Taking the ACT...

[airbornflght]

I'm going to take it in about 20 minutes, it starts at 8...I hate how they start so dang early. I studied for this one, I made a 25 on the past two, but didnt study, I bought a book called cracking the ACT, but I didnt get all the way through it, so im hoping that it will help my score for the parts that I read, which I think it should, cause it breaks the test down, and it seems pretty easy at the component level. I'd like to get a 28 on this one, and a 30-32 on the next. Cause I know that I can do it, and if I get a 30 I believe, the state reagents will give me a full ride to anywhere in state.

[Cyclonite]

Just take it as much as you can until you get the score you need. You tend to do better every time you take it. I hit the score I needed for a full ride the very last possible time I was allowed to take it. I think it was because I felt like I was wasting a Saturday. I only took the thing three times, though. I found it much easier to deal with than the SAT too.

Anyway, after getting the full ride, I realize it was well worth the "waste" of the morning and getting up early.

[airbornflght]

Yeh, If I get a 30 (iirc) I get a full ride it might be a 32, I forget. I can get a full ride anywhere in state. I feel really good about this test, even though I kind of fell off on the end especially in the reading section because I had to start hurrying.

But If I bring it up to a 27-29 I will be happy this time around since I only studied for a week and a half or so (my bad..) But I know I can do this, I used not to like the English section, and since I read the English section in "Cracking the ACT" by the Princeton review, I flew right through it, it was a piece of cake. So I'm going to register for December and devote more time to studying for it.

[jared]

I loved the ACT. I would take it over the SAT (before they changed the SAT all up) anyday.

I liked how there was a science section and how on the ACT you are not penalized for guessing and getting it wrong.

[TheSmJ]

I screwed up my ACT cause I got mud butt right when I started the math portion and had to blow through the last 1/4 of the test. I guess it didn't matter anyways cause I decided to go to a community college.

[aspire.comptech]

I scored a 29 the first time i took it

Good luck man

[bothered]

Erm, speaking from the dusty, musty, old fashoned mother land, what's an ACT and how does that help one get 'a full ride'?
Over here some of us are grateful for a 'partial ride' but I suspect you are talking about something else.

[Thrax]

The ACTs and SATs are two different standardized tests used in the United States to measure the aggregate aptitude of a college/university-bound hopeful. It tests on virtually every range of subjects a student probably learned about in approximately the first three years of his or her final four years of pre-collegiate education.

Scoring very well on either on of these tests makes you a hot commodity amongst colleges, as students who academically perform very well, or exhibit the potential to do so, give the college prestige and recognition. The money they spend on you to pay for your four year degree is a small price for putting you in their rolodex of superstudents that look attractive to would-be donators to the school.

[profdlp]

I'm going to take it in about 20 minutes...
How did it go? :)

[tmh88]

I screwed up on my ACT's. I got a 26, and I know that I can do a hell of a lot better if I could take it again....but I'm in college now so theres no need to :)

[airbornflght]

I think it went well, but not well enough for a 32 in my opinion. I flew through the English and math, science was pretty easy too, though the wording was a little awkward. The reading was a little more difficult, but I didnt get to study either of the last two sections, which were the reading and science reasoning.

I'm hoping I did well on it though at any rate. I'm gonna study a lot more next time around, I'm already registered for Dec. 9th. I know I can pull off at least a 30, and I don't think a 34 is out of my grasps. I just feel it. but really when I read the book I bought, the test isnt that difficult, it is repetitious and the same 3 types of questions over and over, so once you figure their methods out, the whole test seems like childs play, which is what the English section felt like to me this time, which is mainly the only section I studied, math I really didn't, but that is one of my best subjects, so I didn't have a problem with it, though I had a little trouble remembering the trigonometric functions:rolleyes2

I cant wait until december to get this over with. Because I know I can do it.

[Gargoyle]

Yeh, If I get a 30 (iirc) I get a full ride it might be a 32, I forget. I can get a full ride anywhere in state. I feel really good about this test, even though I kind of fell off on the end especially in the reading section because I had to start hurrying.

It was 31 when I was there, but they recalculate the score every year. With a 29 or 30 (I forget), the school in Chickasha offered me a full scholarship. Of course, I'm not a big fan of Chickasha, but the point is some smaller schools may still give you scholarships even if you don't score high enough to get the State Regents' phatdaddy money. BTW, Buddy J and I don't have very many nice things to say about the State Regents, and we did get the scholarship. I almost would have preferred getting loans just so I wouldn't have had to be on their leash. Almost.

I took the ACT seven times. That test has nothing to do with how smart you are, it only measures how good you are at taking the ACT. Just keep taking it until you get a score you're satisfied with.

[GHoosdum]

I'm sure it varies greatly. I scored a 33 on the ACT and nobody offered me a dime in scholarship moneys.

