Customer Reviews

Boost Your Score! The Unofficial Software Guide to the Real ACT

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I hope it is okay for me to review this product even if I did not buy it through Amazon. My daughter used Boost Your Score! as part of the Advantage Point test prep program in Cleveland. This software helped her get a 34 composite score, with 36's on both the math and the English sections. This software helped her target the exact areas she needed to improve to get a higher score. Then, it had lots of review and practice for the areas she needed to bring up. By the time my daughter took the ACT in April, she had taken all four official ACTs scored by Boost Your Score and completed all the resources in the software. She was completely comfortable with the test and received her 34.

This software helped me increase my composite ACT score by 6 points. I used it along with the Real ACT Prep Guide and I would definitely recommend this combination to anyone looking to improve their ACT score. One thing nobody mentioned about Boost Your Score that I would have liked to know beforehand:

This software includes strategy and review packets for each subject. These strategies really work! (I know their two-sweep reading strategy is the reason my reading section score increased by 4 points between the June and September tests). But I think it's good to know that these packets are actually PDFs embedded into the software, which makes this product kind of a software/Ebook hybrid.

Now, I loved this for two reasons:
1) I could easily print out the particular packet I wanted to study that day--for example, science passage strategies, or the math pre-algebra review, or whatever--and take that with me wherever I needed to go. This worked great for me. It was easier than bringing a heavy prep book with me and I could just focus on that particular subject. If I didn't feel like printing the packet, I could also easily read it on the screen.

2) I could easily print them out if I wanted to work on the math problems on paper or make notes on any of the strategy sheets. I should note here that I also bought the Kaplan software and never used it. I HATED the format exactly because I couldn't do this. The fact is, I will be taking the real ACT on paper, so I want to be able to work on practice problems on paper. The Kaplan software materials just didn't print well at all since they were not meant to be printed. Since the Boost Your Score packets are in PDF form, they print perfectly. And if you don't want to print them, I think they are actually easier to read as on-screen PDFs then a regular software format would be. I hope this makes sense.

I think this is an important thing to mention since it makes this software product a little different from other test prep products out there.

Also, I want to mention that they have a lot of links to quizzes and tutorials that require internet. This was fine for me since I have a great connection at home and at school. It may be a problem for someone with internet connection issues.

Overall, I think this is a great product and I have recommended it to all my friends.

This software is really helpful and the sellers were great. The software arrived with a letter explaining how to use it and telling me to e-mail them right away if I had any questions or even just needed moral support. Overall, I really liked it. The materials were really, really good. After I went through all the resources, I felt like I actually needed a bit more preparation in a particular area (trigonometry), so I contacted the company/seller (I believe they are one and the same). While the software had trig review stuff, I finished it all and thought I needed more. The sellers responded immediately with even more resources and ideas for me. Talk about great service!


Update: my September scores came back and my scores increased from a 26 to a 30!

My son took two practice tests a week apart, before and after using this program. His scores went from 27 to 28 in English, from 20 to 23 in math, from 20 to 30 (!) in reading, and from 22 to 25 in science, with his overall score going from 22 to 27. The strategies really work -- especially in reading, where time is so tight, and science, which is unlike any other test he had taken before. Put these results together with a very reasonable price and I highly recommend this product.

This software helped my son prepare for his April 2011 ACT, on which he scored 35 composite.

It runs in conjunction with Excel and allows you to automatically time test sections and automatically score tests from The Real ACT Prep Guide (The only guide to include 3 Real ACT tests) and the test ACT puts in their registration book (and web site). Once you have your score on a practice test, you can click through to online resources directly addressing the questions you missed, helping you focus on precisely the things you need to improve. You can also browse through resources by test section, subsection, or overall strategy.

We live overseas and the postal service was slow getting that CD to us. Customer service found a way to deliver the product to me via network and also offered to send a new copy at no charge (not needed since we soon received the original CD). When my son needed a bit of extra help, we emailed our concerns and received a reply from a professional ACT test prep instructor including helpful suggestions and additional practice material.

When I emailed the good news of my son's high score to Customer Service, I got a reply back from the company's Director the same day with her congratulations to him.
With test-prep mega-companies focusing mainly on how to net maximum profit from me, it is SO REFRESHING to deal with a company genuinely interested in seeing my child succeed!

