My first ACT, which I took through school, I got a 33. I’m applying to top tier colleges, though, so I wanted to study and retake it because my science was at a 27.
I studied with a tutor for science and a little on math, but when I took it in June, my composite dropped to 32, science stayed at 27, and math dropped to 29.
I’m freaking out bc most of my schools require all testing history, and they said that going down can look pretty bad. I have no clue whether I should take it again with more complete tutoring, or if should switch to the SAT (which I’ve never taken), or not take anything again, or if there’s another option.
You could take the ACT again in September. You could try the SAT in October–unless you need to take SAT2s in October.
However, 33 and 32 are both quite good scores sufficient to make you competitive at many schools. What about the other aspects of your application (GPA, ECs, etc.)? Financial considerations?
Even if you decide to retake, I recommend lining up some schools that work for the scores you have now. And note that some schools don’t consider the ACT breakdown, just the composite. You may be able to figure this out from their websites, or from an admissions officer.
Thanks for your response. I know they’re good, and I don’t mean to be prissy or anything. It just makes me nervous. Both composites are in the 25%-75% range for all my schools, but I do recall some officer at yale joking about scores going down. I was hoping my scores would boost the apps instead of being a potential drawback. I’m going to talk to a tutor and get her advice about September, and I’m working on some bigger projects and volunteer work this summer. It’s just a bummer, and I hope someone on this site might have advice about the predicament