<p>For those who were accepted with the ACT only at a top tier or second tier school, please indicate your score, the school or schools you were accepted to and what state you are from.
There is no data available that indicates if those who apply to first or second tier schools and submit just the ACT have the same acceptance rate as those who submit the SAT with or without the subject tests, the SAT Reasoning test with the ACT, or the ACT with the SAT II subject tests.
I believe that it is likely that if one is not a recruited athlete, an under represented minority, a development legacy, from a state where the ACT is the preferred test, or does not have an unbelievably high ACT score, that there is a lower chance for that applicant to be accepted if they submitted just the ACT.
I believe that top colleges may look at those who submitted just the ACT, especially if they are from the northeast, and wonder if they took the SAT Reasoning Test and did not perform well. WIth over 20,000 applicants applying to these top schools for a small number of spots, the admission officers can be picky.
To dispell or confirm this, for those who applied to first and second tier schools and who ONLY submitted the ACT, please post your ACT score, and the school or schools you were accepted to and the state that you are from</p>
<p>Harvard admission officers and Yale admission officers have both said explicitly in the last year that they have no preference for one brand or the other between the SAT Reasoning Test and the ACT with Writing. This is not an issue to worry about. </p>
<p>All</a> four-year U.S. colleges now accept ACT test - USATODAY.com </p>
<p>(Thanks to a CC participant who is a class of 2008 high school student for the link above, which is definitive.) </p>
<p>See the College Board College QuickFinder tool (which ought to be, if anything, biased toward the SAT) for the facts about what score profiles are found in each admitted class. </p>
<p>College</a> Search - Harvard College - SAT®, AP®, CLEP® </p>
<p>College</a> Search - Yale University - SAT®, AP®, CLEP® </p>
<p>College</a> Search - Princeton University - SAT®, AP®, CLEP® </p>
<p>College</a> Search - Stanford University - The Farm - SAT®, AP®, CLEP® </p>
<p>College</a> Search - Massachusetts Institute of Technology - MIT - SAT®, AP®, CLEP®</p>
<p>I got into Claremont McKenna with a 30 on the ACT, but I had good EC's to balance the test score out...</p>
<p>They say they have no preference but none of the schools give any data to indicate if there really is a preference. DO THOSE WHO SUBMIT THE ACT ONLY
HAVE THE SAME CHANCE OF BEING ACCEPTED AS THOSE WHO SUBMIT THE SAT WITH OR WITHOUT THE SAT II REASONING TESTS IF REQUIRED, THE SAT AND THE ACT, OR THE ACT AND THE SAT II SUBJECT TESTS? </p>
<p>Let's see how some here on cc did. No one knows what the truth is other than they say they will take both and have no preference. But is that true?</p>
<p>I am not talking about the person who gets a 34 or 36. I am talking about those who apply to top tier and second tier schools and have somewhere in the middle range of the scores the school accepts. Do they have the same chance.
I would like to know about those who appied and were from states where the SAT is the preferred test, ie. the northeast, and who were not in one of the categories mentioned above, and may have had somewhere between a 30 -34.
Lets see some data.
Colleges can tell you all they want that they ACT is preferred as is the SAT
BUT ARE THOSE WHO SUBMIT JUST THE ACT HAVE THE SAME ACCEPTANCE RATE AS EVERYONE ELSE?</p>
<p>Skyhawk., what state are you from?
I am trying to determine how those who apply with the ACT only and are from the northeast and other states where the SAT is the test of choice do.
Also, some colleges that are in the midwest or south are in states where the ACT is the test of choice.
