There is only one very good reason to retake a 35, and that is if the child needs merit scholarships.
On the Pitt scholarship thread this year, it was clear that the students with ACT scores of 36 were notified first with full tuition scholarships, followed by the 35s with a mix of full and partial tuition, followed by 34s with partial tuition.
@hebegebe thanks for noting that, I wasn’t thinking of scholarships, and you are right. However, OP did specify high ranking schools, and I am guessing that means tippy tops.
Incredible…
No offense…just asking…since there were about a little more than 2,000 36 ACT scores, how many do you think chose Pitt?
@moscott Perhaps those that neither qualified for need based financial aid nor could easily afford tuition, especially if they were planning on pursuing non-funded graduate/law/medical school programs.
Judge not, lest you be judged.
Lol…judge away…however the question was with great inquisition. How many? If you don’t know the answer than just say so but I would guess very few. Best I can tell there were 3 NMF at UP so how many had 36 ACT I don’t know.
@moscott it sounds like you’re fishing though
Quiz Bowl. Academic Decathalon, model UN, debate, speech. Science Olympiad, Math competitions, student newspaper are all activities to consider. Maybe scientific research if he can find an opportunity. He should apply for the RSI and/or PROMYS summer programs when he gets old enough.
My smartest kid also fenced for fun & exercise. It was not very expensive just to join a club and use their equipment (although travel & competitions can be, but my kid mostly just did it for fun).
Fishing for? An answer if anyone knows.
Pitt was used as an example because it was very clear from the discussion how they doled out scholarships. I expect that many competitive merit scholarships operate in a similar way.
I say have him take food science summer camp to branch out. He’s all set, all things staying consistent, but you want to make sure he seems like he can breathe outside of the classroom.
I have two kids at Stanford and the President always mentions how they reject ~2/3 of students with perfect scores. It’s not enough. Volunteering is not enough. Research during the summer is not enough. You really have to stand out to get the attention of admissions. Find out what he loves and encourage him to reach his full potential. Then you package it all up in an application, roll the dice and hope for the best. I’d go for a 36–why not!
And yet standing out doesn’t have to be bold or deep or big. Just true.
Steer him towards STEM related ECs: science club, First robotics, olympiads, Intel ISEF, etc.
He needs to make a convincing case that he’s a future STEM superstar.
@firstoffive “If a child is appealing in all other categories but lacking in ECs, will it still be possible to attend a high ranking school?”
Yes, he will get into a high ranking school. Will he get into a top 10 school? idk.
@firstoffive “he wants to go into basic science research or pre-med.”
This is where his ECs should focus then. Schools do not care about lots of clubs and volunteer hours nearly as much as they care about a focus and ability to do something significant. Find a related club or activity that he likes, put in time and effort. Work to achieve something significant.
This is my 2 cents. You have a very bright kid, congratulations! This makes your kid and your life easier.
I understand that you are interested in guiding your kid into a very top university, of course out of your love. This is very honorable, and I bet it is likely to happen because caring parents are valuable assets to kids.
My thought is that you may want to guide you kid into a caring and passionate person. Use his time to give it back to the community, such as volunteer at your local hospital when he turns 16 (often the minimum age he can do so due to the hospital’s insurance requirements). Such ECs often shape and nurture his characters, and the “by-product” of such ECs is that you provide early exposure for a possible pre-med or basic science study.
A kid who is passionate about something and actually do something about it is the one who is interesting, standing out, and memorable. I will be very impressed by someone who through community work is able to identify an issue/cause (say a particular disease) and then “initiates” somethings to bring about awareness or improvement. The quality of being able to initiate something is a very important part of leadership with good evidence of passion.
Merely being the captain of some clubs is not that interesting; being able to initiate something out of passion are.
I’ll put this out there.
You already know that this 35 ACT score is a fine enough ACT score for acceptance to most colleges.
I would suggest you leave the ACT issue behind for now…just let it go.
Hopefully your son has good HS English teachers who teach writing skills, and can help him improve his writing score on the ACT. He can then retake the test when he is either a later junior or early HS senior.
He should look for things he enjoys outside of academics that align with his interests. Maybe a robotics club would be his cup of tea.
He should take the PSAT in junior year fall. That is what is used for NM consideration. It could open some college doors for him. If he does well enough, he will also need to take the SAT.
Here’s what I think. Your son can breathe a huge sigh of relief because he won’t have the uncertainty of test results hanging over his head during HS. Resist the temptation to strategize. He’s a bright kid, clearly. Let him pursue what most interests him. Let him change his mind. Let him choose. Enjoy the journey. And support him as much as your financial means and time allow.
I don’t know what separates the 5% admitted from the 95% rejected at ultra-elite colleges. But I suspect that authenticity goes far.
OP; i have no words of advice as this is really quite a big deal, and not likely for my kids. I know i’d be so excited if my kid had that score as a freshman, and i’d want to start making plans and charting courses. It would be hard to hold back! Congrats and well done.
We do have some friends with a bright kid who did very well on tests early on; but he wasn’t too motivated in his classes; his freshmen and soph grades came back to haunt him. So i’d encourage you to encourage him to keep his GPA strong.
I think his website is great; interesting and filled with savvy, helpful people. keep checking in and you’ll learn so much about the college process.
Have a conversation with him about interesting things he has read in magazines, or seen on science documentaries. See what makes his eyes light up. Encourage him to pursue those things. If he isn’t into sports, that’s fine. Maybe he wants to start a new club at school, or start a small business making websites or repairing computers or volunteering to teach people aty homeless shelters basic computer skills. Its all good