Low ACT Math score?

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shel816

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Feb 25, 2019
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Hello, I'm a junior from Mississippi and I plan on applying to USAFA, but I'm worried about my current ACT scores. I've taken the test twice (October 2018 and February 2019), but only have my scores from one test, but I doubt I went up in the Math section.

October 2018:
31 Composite
34 English
33 Science
32 Reading
23 Math (hold the applause, please)

I know that USAFA highly values math, and I'm afraid it would disqualify me. I'm aware that they superscore the ACT, so should I plan to retake, say, in June or July and drill myself on math until I can get it at least to a 30. My ACT is all I really have aside from my 3.8 GPA and 5 class rank, since my school doesn't offer any AP or IB courses (being Mississippi). I do plan on taking college courses next year, though (though I don't know if I can put that on my application). If I should drill myself on math, are there any good prep programs out there that I should look into to compensate for the lack of higher-level math courses? If I don't end up hitting that goal, is there anything I can do to compensate via extracurriculars?

Any suggestions and input would be highly welcome.
 
I would definitely recommend that you go to Khan Academy and brush up on your math skills there. It is really helpful since I took the PSAT and scored around 300 for the math section and increased it to 520 my second time. Overall, I am most impressed with your other scores in English, Science, and Reading. Your class rank is very good, so don't focus on getting a weighted GPA past a 4.0 unless it hinders upon your competitive rank to not go for extra courses.

To make yourself even more competitive for USAFA, I would recommend participating in a school sport or at least a club sport. Varsity letters in any sport will be bound to boost your chances as it shows admissions that you are capable of juggling around a heavy schedule and that you are well-rounded in the fields of academics, extracurriculars, and physical strength, to which a sport covers both extracurriculars and physical exertion.

If you want, I would recommend you also go for leadership positions in clubs in your schools or any community organization, such as a police explorer program. Once again, it shows that you are well-rounded and capable of taking on the schedule that USAFA will give you if you are accepted.

To wrap it up, I highly recommend you lock in why you want to attend the Air Force Academy as your interviews will be heavily revolved, if not entirely, on this subject. Keep your spirits high and never forget that you have come this far to back down now. I have no regret that you will make it in if you keep on pushing yourself beyond your limits using your own zeal to attend this academy and to ultimately serve our nation in its highest craft.

Keep fighting the good fight and always keep working hard.
 
+1 to @The Big Slides. And don’t worry about the fact that your school doesn’t offer AP classes. SAs want you to take the hardest classes your school has to offer. It will have a school profile and will know what’s available to you. They know that you can’t take what your school doesn’t offer.
 
My son took Kaplan for SAT. Well worth it.

His pre-test rose by 200 total points to a great score - including an 800 on math.

The course gives strategies that are very useful. They also do a lot of repetition ... you will recognize questions on the test.

My son just bought the Kaplan SAT book from Barnes and Noble for his girlfriend. 20 bucks.
 
The Big Slides said:
I would definitely recommend that you go to Khan Academy and brush up on your math skills there. It is really helpful since I took the PSAT and scored around 300 for the math section and increased it to 520 my second time. Overall, I am most impressed with your other scores in English, Science, and Reading. Your class rank is very good, so don't focus on getting a weighted GPA past a 4.0 unless it hinders upon your competitive rank to not go for extra courses.

To make yourself even more competitive for USAFA, I would recommend participating in a school sport or at least a club sport. Varsity letters in any sport will be bound to boost your chances as it shows admissions that you are capable of juggling around a heavy schedule and that you are well-rounded in the fields of academics, extracurriculars, and physical strength, to which a sport covers both extracurriculars and physical exertion.

If you want, I would recommend you also go for leadership positions in clubs in your schools or any community organization, such as a police explorer program. Once again, it shows that you are well-rounded and capable of taking on the schedule that USAFA will give you if you are accepted.

To wrap it up, I highly recommend you lock in why you want to attend the Air Force Academy as your interviews will be heavily revolved, if not entirely, on this subject. Keep your spirits high and never forget that you have come this far to back down now. I have no regret that you will make it in if you keep on pushing yourself beyond your limits using your own zeal to attend this academy and to ultimately serve our nation in its highest craft.