IT would be interesting to know how someone from NY, connecticut or boston did in the admissions process, if they submitted only the ACT and applied to first and second tier schools in MA NY, NJ, CT, Washington DC, PA for example</p>
<p>I'm from Oregon which isn't the ACT strong hold like the Midwest, but I do know that I think I was the only one of my friends to not take the SAT haha</p>
<p>When I was visiting northeastern schools over spring break they ALL said we're looking for kids with SAT's in the _____range...oh, and we also take the ACT if you want to send that instead. </p>
<p>It didn't seem like there would be a lot of applicants to compare to if all you sent in was ACT. Or maybe just high ACT scores are ever sent in so no one ever sends in a low ACT?</p>
<p>D took ACT only –
28 Composite -32 English, 26 Math, 24 Science, 30 Reading, 6 writing (yikes)
Never took SAT or SAT IIs
Accepted at University of Rochester, Fordham, plus safeties.
I think not taking any SAT IIs was probably more hurtful than anything.
I also don’t think you can make any accurate correlations in regard to just using the ACT since there are so many other variable factors involved in the selection process. GPA, Class Rank, Essays, ECs all play a role at many (not all) schools. Took the ACT in IL but was in the minority of top half of class that took both.</p>
<p>Hi, collegebound5, what evidence would convince you if you are determined to disbelieve the statements of the admission offices themselves and to disregard the known fact that some applicants who submit only ACT scores do get into highly selective colleges?</p>
<p>I'm from the Northwest & took the ACT (scored 33), as well as the SAT subject tests. When my SAT subject test results were sent to universities, they would have clearly seen that I never took the SAT - or those scores would have been included. I got into Ivy League and other top tier schools. Will be attending Stanford. Take whichever test suits you. I preferred the ACT as my strength is in the math & sciences - as opposed to English.</p>
<p>I am from California, took the ACT (32) and SAT II (800 in French, 710 in Literature). Got wait listed at Brown, into UC Berkeley, Wesleyan, GWU, Conn Coll, Brandeis, McGill.</p>
<p>Thanks for those who sent stats.
As for the poster who questioned why I am questioning ACT admission rates then the colleges say they have no preference is this:
I have heard from several consultants high up in admissions, that colleges cannot say directly that they prefer one over the other or they wont accept both, because there are some applicants who apply from states where the ACT is the test that is mostly administered.
It is a true fact that only a small percentage who apply to first and second tier schools actually submit the ACT only. Usually it is anywhere from 5-10%, especially for the ivy league.
There is however no documentation that shows that if a school has a 16% acceptance rate for all applicants, whether it is 16% for those who submitted the ACT as well.
I think one would want to know if there are 10% who submit just the ACT, or less, are those who are accepted mostly from one of the few states where the ACT is the preferred test. What I mean is, does an applicant from lets stay the northeast who submits only an ACT score to a northeastern top school, have the same chance of getting accepted as someone with similar grades and extra curriculars from the same state, who submits comparable SAT scores. (I am not talking about those with almost perfect ACT scores).</p>
<p>I am not talking about people like Van who sent the SAT II tests too and so his SAT I was sent also.
I am talking about those who send ONLY the ACT WITHOUT ANYTHING ELSE
ie. those who decide for whatever reason to send only the ACT so that the college does not see any SAT I and/or SAT II test scores.</p>
<p>Collegebound5 - WHY do you think it would make a difference? Why do you think ad admin would look differently at a student from the NE applying to a NE highly selective school with a high ACT score differently from a equal student from a similar area with a high SAT score? Why do you think the admin would think there was a difference in the candidate? I don't get why you are hung up on this question.... I went to college in the 70s and at that time everyone took both, now kids don't have too, the situation is better not worse. Why not just send you "best" score whichever that is ACT or SAT? I don't understand your angst over this.</p>
<p>The problem is that top-level colleges require SAT subject tests in addition to either the ACT or SAT. Or are you asking about colleges that don't require SAT subject tests?</p>
<p>Many of the ivy league will accept the ACT without the SAT II subject tests. Most of the top schools will accept the ACT without the SAT II subject tests.
I have reviewed stats of cc members who have posted their decisions on different college threads here, and you see a pattern of those being accepted who have not submitted ONLY the ACT with nothing else.
