Sienna was first in her class and stuck at a 29 on the ACT, with English at 30, Math at 28 and Reading at 29. She already had a tutor, and her family said the tutor was decent but wasn’t getting her to the score she needed. Her goal was a 34.
Two test dates
A superscore takes a student’s best score in each section from different test dates and averages them, and most colleges accept it. That meant Sienna didn’t need one perfect day.
She enrolled in May and worked with her coach, Dasia, through June. On the July ACT she scored a 35 in Reading. Through August and September she met with Dasia every week to work on English and Math.
By mid-September a lot was landing on her at once: schoolwork, college applications, a recent illness, and a test site she’d never been to.
The last session before the test
Dasia’s final session with her came three days before the test, and it covered the morning of the test as much as the test itself.
They practiced deep breathing until it was a habit Sienna could reach for under pressure. She had already been picturing herself taking the test and seeing her score. Dasia added a technique called the “worry blob”: when a worry shows up during the test, Sienna sets it aside for after the test, on purpose, and keeps working.
They also went over the small things that go wrong at an unfamiliar test site. She’d bring wooden #2 pencils, because proctors often won’t allow mechanical ones, put fresh batteries in her graphing calculator, and leave home early.
Her last test with us
Sienna scored a 33 on the September test, with a perfect 36 in English. Combined with her Reading from July, her superscore is a 34. From where she started, her English went up six points, her Math went up four and her Reading went up six.
Her goal was a 34. September was her last test with us, and she finished with a 34.
What we did differently
- Used two test dates, so her superscore could keep her best Reading from July and her best English and Math from September.
- Spent her last session before the test on breathing, visualization and test-day logistics, as well as math.
- Replaced full practice tests in the final week with light review from her own notes.
- Set a limit of three minutes on any one math question.
Coached by
Dasia
Every Boosted Brains coach has a perfect or near-perfect ACT score and has been personally trained by Carson Weekley (perfect 36) and Martin (Head of Student Success).