You should take both the SAT and ACT. Personally, myself, I found the ACT much easier, but I want a science major. The SAT is more analytical and there’s a lot more reading and writing. The SAT consists of 10 different sections on the test, each one varying in time and subject. There are three subjects on the test, Critical Reading, Writing, and Math. On the ACT the questions per subject are given all in blocks. You will have an hour to however many reading questions, an hour to do math questions, etc. The sections on the ACT are writing, reading, math, and science. But don’t worry about having to study science really. The ACT science section is really just interpreting graphs that they give you. You don’t need to have much science knowledge at all to answer the questions, you just need to know how to read charts, graphs, or diagrams. The ACT is also about 20 minutes shorter than the SAT, which may not seem like a lot, but when you’re in a test for four hours, it definitely is. You are also given 5 more minutes on your essay I believe, which definitely makes writing a lot easier. You can familiarize yourelf with the test on www.act.org and then click on the test. I only learned about the sections, directions, and questions. I didn’t prep nearly as much as I did for the SAT [because I live in an SAT dominated region] and did much better on the ACT [an SAT equivalent of about 200 points higher than my actual SAT score].They are scored very differently. On the SAT there is no loss of points if you omit a question, but 1/4 of a point loss if you get one wrong. So on the SAT its best to leave it blank if you don’t know. On the ACT, there is no penalty for guessing and getting a question wrong. They encourage you to answer every question. That increases your chances of getting more right and you don’t lose any points. You only gain points for the ones you get right. I’d definitely recommend checking it out. There are books and prep courses out there too.

Well, for the reading part, you can start reading 2 hours a night at bedtime to prepare, because it will take a while to start slowly increasing your reading comprhension and acquiring a large fund of vocab words.

Go the library, get a stack of novels and start reading. Suggestions, Tamora Pierce, Eragon series, if you like fantasy, Battlefield Earth (long but great, especially the first half, after the rescue of all it sort of gets a little boring, although still funny when the “little gray man” comes calling”, and Day of the Triffids (my brother said it was the best book he ever read as a teen) if science fiction.

If you like terror, read “Coma”, that scene in the freezer terrified me.

Classics? Pride and Prejudice, hands down. Every girl can related to Elizabeth’s chagrin when she finds out she had been deceived.

Biographies: Madame Curie by Eve Curie. Just a beautifully written book (and it will increase your vocab, if you need that incentive to read this absorbing book).

I love Irving Stone’s biographies. He wrote about Michelangelo. Imagine, Michelangelo said he could feel what the marble was telling him about where to cut. He would be cutting thru the middle of the marble and just knew where to cut. Mystical.

Historical novels: James Michener’s books actually give a lot of the true history of a place when he writes his stories.

The HOt Zone if you want to scare yourself (about the Ebola virus), and also E.coli 0157 to really understand those e.coli infections people are getting from places like Jack in the Box hamburger fast-food restaurants. A mom’s terror as her handsome son got the infection and not much was known about how to treat it–in fact, her son’s care, which was pure hunch and guesswork by one great physician, illuminated the best path to treatment.

All this with one little question! Sorry, I do love reading and get carried away.

With math, well, it is algebra, geometry and trig (some), so start working with workbooks now, like half an hour a day.

Science seems to kill everyone. My gifted kids all got either 24 or 26, even the one with an excellent science background. I have heard it is a bunch of charts that have to be read quickly, someone else said studying statistics to prepare for that science test might be more worthwhile.

Writing? Someone wrote a really good answer to this whole question within the last 3 weeks. Why don’t you key in this question where it says to check the qustion history, I think it might be below the

ASK ANSWER DISCOVER line. You can find that great answer that way. Some Asian guy, as I recall, answered with a numbered list!

Good luck.

I had already gotten a perfect composite score by the end of my sophomore year, so it’s never too early to start preparing for the ACT. The best book out there for ACT prep is “The Real ACT Prep Guide.” I also almost always recommend the Princeton Review series for any test prep needs, and http://www.sparknotes.com/testprep/act/ is always a good online resource. Check out http://www.act.org/aap/ for some straight ACT facts.

If you can, you should take the ACT and SAT early, around sophomore year, so that you will have time to retake them if you have problems (didn’t study enough, bad day, etc.). Also, I would recommend looking into the PSAT, if you get a high enough score in your junior year you may qualify for some really good scholarships.

You can start now. Get The Real ACT Guide and take some practice tests. You can also go to the ACT website and do some practice problems.

Hi our busy bee,

You can look up the following sites:

ACT Assessment Test

The ACT is designed to assess high school students’ general educational development and their ability to complete college-level work. Site includes registration …www.act.org/aap – 5k – Cached

ACT Student

Student site for ACT test takers includes test dates and deadlines, registration help, costs, information for students with disabilities, and score information. …www.actstudent.org – 8k – Cached

ACT

Administers the ACT college admissions test. Also provides other assessment, research, information, and program management services in the broad areas of education …www.act.org – 5k – Cached

ACT!

Easy-to-use, scalable, and customizable contact management and CMR solution from Sage Software.www.act.com – 36k – Cached

The ACT – The Princeton Review

Offers classroom and online courses as well as private tutoring to help students prepare for the ACT.princetonreview.com/college/testprep/testprep.asp?TPRPAGE=2&TYPE=ACT – 30k – Cached

ACT – Kaplan Test Prep

Offers ACT classroom training, online courses, and tutoring as well as training books and software.www.kaptest.com/Kaplan/3/College/ACT – 42k – Cached

Number2.com: ACT

Offers free test prep for the ACT. Includes tutorial, vocabulary builder, and word of the day.www.number2.com/exams/act/index.cfm?s=4xg2qzitbb9SeuwYH1EzhlWr – 33k – Cached

ACT Test – Peterson’s

Peterson’s has everything you need to score well on the ACT test. … ACT EssayEdge Scoring and Review … Practice Tests: ACT. Free Expert Chat …www.petersons.com/testprep/?id=897&path=ug.pft.act – 38k – Cached

Action by Churches Together International

ACT International is the global alliance of churches and related agencies working to save lives and support communities in emergencies worldwide.www.act-intl.org – 33k – Cached

Manage and Build Business Relationships with ACT!

ACT!, the #1 best-selling contact management solution, offers products including Web Access, Accounting Integration, PDA Integration, and more.www.act.com/products/index.cfm – 41k – Cached

Hi, i’m very glad to hear you are already focused. Please drop me an email, would love to chat. Are you thinking of medschool or lawschool?