Initially I left a review in which I mentioned that the product did not work with my computer because I do not have Microsoft Excel. I almost immediately received an email from Ms. Goldblatt apologizing vehemently for this, and offering a full refund. I asked if I would need to pay for the return shipping and she just told me to keep it. I have not experienced such great customer service in a very, very long time. I will be buying more products from the business because I know that I can trust them and that Ms. Goldblatt backs up her products to an amazing extent. What fabulous service!

I cannot say enough good things about "Boost Your Score" and the wonderful service and help provided by Advantage Point (specifically Devorah). I purchased this program shortly after my son received a disappointing "25" on his ACT taken this past spring (his junior year). He read through a couple of other resource books, but then worked diligently (did exactly what "Boost Your Score" told him to do) for about 4 weeks. He took all of the practice tests that the program provides and used all of the resources they also provide. His score came back last week after he retook the test in June. He scored a 33! I give all of the credit to Advantage Point and Boost Your Score. (I think my son probably deserves some credit because it does take some determination and hard work to make yourself go through the exams, resources, etc.) I will use this program again for our younger 2 children.

As far as the comment posted recently from the person who said they wish they would have known they needed to have Excel on their computer~ I made the same mistake since we don't have Excel. I went back and looked at the product description and it indicated that you must have Excel. However, I contacted (through email) Advantage Point and Devorah emailed me back almost immediately with a trial Microsoft Office site and we were able to download the trial Excel through that. It's a month free trial and my son completed his study using the program and took his test almost exactly a month after purchasing Boost Your Score! Devorah at Advantage Point got back with me so quickly when I emailed her with questions. I have never written a review for a product before, but could not let this opportunity go by to recommend without any hesitation something that worked so well for us. Good luck on the ACT and USE THIS PROGRAM EXACTLY AS IT INTENDED AND I WOULD BET YOUR SCORE WILL DEFINITELY BE BOOSTED!!

I have purchased many ACT Preparation programs, received private tutoring, and taken group classes to prepare for the ACT. I have all the books: The Real ACT, Cracking the ACT, and ACT 36 just to name a few. But of all the things I have done to raise my score, this software has been the most helpful. My first test, I received a 25 with no studying. My second test, I took a group class, got some private tutoring, studied from several prep books and received a 28. My third test, I purchased this software, and after studying for 3 months, received a 34.

This program takes a no-frills approach to the ACT. If you're looking to be entertained, this is not the program for you. It is basically an enhanced excel spreadsheet with no games, music, or anything like that. What makes this program so good is that you take an actual ACT practice test from the REAL ACT Book and pick your performance apart. The program has a study packet for each area of study which can be printed to take with you on the go. It also has a variety of links to internet sites with quizzes, tutorials, and worksheets to help you improve. Another great advantage of this program is that it comes with calculator programs which you can plug into your programmable graphing calculator (TI83 or TI84). If you're not a math whiz, or even if you are, these programs help you to save time on the math portion. (Don't worry. They're perfectly legal for the ACT.) One more reason to consider this preparation program before others is that the customer support is wonderful! I had a weak area that I needed more practice in, so I contacted the company. They pointed me to some extra websites which were extremely helpfu. The only thing that bothered me about this program is that it works only with Microsoft Excel. This can get annoying if you want to use the program on different computers, some of which do not have Excel.

Pros-
Helps you pick apart your performance on Real ACT tests to improve your score
Provides resource packets for each area of study
Helpful customer support
Very helpful calculator programs

Cons-
Works only with Microsoft Excel
No entertainment

Overall, I believe this, coupled with the REAL ACT book, is the best ACT preparation program on the market. If you appy yourself, you can get a very good score. No matter what your previous scores were.

A little update wouldnt hurt the program but I didnt buy it for the glamour of the product...I got it to boost my score and that is what this software delivered!

This program is simple, but it works. The strategies in this program helped me raise my composite score from a 23 to a 29. This product also has a section on calculator programs, with easy instructions on how to program them into your calculator by hand. In my opinion, this software is worth it just for these programs. I saved a ton of time using them to calculate the distance formula, Pythagorean theorem, solve simultaneous equations, etc. for me on the ACT. I haven't seen those programs anywhere else.