Keep fighting the good fight and always keep working hard.
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I'm in JROTC, so would P.T. Team qualify as "athletics" or not? Also, for the one sport I planned on going out for (track and field), I missed tryouts due to factors outside of my control. All other sports are pretty much done at my school for this year. I plan on running next year, but I feel like it would be too late by then.
 
I'm a junior going into my senior year planning to do track. For me, I already have club sports, Jiu-Jitsu and MMA, on my resume, but it is never too late. JROTC looks good on your resume, especially if this unit has received any commendation or if you hold a leadership position in your unit. JROTC PT only counts towards physical education credits so I would not count it in as a sport. Realistically, a sport won't do much but increase your chances, but ideally, you should try in order to gain that competitive edge. Do note that even if you do have a 'spot on' resume, that won't carry you as much as a strong dedication to being apart of these service institutions. I hope I've helped and I do wish you the best of luck in applying to whichever academy you want to go into.
 
Your ACT scores, GPA, and grades prove that you are a very intelligent individual. As others have mentioned, find a program that you are comfortable with to help you nail the math. I've mentioned in an older post that I needed to take the Series 7 exam for my profession. It's an ugly 6 hour long exam with a lot of math and regulation questions. All I did the weeks prior to the real exam was to take many TIMED practice tests. I encouraged all my children to do the same for their SAT exams. Yes, you need to learn the content, but you also need to learn how to actually take the test itself, and I think many people don't appreciate that. So when you are comfortable with the content, lock yourself in a room, turn on a timer, and take a real practice test. Take as many timed practice tests as you can! Get used to the pressure and how to skip questions, how to go back to them, etc.

I mentioned the SAT. You might want to see if that is available to you. I have heard that many people perform better in one test vs the other.
 
"I'm in JROTC, so would P.T. Team qualify as "athletics" or not? Also, for the one sport I planned on going out for (track and field), I missed tryouts due to factors outside of my control. All other sports are pretty much done at my school for this year. I plan on running next year, but I feel like it would be too late by then."

Definitely run your senior year and if your JROTC unit has raiders or orienteering you should definitely do it. It's never too late.
 
shel816 said:
Hello, I'm a junior from Mississippi and I plan on applying to USAFA, but I'm worried about my current ACT scores. I've taken the test twice (October 2018 and February 2019), but only have my scores from one test, but I doubt I went up in the Math section.

October 2018:
31 Composite
34 English
33 Science
32 Reading
23 Math (hold the applause, please)

I know that USAFA highly values math, and I'm afraid it would disqualify me. I'm aware that they superscore the ACT, so should I plan to retake, say, in June or July and drill myself on math until I can get it at least to a 30. My ACT is all I really have aside from my 3.8 GPA and 5 class rank, since my school doesn't offer any AP or IB courses (being Mississippi). I do plan on taking college courses next year, though (though I don't know if I can put that on my application). If I should drill myself on math, are there any good prep programs out there that I should look into to compensate for the lack of higher-level math courses? If I don't end up hitting that goal, is there anything I can do to compensate via extracurriculars?

Any suggestions and input would be highly welcome.
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I would focus on your classes that you are taking, position your self with athletics and do something in leadership that sets you apart from others. The kahn academy is great to push yourself and to position yourself in math. I would look at a few study courses that preps you for the ACT. The act site itself has practice problems and practice test in preparation for your ACT. Since the ACT is superscored, I would focus on your math portion on your next ACT and keep taking it until you score your desired mark.
 
My DS is in his second year at USAFA (from MS as well) and had the same problem with the ACT, he was in the upper 30's in all categories except math. He pulled a 27 one time but was a consistent 24 in math. Keep taking the test as often as it's given and follow the advice others have pointed out and do as much prep work as possible. Totally focus on the math, if your other scores go down it does not matter because as you mentioned, all SA's super score.

Definitely go out for track or any other sport you think you can participate in. You do not have to be a superstar, they just want to see you active in sports because athletics is a big part of academy life.

One last piece of advice, during your senior year, take the most difficult math courses you can handle. My DS went as high as college algebra in high school and really struggled his Doolie year at USAFA. Calculus I is the introductory math at USAFA and the most failed course there.

Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions.
 
If you can take college courses: DO IT!!!!!!!!! Of course, those grades you earn will count at any SA (not for validation necessarily, but proof you're taking the most difficult courses possible for you in your circumstances).
 
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