I am a Junior looking to go to college for engineering. I would consider myself a pretty smart person. I’m in all honors and AP courses. I currently have a 3.5 unweighted GPA and a 4.25 weighted. I took the ACT 2 times and got a 30 on both, with a 31 superscore between the two. I feel pretty confident that if I took it again I could get a 31 composite. Is it worth it? I’m not looking to go to a top of the line Ivy-League school, I was looking at good colleges that will give me a lot of money because quite frankly I couldn’t afford much else.
Thanks for the help!
If you think another attempt will just allow you to score the same as your superscore but in one sitting, then it’s probably not of significant value. My D had a very similar profile (3.7, 4.4, 31) and all but one school she applied to superscored.
It’s also a question of tradeoffs. If you think you can just register, show up, and score better, then maybe it’s worth it. But if you would invest time in studying and preparing, then you need to evaluate what else you could be doing to improve your application (grades, EC, essays, etc) that would be more valuable than a fraction of a point.
Getting real merit money with a 30/3.5 for engineering will be difficult. What are your instate options? Do have any idea of schools you will apply to?
IMO you have nothing to lose as long as you study, you want to make sure your math sub score is optimal. Most of all you need to have a reasonable list. Most schools will only look at your UW GPA. Desirable engineering schools don’t need to give money away. You just need a solid ABET program, maybe that is your local uni.
I live in Illinois. So instate would be UIUC. I don’t think I could get in there. I am looking at UW Madison and Iowa State, as they both have good engineering programs and are nearby. I plan on taking the ACT again and going hard at studying for it.
What is your budget? UWM engineering would be a reach just becuase it is desirable. It would be $$ as an OOS applicant. Most public OOS’s won’t give you FA. It is key to appreciate that the standard ACT/SAT range for entry for the school overall is not applicable in most cases to engineering, if possible search for the stats for the college of engineering within the schools you are looking at.
So budget? And do you know your FAFSA EFC?
What are the other in state options and how much do they cost?
Read up on financial aid. It doesn’t seem like you know very much. You may be able to afford more places than you think.
I am paying for college on my own, with a little help from the college fund my parents have for me. Not sure of my EFC, will be calculating within the next week or so. In state other options aren’t too great. None of them are on the Top 100 engineering colleges as far as I’ve seen. UWM is expensive, that’s why I’m leaning towards Iowa State. Budget would probably be about 20-25k per year. Possibly 30k, depending on what my dad decides to do. Complicated situation at home between my parents and college funding. I did research and couldn’t find specifics on UWM or Iowa State on engineering, except for a few minor details that don’t help too much.
I don’t think I will be. I’m sort of in the middle class part to where I’m too “rich” for financial aid but too “poor” to legitimately afford college. My siblings got a lot because my mom didn’t have a job, but she got one now that pays a fair amount above average income. I’m calculating my EFC within the next few weeks so should know more then.