ACT Prep Courses in Cambridge (Massachusetts)

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Over the past few years, the ACT has experienced a significant growth in test popularity, providing an alternative to the SAT. In fact, in many states, the ACT has surpassed the SAT in popularity among high school students preparing to apply to college. Are you a Cambridge area student planning on taking the ACT? If so, we are pleased to offer you all the test-related resources you'll need to score in the highest percentiles on this complex exam. We have studied each section and deconstructed every question, then combined this with our industry-leading knowledge of educational instruction to create convenient, high-quality ACT prep courses designed to help you achieve the success you deserve. Preparing for this potentially life-changing test can be more than a little stressful, but you don't have to prepare by yourself, and you don't have to worry about piecing together a study plan, hoping you're covering the most important topics. We are proud to have created unique ACT prep options that fit every learner's needs, allowing our students to obtain top scores through classroom-style group courses, online interactive instruction, and one-on-one private tutoring. 

At Manhattan Review, we've been helping students master the ACT since 1999. We offer multiple types of ACT preparatory options, and we encourage you to contact us today to learn more about which one is right for you. For those students who enjoy learning in the company of others and find themselves inspired by others' questions and comments, we offer group courses dedicated to providing a comprehensive overview of everything you'll need to succeed on the ACT. For those students who need more flexibility when preparing for the ACT, we offer online courses that can be accessed at various times, including daytime, evening, or weekends, allowing you to prepare around the commitments and responsibilities you already have from inside the comfort of your own home. And for those students who learn best through a customized study plan and direct, targeted feedback, we offer private tutoring that takes your unique learning needs, strengths, and areas of weakness into account, ensuring you are as prepared as possible on the day of your exam. Whatever support you need, you can find it at Manhattan Review. 

The ACT is intended to reflect what students learned during high school and is composed of four multiple-choice tests—English, mathematics, reading, and science—as well as an optional writing portion. The English section requires a student to revise and edit a provided text; in addition, short essays in various genres offer rhetorical situations that must be considered before appropriate responses are selected. The mathematics section of the ACT assesses a student's knowledge of basic formulas and computational skills. The reading section is designed to measure a student's ability to closely read a passage, engage in logical reasoning about the passage using evidence, and combine information from multiple sources to produce specific answers. Skills such as locating and interpreting details, understanding the sequence of events, determining the meaning of context-dependent words, and analyzing claims and arguments are all assessed. 

The science section of the ACT measures skills required to understand and work in the natural sciences, including interpretation, analysis, evaluation, and problem-solving, to name a few. The score range for each of the four required tests is 1 to 36. A composite score is created by taking the average of the four test scores and rounding it to the nearest whole number. In general, a "good" ACT score is any score falling at or above the 75^th percentile, which equates to a composite score of 24. It must be stated that a "good" score is not nearly strong enough to gain admittance into a leading college or university, and among the most selective institutions of higher education, incoming students routinely obtain a composite score in the range of 33 to 35. In order to be considered a competitive applicant among the leading colleges, it is imperative to demonstrate a strong performance on the ACT. 

The ACT is an established part of applying to undergraduate programs, and at Manhattan Review, we offer prep courses designed to help you apply to the college of your dreams with confidence. Our courses and private tutoring options are offered in-person, as well as online, and our instructors offer various meeting times to ensure there is always a course or study opportunity that fits your needs. Our students consistently obtain the highest ACT scores and are regularly admitted to the most competitive colleges and universities, including CalTech, MIT, Harvard University, Yale University, New York University, Columbia University, the University of California at Los Angeles, the University of Southern California, Northwestern University, the University of Pennsylvania, Oxford University, Stanford University, Cambridge University, Johns Hopkins University, Dartmouth College, Princeton University, and elsewhere. If you plan to attend a prestigious college, it is necessary to obtain an impressive score on the ACT, and our proprietary and comprehensive programs will supply you with everything motivated students need to score in the highest percentiles on this exam. 

Our instructors are some of the most respected in the test prep industry, and we don't only hire people who obtained impressive standardized test scores themselves…our instructors set us apart because in addition to having first-hand familiarity with tests, they are also passionate and dedicated educators, eager to see you succeed and achieve your own academic success. Make use of the brightest and most respected minds in the industry, and allow our instructors and tutors to help you the same way they've helped countless students in Cambridge and the greater Boston metropolitan area. We are proud to offer Cambridge's most flexible, results-driven, and student-friendly resource for ACT prep. Whatever your learning style and whatever your test-taking needs, there's a place for you at Manhattan Review. Contact us today and learn more about boosting your ACT score before submitting those all-important college applications.

Meet a Cambridge ACT Tutor: Rory R.

Rory grew up in the United Kingdom and moved to Washington, DC, when her mother was offered a new position in the company she worked for. "I wasn't thrilled about moving, but as long as there were still places to buy books, I decided it couldn't be that terrible," laughs Rory. An avid reader from an early age, Rory was quick to spot grammatical errors, plot holes, or other mistakes that detracted from the story. "I didn't grow up wanting to be an editor," she admits. "I just kind of fell into it, but I'm so glad I did." Rory's friends, aware of her impressive grasp of the intricacies of writing, asked her to proofread their essays for spelling errors or sentences that didn't make sense, and before she knew it, Rory's friends were asking her to help them outline and organize their essays. "I actually started a little business in high school," Rory recalls with a slight blush, "helping students brainstorm topics for papers, showing them the difference between a first and second draft, and proofreading their writing for things they might have missed."

Rory dreamed of becoming a professional book editor and wanted to obtain the best education possible in preparation of helping others bring their literary projects to life. After completing practice versions of the SAT and ACT, Rory found herself performing significantly better on the ACT and decided to take a group prep class to ensure she knew the test inside and out. "I loved working with a professional to prepare," she shares. "Learning how to interpret and answer questions was a lot like proofreading…you can't lose sight of the big picture, but you have to take the time to focus on details because they ultimately create the big picture." Rory's persistence was rewarded when she scored in the 98^th percentile on the ACT. Her score, combined with her impressive high school grades and extracurricular activities, helped her gain acceptance to New York University. "NYU was my first choice because they're in the heart of the book publishing industry," says Rory, who loved every moment she spent working towards her undergraduate degree. After graduating, Rory began working her way up through the editorial ranks, starting as an intern and moving up to the position of assistant editor before finally becoming a full-fledged editor. 

While Rory loved collaborating with publishers and authors and helping books transform from drafts to completed manuscripts, she also realized she could do her work from any location, and when her husband was offered a job in Cambridge, she was excited to make the move. "I knew I could help people write, and I missed working directly with students like in my high school days," she shares, "which led me to combine the two. I developed a few ACT prep online workshops showing how important a solid knowledge of grammar was, as well as how to break down tricky or confusing questions so that you understood them." We at Manhattan Review were so impressed by Rory's ambition and entrepreneurship that she quickly joined the team as a part-time instructor. Her methodical approach is a hit among students who appreciate her ability to transform complex problems into solvable questions. When Rory isn't editing the next bestseller or helping students prepare to ace the ACT, she can be found in her garden "chasing away squirrels and coaxing my flowers to bloom," playing video games with her husband, or brewing the perfect cup of tea to enjoy with an afternoon snack.