My son got 36 composite in ACT (36, 36, 36, 35 - reading) and 8/12 in writing. Does he need to retake the test to improve his writing skills? He has plenty of time as he is a incoming jr this year. I’m not sure if he will be able to get composite 36 again:)
If he were my son, I would not have him repeat the test. Getting a 36 with one sitting is fantastic! I think taking it again would just seem odd. Lots of kids who score high on the ACT get relatively low scores on the writing section. I think admissions will be wowed by the 36 and not really care about the writing score. Congratulations to your son!
No. 8 is fine and colleges do not weigh the writing score that heavily, if at all (depending on the school.) Junior year is very busy and he should focus on more important things. I am a test prep tutor and have rarely seen anyone get above ten in writing. It’s clear his writing is above average.
I agree with the two posts above. The upside is very small when compared to the effort, angst and exposure of re-taking the test. Would you be happy if he scores a 34 with a 10 in writing? What if he throws a 29 into a section? Why give schools any opportunity to question the 36?
There isn’t a school in the world where his current scores keep him out. Move on and focus on other things.
Thank You! I’m clear now and I will have him focus on his essay a little bit.
My S18 got a 36 composite as well. His writing was 7 or 8…
There is no way he would retake the writing portion. I wish he would have prepared for the test though, it seems it is fairly well defined what they are looking for with the writing sections. He does not write well for speed and it showed.
@DavidPuddy I really wouldn’t sweat prepping (or not) for the writing part. TBH, I thought it was structured really weirdly. Even learning to write to the prompt (there are various tutorials on line from the major test prep companies) still makes for an artificial and somewhat stilted result. It was not a measure of “good” writing, IMO.
For me, the SAT essay writing section is a much better reflection of the kind of writing an entering college student might be asked to do - an analytical response to a real text as opposed to building an argument by taking examples out of thin air.
@reddy20 He’s done, great result! Sigh of relief and he can cross the ACT off his checklist.
@mamaedefamilia , I agree with you 100%, we aren’t sweating the writing component. I should note he did very well on the objective SAT but again, not super on the writing portion. shrug.
One more question, my son took 8 AP exams in 10th grade and taking 6 APs in junior year. His ACT is 36, took 2 SAT subject tests (Maths 2 and Chem) and got 800 in both. He also took Calc 3 and Anatomy from community college and got 4.0 GPA in both. He does not have any subjects to take in senior year. His counselor recommended him to graduate year early. Does universities deny his admission as he is graduating in 3 years? Any restrictions on scholarships?
@reddy20 is he involved in anything at school - sports, leadership, etc? Or does he just study and get good grades? I would think enjoying his senior year and friendships and extracurricular activites would be important. And maybe take other classes that interest him.
He played in JV Tennis group after 9th grade (missed the opportunity after 8th grade as he did middle schooling outside USA), now he is in rowing team. He is in several clubs and got some state and national level medals. He also made to nationals and got 9th rank in one of his events. He put good amount of volunteer hours in last two years, got award certificate from united way. He is a board member in one club. Last year, he and a teacher ran a math counts class at middle school. Ran another class in the last summer. I would prefer him to enjoy the senior but he want to go in medical side and planning to cut it short as much as he can.