Hi all,
I am a current Junior in High School and was wondering what impact test scores have on a college admissions decision. NYU has been my dream school all of my life and I have the grades for it (GPA: 4.25), however, my test scores are not as strong. I have only been receiving 27’s on my practice tests. If I plan on applying ED to NYU with my GPA next year, what score on my ACT should I aim for? Also, how much of an impact does this score have on their decision?
If you google the “common data set NYU” and go to section C, you’ll see that the middle 50th percentile is ACT 28 to 32. A 27 makes you an unlikely candidate. Not impossible – very unlikely.
Be aware of NYU’s test policies. You can meet its test requirements for admission by submitting scores from three SAT subject tests or three AP tests, instead of submitting SAT or ACT. See http://www.nyu.edu/admissions/undergraduate-admissions/how-to-apply/all-freshmen-applicants/standardized-tests.html
Ramp up your prep and start testing - it’s not too early to register and take real ACT tests to try to put a 28+ score on the board.
Have you had the “money talk” with your parents yet? Go to NYU’s fin aid page (and indeed, any college) and run the Net Price Calculator. NYU is notoriously stingy. And parents are notoriously clueless about the real cost of 4 yr private colleges these days.
This plus a cold analysis of your grades/test scores will help you crystalize your target school list. At this point NYU should only be a “hail mary” type of application, expecting rejection (unless you seriously boost your ACTs). Get to know other schools, quickly. Good luck.
My D18 got a 29 on her best practice test but got a 31c on the actual test. ACT curves the test scores so until you actually take it, don’t worry too much about practice scores
I am actually very confident with my gpa because people in my high school have been accepted ED with significantly lower. Since I am applying ED, I know with this fact my grades are not the issue but my test scores are.
As a junior you have plenty of time to take the ACT, most people take it 2 or 3 times to get the score that they want. Take the next test, then again in the spring, and again in September of your senior year if necessary. Huge improvements are definitely possible with study and experience, my son improved 11 points in 3 tries (over a few years). For him the first score was nerves, age and inexperience, the last test was tweaking and working on the weak spots in the 2nd test.
I am in Precalc and have been both taking an ACT class and using a tutor. I only started studying recently so hopefully I will improve!