My son took the ACT for the first time in Oct 2016. He made a 35 composite. We were very pleased with his score, and he really wants to retake and improve his score. I am confident he will make a 36 since he is young yet.
I am trying to encourage him to branch out and work on non-academic efforts since he is strong on tests and GPA. We are doing community service together, but he doesn’t have any impressive ECs, and it might stay that way. He doesn’t care for sports, and he loves academic pursuits. He is in one academic club, and he is on schedule for his first math competition next semester. He will likely spend a summer or two interning at a research facility in our area. He does have the limitation of being the oldest in a large family (time and money to devote to him are scant compared to some others), but I don’t think that really matters for college admissions. I know he would be an asset to any university he attends.
If a child is appealing in all other categories but lacking in ECs, will it still be possible to attend a high ranking school?
He is white, middle class, in a state that is underrepresented at most of his schools of interest, and he wants to go into basic science research or pre-med.
Would he consider cross country running? He can train most of the year by heading out the door with a good pair of running shoes, and would not need anyone to drive him or spend a lot of money on equipment.
I think he should be himself : ) If he does show an interest, you can help him find ways to explore and deepen it. He is young and just getting acclimated to high school. It sounds like he loves science and math and there will be plenty of ways to excel in those outside the classroom- if he so chooses.
Thank you! I certainly don’t want to make him do things that aren’t reflective of who he is and what his strengths are. I want his applications to be authentic when the time comes.
His time would be much better spent in extra-curricular activities (clubs like robotics, debate, Model U.N., etc. where he can be part of a team, have some fun, and hopefully take on a leadership role over time.
The only reason that anyone should possibly retake an ACT with a composite score of 35 is if either he/she did not take it with writing.
Probably depends on what schools you are targeting. At the very highest ranked schools, there will be many 36 ACT, 4.0 GPA students with impressive ECs applying, so those schools are a roll of the dice for every applicant.
Look for ECs that align with his interests and challenge him to follow those passions. The top schools love to find high-performing students that do something with their passions outside the classroom.
Our son was also very strong in math and finished second in our state in the council of teachers of math competition in 7th grade. He had no test anxiety and never prepped for them. He had no interest at all in athletics after graduating from little league. But he got a lot of satisfaction (and awards) from participating in policy debate. This is something I would recommend for your consideration.
Thanks! His writing score was 8, and he hadn’t done anything to prepare for it. He wants to increase the score for writing as well, so I will need to learn how he can prep for that closer to when he retakes it. I don’t really know what score would be acceptable for writing.
Is it safe to assume the SAT is unnecessary for him? He was in 99th percentile on the PSAT as well.
I will see what other clubs he could appreciate your replies!
It depends in part about what you mean by “appealing on other categories.” If your son represents the US in the Math Olympiad http://www.imo-official.org/ and doesn’t murder any of his classmates, he will be admitted to a top college. If he’s first in the Intel Science competition, he will get into a top college, even if he is lacking in ECs. In general if he genuinely excels in STEM --science, technology, engineering and math-- and by excel, I mean he’s in the top 100 or so students in the US–he’ll get into Cal Tech…no matter what the rest of his app looks like.
But will a 35 ACT score and a 4.0 with nothing else get him into Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, or MIT? Probably not. Brown is more forthcoming with data than many colleges and it says that it admits 28% of students with a 36 ACT. https://www.brown.edu/admission/undergraduate/explore/admission-facts Of course, some of those with a 36 ACT may have less than perfect GPAs…Still, I think that illustrates that GPA plus test scores aren’t sufficient.
But FAR more importantly…I think that kids who participate in ECs in high school enjoy high school more. If anything, I think ECs are MORE important to the kids who do things like speech and debate, mock trial, Fed Challenge, MUN, school newspaper, etc. than for the athletic types because these ECs give them an opportunity to make friends.
All colleges are looking for well rounded students, not just the Ivies. As he gets older and you go on admissions visits, you will hear admissions counselors talk about how they are looking for a commitment to at least one thing outside of academics over a long period. They also want to know how your child is going to add to their university community.
Yes, your child can try different things but what is his passion? Bird watching? Volunteer with the Audubon Society. Start a bird club at his school. Join the Nature Conservancy. Do the annual Christmas Day bird count. And then document all of it. Statistics? Ask to be the scorekeeper at the athletic events over his high school career. Sound systems? Run the sound for Drama Club and then join the Drama Club. Run the sound for church and be there every time the door opens.Train other sound volunteers. Brainstorm. Google for ideas. Get creative. You need to help him broaden his resume for college. You have raised a gifted, bright student and the outside activities will help him bloom even more. From a mom who walked a similar path
He should take the SAT at some point assuming he gets a high enough PSAT score junior year to be a National Merit Finalist. That seems likely as he is obviously a good test taker. The top colleges are looking for more than test taking skills. There’s no one answer to what he should be doing. My kids liked doing Science Olympiad in part because it was a very congenial group and in part because there was a critical mass in the years they were in school that produced a team that was good enough to qualify for States every year, beating out high schools that were much higher ranked, including one of the exam schools in NYC, something that amused them no end. Your kid should do what they like - you might want to be aware that Harvard has gotten more concerned about looking for students who give back to their community.
This tips on this website are pretty helpful, although you’ll probably find something more recent (this was done when the writing section first changed in Sept. 2015):
These are ECs, and good ones. You should help him pursue as much as possible in these directions, the areas he’s interested in. He has a very bright future if he maintains his zeal for learning and is directed in avenues that stoke further passion.
Colleges are not necessarily looking for well rounded students- they are looking to build a ** well-rounded class **, that aligns with the institutional mission which can change from year to year.
The kids at my son’s ivy school were not necessarily the valedictorians according to my son. They had great gpas (top 5% in school) and high ACT/SATs (34/35) AND were passionate about their extra-curricular activities. Odd combos too like a lacrosse captain (not recruited) and state Latin award winner. His roommate was/is heavy into robotics and activism.
It’s a great idea to let your son explore many different options at his young age (a summer camp, school club, etc). Often these “extra-curriculars” become life-long pursuits.
Taking the ACT again is a total waste of time and money. If I were an AO and saw that a kid with 35 had retaken, it might ring alarm bells that the applicant was obsessed or too much a perfectionist.
ETA: at this point, as a ninth grader, it doesn’t matter what he wants to study.
If he wants to be considered for National Merit status, he will need to take the PSAT as a junior…and he WILL need to take the SAT to become a NMSF. Those are the NM rules.
Leadership positions are good, but so are significant accomplishments, even if they don’t involve leadership. Becoming the marching band’s drum major is a leadership position. Qualifying for all-state honors band is an accomplishment. Both are good.
