<p>My friend is interested in applying to the UofM to the CLA. </p>
<p>She is a good student but just can't get a good ACT score. She currently has a score of 20.</p>
<p>This is her overall profile:</p>
<p>Female
Minnesota resident
3.5 GPA
20 ACT</p>
<p>Track - 4 years
National Honors Society
Academic Letter
State Science Fair
Published in school magazine
Month-long research internship at a university
Year-long program introducing to careers in medicine
Good letter of recommendations from teachers, and research instructor</p>
<p>The problem is she is not sure if she should study for the ACT this summer, retake it in September, and apply in October. Or if she should apply ASAP (like the very first day) with her current stats.</p>
<p>Is the possibility of MAYBE going up a couple of points on the ACT worth delaying her application for a month or two?</p>
<p>1) Did she try the SAT? Some people do better on one than the other. She could try that.
2) She should apply as early as possible, and say on the app. that she will be retaking the ACT in Oct.</p>
<p>Here is what your friend should do:
Apply A.S.A.P -applying early help
Consider applying to the College of Human development:General Studies, it will automatically place you in CLA after a year.
If she waits there is a slim chance she will get it, but a large possibility of being placed on the wait-list..
Just Remember apply in September it will be a deciding factor.</p>
<p>Thanks for your replies.</p>
<p>What is the overall reputation of the General Studies program? Do the classes that she would take there count towards her future major in CLA?</p>
<p>Yeah, have her try the SAT.</p>
<p>Trust me, taking the SAT and being in Minnesota is fine. It was a little weird taking the ACT with 400 kids and then taking the SAT with 4 kids... but I did better on the SAT.</p>
<p>Honestly though, I wouldn't be TOO worried about waiting awhile to apply for a higher score. I wouldn't say that applying in September to the U of M is necessary. Of course, I have no clue what I'm talking about, but yeah...</p>
<p>Minnesota love :)</p>
<p>I wouldn't recommend the SAT for a midwesterner. I'm from WI and I received 600-660's on the subject test and those are a bit above avg (83%ile). The state percentile put me at like 40%.</p>
<p>Geography doesn't predispose some one to do poorly on the SAT. Yes, in the Midwest most people take the ACT. First, 85th percentile is not slightly above average. It's in the top fifth... Second, the fact that your state percentile is so much lower than the national says that people from Wisconsin who take the SAT generally score higher than students from across the US as a whole. There is nothing inherently wrong with the schools in the Midwest that puts students at a disadvantage when taking the SAT. The only disadvantage is that guidance counselors don't usually push the SAT as much as they do the ACT, partially because ACT is based out of Iowa City and the College Board out of New York City. Colleges in the Midwest will accept either test, in fact over 90% of colleges will accept either test and the few that prefer one or the other are likely ones you have never herd of (with several notable exceptions.) I stand by the advice others and myself have given you to have her try the SAT. What is the worst thing that could happen? You give up four hours on a Saturday morning... Please ignore the post from vvvaaappp. Some people just do better on one test than another. I did better on the ACT, but as you can see, some do better on the SAT. They are just different tests and choose to emphasize different things.</p>
<p>top fifth as in poor performance???</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice. She could try the SAT, and she might do better on it as I think she did alright on the PSAT. However, the next SAT test date is in October, so she'd be applying to the UofM almost in November. </p>
<p>As I understand it, the earlier one applies to the UofM the more chances one has to get in, and it is possible to apply as soon as September. So I don't think the improvement she may make on the SAT would be worth the 2 month delay on her application.</p>
<p>Looking at the numbers for CLA, it doesn't look like she'd get in with a 20 ACT even if she applied in September. Do you guys think it'd be best for her to just apply to the General Studies program? What is the reputation of this program? Would she have good odds at admission into that program?</p>
<p>I agree with the advice to try the SAT. Read, read, read, and read for fun this summer, and find a library book with GENUINE practice tests for the SAT, and do at least two of those under actual testing time limits for practice. A second try at the ACT wouldn't hurt either: also find genuine previous tests to prepare for that. If you can't find the previous tests in a library, or get them soon by interlibrary loan, just buy them. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Official-SAT-Study-Guide/dp/0874477182/%5B/url%5D">http://www.amazon.com/Official-SAT-Study-Guide/dp/0874477182/</a> </p>
<p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Real-Guide-guide-include-tests/dp/0768919754/%5B/url%5D">http://www.amazon.com/Real-Guide-guide-include-tests/dp/0768919754/</a> </p>
<p>It's better to prepare for the tests, meanwhile applying early in the rolling admissions cycle, than to make an application with only marginal test scores to report. The student's other accomplishments sound good, but it is expedient to boost the test scores. </p>
<p>Good luck. </p>
<p>P.S. </p>
<p>ALEKS </p>
<p><a href="http://www.aleks.com/%5B/url%5D">http://www.aleks.com/</a> </p>
<p>may be helpful for this student for math review. </p>
<p>P.P.S. The U of MN has nothing against the SAT, and never has. I only took the SAT, not the ACT, when I was in high school, and I was admitted just fine to CLA.</p>