[airbornflght]

It was 31 when I was there, but they recalculate the score every year. With a 29 or 30 (I forget), the school in Chickasha offered me a full scholarship. Of course, I'm not a big fan of Chickasha, but the point is some smaller schools may still give you scholarships even if you don't score high enough to get the State Regents' phatdaddy money. BTW, Buddy J and I don't have very many nice things to say about the State Regents, and we did get the scholarship. I almost would have preferred getting loans just so I wouldn't have had to be on their leash. Almost.

I took the ACT seven times. That test has nothing to do with how smart you are, it only measures how good you are at taking the ACT. Just keep taking it until you get a score you're satisfied with.


I totally agree. It gets easier everytime, and the book I'm reading it just makes it that much easier for me to understand the test, and 'what they want to see'.

so lets hear the dirt on the state regents:bigggrin: What do they impose on you?

[Buddy J]

Can't believe I missed this thread.

I got a 31 or 32... can't remember. All I know is that I took it twice and on the second time, I had OU and OSU throwing scholarship offers at me left and right.

Here's the skinny on the Regents. You get $5,500 a year that goes toward tuition and books provided you keep a cumulative3.25 GPA. This last for up to eight semesters and you have to take at least 12 hours of class. The University will then offer you $2,000 per semester toward room and board and other university fees. I think both the state universities will do this for 10 semesters, again provided you keep a 3.25 GPA, are a full-time student, etc.

As a freshman, it's nice because you also get early enrollment/ advisement, and you don't have to take Gateway, the University 101 "How to Go to College Class." You'll get into the classes you want, have a decent schedule, and have better Library access, should you need it (I never did).

This is all fine, but you must have a cumulative 3.25 GPA. This is a hard thing to keep if you, like me, didn't know what you wanted to do in college and were taking hard classes your first semester. My calculus grade gave me a 3.24 GPA at the end of my first semester. After that, the scholarship program puts you on probation and you get your money for another semester. I had a 3.25 GPA, but my cumulative GPA was a 3.245. If by the end of that semester your overall GPA, factoring in all the grades and credit hours you've taken, isn't a 3.25, you're out.

That's it.

No more cash.

They don't tell you that if you go to the office and ask them. They led me to believe that I had until the end of the summer to raise my cumulative GPA that .01 point. I spend the summer in 9 hours of summer school, got all "A's" and went back to the University with my credits in hand an a decent cumulative GPA. They said I pretty much wasted my summer and my hard-earned money (I worked days to afford going to night school).

So that landed me with a couple thousand dollars of unexpected fees for credit, room, board, books... OU really gouges you with their additional costs. They keep tuition lower than some schools, but the per hour fees, when included, make the actual cost quite high. I was able to work weekends to supplement my parent's contribution and thankfully didn't have to get college loans, but it was a struggle for the first couple months of that Sophomore year, trying to find cash to pay for things.

If you get a Regents Scholarship, do everything in your power to keep it. Don't be like me and float through your classes and think that getting a couple B's won't make a difference. Don't spend all your spare time being social or playing computer games. You can do that once you've got some credit hours racked up and your cumulative GPA is well within qualifying numbers. It's worthwhile to have the scholarship, but you gotta know that they'll take it away just as quick as they'll give it to you.

[Gargoyle]

Geez, I even posted in this thread and I forgot about it. Sorry about that Airborn.

My story:

I slacked off my first semester and got B's in easy classes I should have gotten A's in. I ended up with a 3.25 that first semseter, so I was okay.

Second semester, I slacked off bigtime. Had a 2.67 for that semester. You ever hear of professors saying that they might bump up your grade if you're borderline and if you have perfect attendance? I've heard that offer many times before, but I never thought I'd have to use it to get a C.

My third semester, the whole goal was to get my GPA back up to a 3.25. I'm not getting scholarship money this semseter. What makes me so mad is that I planned my entire curriculum that semester around pleasing the state regents. Sure, all my classes satisfied some kind of requirement, but really, I probably wouldn't have taken the intro classes of Philosophy and Physchology if they weren't so easy.

That third semeseter I ended up dropping a class because it looked like I was going to get a B in it. Normally, a B would be fine, especially considering that this was the weed-out class in Geology and very few people get As in it (Minerology). However, the way the math worked out with my GPA, I either had to get an A in the class or drop it to get my scholarship back. I dropped the class, and since that was the prerequisite for the rest of the geology classes, I have virually nothing to show for the five semesters I eventually spent as a Geology major. With that dropped class, I only have three completed geology courses in five semesters.

