ACT Scores

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gm152

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Hello. I am currently in the process of re-applying to USAFA. I applied last year, but it did not work out as I had hoped. I received a nomination to the USMA but did not get in nor did I get offered an appointment to USAFA. I am currently a Sophomore in college. My ACT super-score is a 25, which is pretty low in comparison to others who are applying. I have taken the test about 5 times, and even retook it last year as a college Freshman. The math section is where I struggled the most due to not having taken the proper math classes yet. Should I try and retake the test again to improve my scores? Since I am already in college will they focus more on my college performance? My resume has even improved since last year, adding Civil Air Patrol, Air Force ROTC, and a new job. I am hoping this also improves my chances, but I know that nothing is guaranteed. I guess I am just looking for the best advice in this situation. I know it cannot hurt to take the ACT once more, but obviously I am not sure what my score outcome will be. I am uncertain of what I should do in this situation. Thank you in advance.
 
People will chime in on this with a million suggestions, but I feel compelled to ask:

"Have you taken an SAT yet? if so, how did you do?"

Many test takers take both and find for different reasons they may do appreciably better on one vs. another. Taking a full, timed SAT practice test may be worth it to see what happens.
 
TheRightStuff said:
People will chime in on this with a million suggestions, but I feel compelled to ask:

"Have you taken an SAT yet? if so, how did you do?"

Many test takers take both and find for different reasons they may do appreciably better on one vs. another. Taking a full, timed SAT practice test may be worth it to see what happens.
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I have not taken the SAT before only the PSAT which does not count, however I did decent on it. Should the SAT be a direction I look at going towards?
 
You can't go wrong with taking an official practice test, under timed and test conditions. 4 hours out of your life and you will have an answer on what your aptitude on an SAT will look like.

If you search, there are "concordance tables" where it shows what an ACT to SAT score looks like for comparison. Once you have taken that SAT practice test, check it out:

 
As a test taker of both I found the only section I struggled on was math for act. I'm an A student in math, however when I took the SAT it was much easier. I believe this was because you have more time and certain sections that are heavily covered in the ACT are smaller in the SAT. I recommend as stated above take a practice test then see how you did especially if you seem to not be improving like I was. If there's anything you need to refresh on for SAT khan academy is free and can take old scores to tailor to you. Let me know if there's anything I can help on!
 
Have you taken any prep courses? I personally think these prep courses creates an unfair playing field (some can afford 10K for personal ACT tutoring, others can barely scrape together enough for the registration fee). That said, if you can afford it, go with an established prep firm. In my area, the general rule of thumb is that every 1K you invest in prep, your score moves up between 1-2 points. There are also some less expensive options online, and Khan Academy offers free SAT prep which can also help with ACT prep. Good luck.
 
From what I've seen the math section is the most important part to academy admissions. If you're having trouble with the math, there are plenty of free resources online - Khan Academy has literally days worth of SAT prep material to go through, and it's completely free. Local libraries usually carry some ACT prep books as well.

The math section can be intimidating, but there's nothing on there that can't be solved in a minute if you know how to approach the problem. If you haven't had a lot of formal math classes, it doesn't take too long to learn the math on an ACT or SAT - once again, Khan Academy and plenty of other websites have free courses on algebra, trigonometry, and basic statistics. Obviously if you can afford an actual tutor as @DeepWaters says that's your best bet, but if not Khan Academy is what I recommend.
 
Definitely take the SAT, or at least a practice test. I think I scored a 29 on the ACT math section right out of the gate (which is about a 680 on the conversion table) but my first attempt at the SAT math section netted me a 760 math...

Now - I went on to major in math and physics, but the point holds - even without any prep (which you should definitely do), my score was much higher on the SAT. I just found it way easier. The questions are asked a little differently and the timing is different, and for some people, one test is much easier than the other. If you are meeting the math course requirements for USAFA (https://www.academyadmissions.com/requirements/academic/) then you should definitely have had all the necessary math courses for the SAT or ACT. If you haven't taken math through pre-calc, the hard truth is you would not be academically successful at USAFA - the core math and science courses put A LOT of cadets on academic probation freshman year and USAFA has high requirements for math background and test scores so they can be confident you will be successful.
 
USAFA10s said:
Definitely take the SAT, or at least a practice test. I think I scored a 29 on the ACT math section right out of the gate (which is about a 680 on the conversion table) but my first attempt at the SAT math section netted me a 760 math...
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This describes me, except backwards! I took the PSAT and did ok on the math section but crushed the math section of the ACT. Each person is different, and the ACT and SAT are very different. Definitely take both the ACT and SAT before you decide which one to put all your marbles into.
 
DeepWaters said:
Have you taken any prep courses? I personally think these prep courses creates an unfair playing field (some can afford 10K for personal ACT tutoring, others can barely scrape together enough for the registration fee). That said, if you can afford it, go with an established prep firm. In my area, the general rule of thumb is that every 1K you invest in prep, your score moves up between 1-2 points. There are also some less expensive options online, and Khan Academy offers free SAT prep which can also help with ACT prep. Good luck.
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My sons both took reasonably priced prep classes ($300ish) and boosted their ACT scores by 3-4 points landing in mid 30s. I highly recommend looking into one in your area.
 
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