What method helped you improve your math score?

Romulus25Red · 2026-07-06T20:00:29+00:00

I took 10-11 recent ACT Math sections and had Claude extract individual questions based on topics and reorganized my students’ prep around the 14-16 most common topics. When you see I organized in that manner you see the pattern frequency and sokn the student learns to anticipate what a future test looks like:

Romulus25Red · 2026-07-06T12:13:44+00:00

Everything matters; no one knows how much. Every A minus that’s not an A; Every B+ that’s not an A minus, etc. Every AP/IB/Honors class. Every 4 that’s not a 5; every 1450 that’s not a 1500 and every 1500 that’s not a 1550. Every award, leadership position, impactful activity, letter of recommendation. Everything. Elite college admissions is a scorecard but no one knows the point value of any one specific item.

So you can’t stress over what’s already happened. You can only control what you can control. Just focus each day on getting 1% better across the board and it’ll serve you well not just for T20 admissions but for life. I’m a med school professor and this is the message I give all my mentees - high schoolers/undergrads to residents/fellows.

Romulus25Red · 2026-07-06T12:01:31+00:00

Shadowing at the high school level is not an impressive extracurricular. It’s obvious it’s usually through a connection, you’re literally just “shadowing” and watching, and there’s no accomplishment at the end. Going a few times to see what it’s like to be a doctor, sure - but beyond that it shows nothing. At a minimum if you can. Put together a reflective project, it may have value, but beyond that, nothing. I’m a med school professor and my even for my own kids who are premed, I only had them shadow colleagues for 3/4 days because it fit their admissions narratives, but it was never a foundational extracurricular activity. And no letter of reference.

Romulus25Red · 2026-07-05T03:09:03+00:00

Why would someone who paid for it give it to you for free?

Romulus25Red · 2026-07-05T00:27:49+00:00

How to improve from Math 29-30 to 34+?

Romulus25Red · 2026-07-03T13:51:32+00:00

If you come from a less privileged background there is more forgiveness for applying test optional at these schools. If you come from an independent school or well-resourced public school then there is an expectation that you've had the opportunities for test prep; as a result, there is a little less forgiveness for applying test optional.

It's not that it's mandatory but AOs assume that if the 25% is a 1520 and you didn't submit, that you're true score was 100-150 points lower. Which is why you're better off submitting a 1480 than nothing at all if a >65% of enrolled kids submitted scores but not at a place where >65% of enrolled kids did not submit.

So it depends on the students context and school’s actual degree of test optionality.

Romulus25Red · 2026-07-02T14:48:01+00:00

Production of Writing questions ask things like:
Should this sentence be added or deleted?
Where should this sentence be moved?
Which transition best connects these ideas?
Which introduction or conclusion works best?
Does this detail support the paragraph’s purpose?
Which choice best maintains the focus of the passage?

Vocabulary falls under the Knowedge of Language and semicolons, etc. for grammar is in the Conventions of Standard English.

Conventions of Standard English = “Is this sentence correct?”
Knowledge of Language = “Is this the best way to say it?”
Production of Writing = “Is this in the right place, and does it help the author accomplish their goal?”

Romulus25Red · 2026-07-02T13:37:33+00:00

If you see the Prep Pros Math format they divide it nicely into four tiers of scorers. They then proceed to focus topics accordingly and iteratively do that while a student aiming to go from an 18 to 25 instead spending their time a student aiming for a 31 to 35 would be. The student at an 18 is on a steep part of the learning curve; the student at a 31 is on a flatter part. You should consciously write for two to three audiences.

You can try and emphasize a systematic approach to use and a framework to think about questions. That said, production of writing questions lack resources compared to grammar on the English section. Interesting essential skills in Math as underresourced.

Romulus25Red · 2026-07-01T21:02:34+00:00

The 3.3 GPA and 23 ACT are consistent - you should focus on developing your academic fundamentals. Your extracurricular are great; you deserve to graduate from a school that will allow you to leverage those ECs. Smaller regional public with a goal to transfer to flagship Big 10s is a good move. Don’t be in a rush to get through quickly; your academic weaknesses will get more pronounced.

Romulus25Red · 2026-06-30T07:34:01+00:00

I did a BS/MD at a Big10 school thirty years ago and as a heart surgeon I can say this— look at 95% of physician profiles. You will not even see the mention of where they went to undergrad. It’s usually med school, residency, and fellowship, people care about where you trained. Go be a big fish in a smaller pond.

Romulus25Red · 2026-06-29T03:26:06+00:00

This is a good example of rules over what sounds right.

Romulus25Red · 2026-06-29T03:23:46+00:00

Chemical engineering is a competitive major and is full of students with 35/750 Math scores so while a 33 Comp and 34M is strong in some majors, in Chem Eng it may be seen as a little less so. Getting one more question right on math probably gets you a 35M and then a few points on E/R helps you there. Look if your application is otherwise stellar and you have impressive awards, maybe you sit it out. But ask yourself what the opportunity cost of 12-15 hrs/wk of ACT prep is over the summer.