Third semester suckage doesn't end there. After I dropped minerology, I did the math, and with the grades I expected to get in my remaining classes, I should have been able to raise my GPA to 3.25 and get my scholarship back the next semester. However, I was enrolled in this one-hour colloqium class that the Geology department required that was letter-graded my first two semesters, but they decided to grade as pass-fail from then on. They made that change without telling anyone or indicating it on the enrollment system. I ended the semseter with a 3.24 instead of a 3.25, because that one credit hour didn't count towards my GPA. I called the state regents and they didn't budge.

One point that should be obvious from me and Buddy J's stories is that slacking off is bad, mmk? Don't do it. Counter-Strike is the devil. Unfortunately my freshman year coincided with its very renaissance. But what I hope you gather from my story is that education should not take a back seat to paying for it. Take the classes you want to take, and take out loans or work another job if you have to.

I did end up getting the scholarship back after my fourth semester, but I regret jumping through all the hoops. Sure, I had to jump through those hoops because I made bad grades. It's my fault. But it became clear in my dealings with the state regents that their Oklahoma Academic Scholar program is designed for one thing only - keeping you in Oklahoma for college. Once they've got you, they don't care.

I've attached part of my transcript as an example of what not to do. I know it's creepy when people on the Internet share a bunch of personal info (especially in tabular form!), but seriously, take a look at what can happen when a smart kid acts stupid for a couple of semesters.

[airbornflght]

Thanks for the heads up guys. I definately dont want to loose the scholarship if I get it. So I guess I'll be studying my ass of because I doubt my courses will be easy. Since I'm most likely going to be a computer science major.

[QCH]

I didn't study for the ACT, some 15 years ago. The max score was 32, I think. I arrived at the testing center, the room was set to 98.564 degrees (or so it seemed). Flew past the stuff and fell asleep during my strongest subject, MATH. Woke up at the 5 minute mark!!! Quickly filled in remaining half of the math portion....

Final score was 28. Not bad but then again, I already had a full ride to a junior college. My dad was a Dean so my education was free...

I was a A/B junior college student. A scholarship would be great but having to work to help pay for college helps you appreciate it more and in many cases forces you to concentrate and budget time better. When I went back to finish my Bachelors, I worked full time and went to school in the evenings. I had a family, a house, and all the other real world stuff to deal with. I aced almost all my classes.

You seem like a sharp kid, airborn... You'll do fine. :thumbsup:

[mmonnin]

I'm sure it varies greatly. I scored a 33 on the ACT and nobody offered me a dime in scholarship moneys.

You got screwed then. Cincy would have taken a good chunk of Tuition off the top for me based on my ACT. Dont remember what I had at the time, 26 or 27, probably the 27 I got twice. I know Dayton was gonna give me at least a $5k/sem scholorship right away at the college visit based on ACT alone. Even a 24 will get you $1500/trimester at Devry, 30 a chance at a Full Ride.

You really should have gotten something, man.

[Crazy Joe]

I scored a 30 on it when I took it as a Sophomore and I got nothing for going to Cincinnati... Bastards!! If they would have given anything I could have taken it later to get a higher score...

[mmonnin]

Cincy isnt all the expensive to begin with. That often has an impant on how much assistance a school will offer.

[Crazy Joe]

UC is nearly $10,000 a year... While that's not much compared to private schools it is still alot for a public school...

[Nomad]

UC is nearly $10,000 a year... While that's not much compared to private schools it is still alot for a public school...


That's dirt cheap? Most public schools are around $17,000+ now a year, and that's in state.

[Crazy Joe]

Well for Ohio Schools it's kinda expensive...
Northern Kentucky-$5448 (Only for a few counties on the Ohio/KY Border in SW OH)
Wright State-$7278
Ohio University-$8235
Ohio State-$8767
Cincinnati-$9399
Miami University-$10488 (Private, but gives discount for OH residents)

These are just the public schools that are in the Southwest Ohio Area.

[Gargoyle]

Pfft, when I went there, OU (that's Oklahoma, for the uninitiated) was less than $6000/year. And I got educated real good, too! :buck:

[mmonnin]

Heh, DeVry was $6k/trimester by the time I left it. So $18k/yr not including that you had to get your own apt and etc.

[Leonardo]

DeVry was $6k/trimester by the time I left it. So $18k/yrIt will pay you back in spades; and I'm sure you're aware of that, right?

[mmonnin]

Could have gotten the same or more spades for a WHOLE lot cheaper. The word 'Technology' at the end of my degree pretty much acted like a demotion.

DeVry was full of has-been industry Engineers that were going to be cut (5 I know from Bell Labs) or didnt want the pressure anymore so now they take it easy and decided to 'teach' until they retire. Most are horrible at their job and shouldnt be there.

Good teachers that push students they fire and replace with 'professors' that 'teach' from powerpoints and give Multiple Choice/TF tests and give curves on everything. AKA, we dont learn ****.