The best situation for someone who is applying to a top tier school or ivy league school, is to take practice tests for the SAT and the ACT, and figure out what they do best in. If it is the ACT, then they are best to not take the SAT, and just take the SAT II subject tests if the school requires them. I would submit ONLY the ACT and no subject tests if the ACT score is extremely high if one is not from a state where the ACT is the test of choice.
I really just want to be helpful. I think there are some applicants who take the SAT and dont do well, and then take the ACT and do very well, and realize that they dont want the colleges to see the SAT I scores, so they dont send the SAT II scores either. The thing is that the applicants assume that they have a good chance of being accepted if their ACT scores are in the range that the school accepts.
I just think that they may not realize that someone with comparable SAT scores along with corresponding SAT II scores, may be considered stronger.
When the college says for example that the median SAT scores they accept are lets say 680-730 for example, and might say median ACT scores of 29-33 (just an example), it may mean that someone who submits a 710 710 from the northeast to a northeastern school, may appear stronger than someone who submits a 30 from a northeastern state to a northeastern school.
It is hard to know for sure since the schools dont indicate what percent of those who submitted ONLY the ACT are accepted.
The competitive colleges are quite aware that where one submits the ACT they only have to submit the highest score and no others are seen, whereas with the SAT when one submits it, all their test sittings are shown.
I have not seen many posting on cc who submitted ONLY the ACT to an ivy league or top tier school where SAT II tests were not required who were accepted unless they were legacies, from a state in the midwest or south, were legacies or recruited athletes UNLESS the student got a very very very high ACT score.
University of Pennsylvania says for example that they take the SAT with two subject tests OR the ACT (no subject tests needed). However they say on their site that they PREFER the SAT.
If two students from the same high school in lets say Scarsdale apply to Penn and one has SAT scores in the range, versus one with the ACT, the one with the SAT may be stronger. THe admission officers know it is very possible that the student with the ACT had considerablly lower scores than the other applicant on the SAT and just did not submit them</p>
<p>Collegebound 5: As has been noted many times before on cc, test scores are only ONE part of the equation in college admissions. I am from the Northeast and did not submit SAT scores or SAT II because I believed my ACT score (with writing), 30 was a better indication of my knowledge. My GPA was a 3.8 with AP and honors classes and I was actively involved in EC's that were of interest to me. Although I did not apply to ivies (which is what I think you are most concerned about), I was accepted to competitive universities (including BU, NYU, GW) and top ranked LAC's. IMO many schools are now looking for students who have more to offer then just high SAT and/or ACT scores, as it seems that many students from the Northeast are tutored and getting top scores.<br>
If you are only interested in knowing the real truth about what you refer to as the top schools, then you might be better off polling just students from the schools that you are interested in.</p>
<p>By the way.... 3.8 is my unweighted grade as h.s. does not weight. Unweighted is 4.0+</p>
<p>I am glad MsBC that you had a good experience with submitting the ACT.
It is true that SAT scores are just part of the picture.
However lets say there are two candidates A and B applying from Scarsdale High School in Scarsdale NY to University of Pennsylvania. Let say both have the same high grade point average and the same extra curriculars in terms of leadership and passions, and the same academic awards. Lets say that candidate A has a 710 720 and comparable SAT II subject tests and did realtively the dame on two sittings. But lets say candidate B really took the SAT I three times and never got higher than a 580 580, but did better on the ACT, and got a 28 first time, and then a 31, and just submitted the 31. Lets say applicant B did not send any SAT II subject tests because he knew the SAT I scores would be sent.
I believe that the admission officers may wonder if applicant B from a northeastern school where the SAT is the test of choice,may be hiding low SAT scores, and therefore applicant A appears stronger.
I am just trying to help out and think that those who are applying to top schools should consider taking practice tests in both the ACT and SAT first and see which they do better in, and if it is the ACT, to submit the SAT II subject tests also, and not take the SAT, so colleges will not wonder if there are low SAT scores the applicant is hiding</p>