<p>I'm a rising senior with excellent grades, good ECs (I think) and a 29 ACT :( I've already taken the ACT three times and each time my composite rises two points, but do colleges look down on taking the ACT four times? I'm applying to small LACs (Carleton, Grinnell, Colby, etc.) so I'd really like at least a 31. My superscore is a 30. </p>
<p>Also, I'd prefer to take it in October instead of September, but is that too late for ED?</p>
<p>As to whether the October date is too late check the web sites of the colleges. I often see that answered in the FAQs. For your main question, I’ve seen it answered both ways. Some schools (like Stanford) care how many times you take the test. For others it seems like it’s not an issue. For instance Colby states:
That looks like they’ll just use the best test set.</p>
<p>I took the ACT 4 times because basically every school I’ve researched has said that they only consider the highest composite score. Just for reference on my fourth try my ACT improved by three points (into the low 30’s), don’t worry substantial gains can still be made even this late in the game. Good luck!</p>