English Reading Essay
October 2017 27 28 28 21 31 6
December 2017 31 27 27 35 33 5
February 2018 33 32 29 35 36 6
July 2018 33 29 33 35 36 7

SAT Super-Score: 1500 (730 + 770)
ACT Super-Score: 34 (32 / 33 / 35 / 36)

Please don’t misunderstand, I’m not saying that hiring a tutoring service isn’t worth it. Some folks have more money than time and vice/versa. But for those of us that do not have a budget that can accommodate such an expense, and you have the time, energy and will to see this through, then this may be a viable option for you.[/QUOTE]

Awesome! Great job!
 
I would recommend Kaplan. It was like $400 and I had to drive him 30 minutes to the site ... he did very well on the SATs.
 
UFDMD said:
What I believe made the biggest difference for my DS (current WP plebe) was three weeks prior to test date, committing to taking one practice test section 4-5 days per week. After taking practice test, he circled all the questions he got wrong then used the answer key, internet, tutor and/or high school teachers to help him understand WHY his answer was wrong and HOW to arrive at the correct answer. Using this method he raised his super-score SAT 200 points and ACT 4 points.
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Bingo - this is exactly how my son improved his SAT scores...practice on the actual tests which are FREE from Kaplan.
 
birdwatcher4125 said:
Print a copy of a retired SAT/ACT test and proctor the test to your DS/DD at a quiet location (Library or Church) using the exact same timing as the real test, and the tips & techniques they’ve learned. This will cost some money for reams of paper and printer ink. TIP: Have your DS/DD mark every question they are less-than-sure about while taking the test, then have them review those questions, even if they got them right, along with the questions they got wrong. If they’re unsure about a question, then that could be an area that needs strengthening even if they semi-guessed the right answer.
Click to expand...

Obviously everyone has an opinion on this, and none are wrong. The one thing I learned taking these tests myself (SAT, Series 7, insurance....) is that you need to learn how actually take the test itself. The material is already known for the most part. My son would lock himself in a room with an actual practice test AND a timer, to learn how to take the the test under the pressure of working against the clock; how to skip over questions and go back, when to go for it if you have it down to 2 answers, that sort of thing. He realized when he first took the SAT that he simply didn't have time to finish. After the timed practice sessions, he scored 1500+ the last 3 times he took it (yes--he took it that many times. The last time was because he needed to take it with essay) and got an 800 in math each of those 3 times. The last time was with zero studying. He knew he knew the material, and he was confident on how to efficiently take the test.
 
brewmeist said:
Obviously everyone has an opinion on this, and none are wrong. The one thing I learned taking these tests myself (SAT, Series 7, insurance....) is that you need to learn how actually take the test itself. The material is already known for the most part. My son would lock himself in a room with an actual practice test AND a timer, to learn how to take the the test under the pressure of working against the clock; how to skip over questions and go back, when to go for it if you have it down to 2 answers, that sort of thing. He realized when he first took the SAT that he simply didn't have time to finish. After the timed practice sessions, he scored 1500+ the last 3 times he took it (yes--he took it that many times. The last time was because he needed to take it with essay) and got an 800 in math each of those 3 times. The last time was with zero studying. He knew he knew the material, and he was confident on how to efficiently take the test.
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Kudos to your DS brewmeist, that is next level motivation & proficiency!

I definitely agree that efficiency (Time Management) is definitely half the battle, maybe even more than half. A kid has got to know the material, but many a brilliant young academic has performed beneath their own expectations on these tests simply because they didn't take the time to intimately explore the structure and time constraints of the test format. I explained it to my boys this way: knowledge is an arrow, but test taking skill (especially Time Management) is the bow. You can throw an arrow to some limited effect, but you can shoot an arrow through armor if you fire it from a powerful bow.
 
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