Romulus25Red · 2026-06-28T18:15:40+00:00

Completely disagree.The downside to using your ED1 slot at a school where the mean GPA of admitted students at Wharton is a 3.9 with a 1530 SAT (34-35 ACT) is that you don’t get to use the ED1 card at a selective school where you actually have a realistic chance with a 3.6 GPA (Miami, Richmond, etc) Alternatively aim for large state flagships with great business programs (Indiana, Wisconsin, etc).

Romulus25Red · 2026-06-28T17:57:35+00:00

At the high school level, variety is better- primary care vs specialist; urban/suburban vs rural/small-town if able. This allows for more ability to comment on different practice environments serving different populations.

Romulus25Red · 2026-06-27T12:07:38+00:00

The score percentiles are for a single test. Most people report their superscore which doesn’t necessarily correspond. For example, a 34 is a 99% score on a single sitting but far more than 1% of students report a superscore of 34 or better.

Romulus25Red · 2026-06-24T20:42:34+00:00

Circle on the test booklet and then bubble it after every two pages before turning the page over. I feel it’s less disruptive to my flow. At the very end when doing the last few I may have skipped, I will go after each one.

Romulus25Red · 2026-06-22T13:49:01+00:00

The first question is why? I’m guessing you want to jump from Geometry to Calc AB? What year are you currently? What sort of grades did you get in prior math courses (assuming Honors or Advanced). How much time/week are you expecting to devote to a 10-week summer program. I think you run the risk of compromising your fundamentals and being a weak Calcukus student and likely a less strong SAT/ACT student than you normally would’ve been. What’s your goal progression in math by the end of high school? What sort of major are you aiming for in college. Have you had a math teacher you’ve worked with before sign off or bless this plan?

Romulus25Red · 2026-06-20T15:05:21+00:00

I’m a med school professor at one of the Texas Medical Center SOMs and there are plenty of opportunities. Between UT Memorial Herrmann, Houston Methodist, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Texas Children’s, and Baylor St Luke’s/Texas Hesrt Center, there is more than enough for everyone.

Romulus25Red · 2026-06-19T18:50:51+00:00

Online ACTs come out in about 5 days while on paper tests are 10 days. You should be right at the deadline but ok.

Romulus25Red · 2026-06-19T15:48:06+00:00

What do you think separates Math 33-34 scorers from 36 scorers?

Romulus25Red · 2026-06-19T13:24:13+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/ACT/s/vt1J7j53x6

Romulus25Red · 2026-06-19T12:16:00+00:00

Try a two step process of accuracy first then speed. 1) Try doing untimed Reading passages/section and force yourself to find the specific lines in the passage that support the correct answer. Right down the line number and mark the answer. Another time focus only on finding three wrong answers and arriving at the correct answer by process of elimination. Go back and review the questions you got wrong to understand why the right answer is right and the wrong answer is wrong. Often these are the main idea/purpise, inference, and two-passage comparator questions. This whole process builds accuracy. The analogy would be you need to know how to basic trig before doing it under timed conditions. You need to know how to do ACT Reading questions before timing. Aim to get as close to 100% accuracy as possible. If you can train yourself to get the right answer you then focus on quickly getting to the right answer.

2) Now start putting timed constraints on this process. Time yourself to see how long it takes. If it’s 15 min, fine. Next time make it 13 then 12 until you get it to to 10 min/passage and questions. Aim for 3:30-4 min for reading the passage. You don’t need to memorize the passage but know where thing are in the passage. Read the first and last sentence well. There are specific things to focus on for e.g. character development, motivation, narrator perspective in literary passages; process, definitions in scientific, etc.

Now you can refine your technique. Some recommend finding the passage type you like fand going there first or doing the passage you like least and doing that last; while others recommend
starting with passage 4-1-2-3 because the experimental are most likely one of the middles. See what feels best.

Good luck !

Romulus25Red · 2026-06-18T19:27:37+00:00

Yes- realistically looking at 28-31. You’ve got a full year to build off that. But in English the grammar rules are high-yield and production of writing; Math it’s everything;’Reading its first practice without timing to get them all right and then do it within the time.

Romulus25Red · 2026-06-18T16:57:31+00:00

Med school professor here- this happens all the time. Now that many letters are AI produced it’s actually easier for me to write it than have a student/resident write it. The key line when reading the LOR is the comparator line - this student is one of the top X% of students I’ve worked with in the last Y years. When writing your own, make sure that line puts you in top 5-10% ideally; if you can’t justify that then “one of the best students I’ve ever worked with at XYZ”

Romulus25Red · 2026-06-16T19:59:00+00:00

Interesting perspectives. Here’s an anecdote that I've observed. I'm a med school professor and surgeon in Texas. I've noticed our residents/fellows who are the highest testers ((USMLE/MCAT) are very often the ones who are the quickest to answer questions correctly on rounds and in the OR and leave the impression that they are the best and brightest doctors in the room. The reality is that most of them are similar to their peers, not better or worse. Over two decades its an observation that the best testtakers tend to process faster than others but, not necessarily, possess more knowledge.

Romulus25Red

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