COllege Admissions News and ACT / SAT Strategy

Recently, a number of students who have worked with MyGuru for ACT or SAT tutoring have followed up asking about SAT subject tests.  Their main question has been which SAT subject tests should I take?

Though there are many factors that play into the college admissions process, your score on the ACT carries a lot of weight.  It can influence not only what colleges you get accepted to, but also the availability and amount of scholarship funds, and is therefore not to be underestimated.  If you weren’t the best student in high school, and thus don’t have the best grades, doing well on the ACT represents an opportunity to partially make up for less than stellar academic performance in high school.  So, it can really be viewed as an exciting opportunity, instead of a stressful requirement.

With that in mind, here are 5 strategies you can apply to get the best score possible.

Strategies 1 and 2: Before the Test

Study Comprehensively 

We’re taught to be modest – not to brag or talk too much about ourselves. But when you write your college essay, you’re forced to do the exact opposite, and that shift can make students uncomfortable. It’s hard to strike the right tone in writing or speaking about yourself, especially when you’re discussing something at which you excel. Here are some tips on how to write about your accomplishments without bragging (hint: they’re all about showing rather than telling).

Show what you’ve learned

Talking about your achievements shouldn’t be a list. It should be a discussion. Focus on just one - or a few - accomplishments instead of listing every single one, and then give more details and context to measure your success. What skills have you developed as a result of excelling at an academic subject, a sport, or hobby? What happened the first time you tried, and how is it different now that you’re more experienced? If you naturally excelled from the start, how have you managed to keep challenging yourself and to hold your interest over time? If you didn’t succeed at first, what kept you from giving up?

Have you thought about starting your college applications this fall? If so, you should spend some time considering which teachers you want to write your college recommendation.

Math is a subject that most students either love or hate.  In either case, preparing thoroughly for the Math section of the ACT is important in order to do your best.  If math is not your strongest subject, building a solid foundation of understanding will be important for maintaining a decent overall score.  If math comes easily for you, reviewing will still be important in order to fill in the gaps in your knowledge, especially if you want your score to truly reflect your ability.  Either way, this series of posts gives you valuable strategies that will help you maximize your score.  This post is the third of a three part series that looks at strategies for acing the ACT Math section.

Math is a subject that most students either love or hate.  In either case, preparing thoroughly for the Math section of the ACT is important in order to do your best.  If math is not your strongest subject, building a solid foundation of understanding will be important for maintaining a decent overall score.  If math comes easily for you, reviewing will still be important in order to fill in the gaps in your knowledge, especially if you want your score to truly reflect your ability.  Either way, this series of posts gives you valuable strategies that will help you maximize your score.  This post is the second of a three part series that looks at strategies for acing the ACT Math section. 

Strategy #4: Budget Your Time

Since the ACT is a timed test, using your time and focus effectively will have a huge effect on the outcome.  Sixty minutes for sixty questions may seem like plenty of time, but the questions cover a range of difficulties, and some will take much longer than a minute, which means that others will have to take much less.  For example, suppose you take two minutes to complete one problem.  Then you will have to complete two problems in only thirty seconds to make up for this time.  If it took you three minutes to answer one problem, you would have to answer three more in only twenty seconds each to stay on par.  And a six-minute problem would cost you six ten-second problems!  So, if a problem is taking too much time or draining your ability to focus, don’t be afraid to skip it and come back to it if you have time.  Since all of the questions count the same regardless of their difficulty, the more you are able to answer the better.