<p>Ladyham,
even though SAT and ACT do have score choice, some schools do require that students send all scores from all test dates. You will have to check each school individually to see if they honor score choice.</p>
<p>Just wondering why she want to major in biomedical engineering? Many biomed companies hire mechanical engineers. Maybe she could major in mechanical with a minor in biology. Just a thought.</p>
<p>It’s hard when your ACT scores aren’t what you want. I don’t know if I would take so many test this spring, it just might be burnout. I would take it twice and another time in the fall. Sometimes there is just enough maturity through that summer to raise your score a little bit. The science is such a crap shoot, you can do well one time and not another. Hard to give any advice on that. English is mostly grammar, I would go through the tests she taken and see if there is one thing she is missing. For my D, it was grammar, she had a little private tutoring and it helped a lot. Most just her confidence. </p>
<p>She will have an advantage being a girl with admissions. I don’t know about UIUC but it will help at other schools. </p>
<p>I wanted to point out Michigan Tech. [Scholarships</a> | Michigan Tech Admissions](<a href=“http://www.mtu.edu/admissions/tuition/scholarships/]Scholarships”>Scholarships | Michigan Tech Admissions) It says that with a 27 ACT and 3.0 she would receive 12,500/yr. making it comparable to in state tuition. My S went there and had a great 4 years and I can’t say enough with the placement office. He has a great job now and is really happy.</p>
<p>Another school to consider is Case Western. It would seem that she might be on the low end of students accepted but given her interest in engineering, she might want to try and apply and see if she get any merit aid.</p>
<p>Just thought I’d jump in here and say…</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Please do not have your D take the ACT “as many times as offered.” April 14 and June 9 sound just fine. Let your D regroup over the summer and see how she feels about the scores, her college choices, etc. There is absolutely no reason for her to take it more than 3 times. Twice this Spring and one time in the Fall should be the absolute limit. Save your $ and save your D some stress. </p></li>
<li><p>Please sign her up to take at least one SAT test. I believe there’s one offered on May 5th and there’s also one on June 2nd. Or, depending on how you and D feel over the summer, there’s one in September she can take (perhaps after doing some review.) You should have all of the ‘data’ regarding her college applications that you can, and her SAT scores might surprise you! </p></li>
<li><p>Please do not worry about one point here or there with individual Engineering programs. Over the summer, look at schools that are in her ‘wheel-house’ of scores. Have her contact the programs that she’s interested in and, if feasible, go and visit. Make contact with those schools. They are looking to admit the entire student, not usually just chucking out students with one point more or less on a standardized test. </p></li>
<li><p>If her Math ACT stays around a 23, and her Math SAT isn’t above a 650 or so, I would have her seriously re-consider Engineering. The Math in those majors is BRUTAL and it might not be for her. </p></li>
<li><p>Relax and breathe! It’s going to be ok :)</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Laurendog ~ Thanks so much for the reply. Yeah, I guess we are not going to have her take it as many times as offered. She may possibly take it again in September depending on her scores. If she takes it in September that would make it 3 times. My daughter did have a 23 in Math in her first practice test (w/no prep at all), but since that test she got two 26’s and a 29. We prepped a little the night before for the 29, so w/more prep could she score higher? I don’t know. My husband and I know that math is brutal in engineering. My husband was an engineering major in college and earned his engineering degree from Purdue. Here’s the thing that gets me though. My daughter has been in the advanced math curriculum at school since middle school. She is taking senior level honors math and next year she is taking AP calculus BC at the recommendation of her current math teacher. You have to be recommended by your teacher in order to take this class. Is it really fair to say that she’s weak in math based on her score on the ACT test? Do the past few years of her earning solid A’s in honors level math mean nothing? I know the ACT test is what it is, and she and my husband and I will have to get over it if she doesn’t get the score she needs to major in engineering and move on to plan B I guess.</p>
<p>Someone had asked why biomedical engineering. My daughter has always liked math and science, was always in honors level math and science class, and always got very consistent solid A’s in those courses. She took a medical class first semester and had to research a career in the medical field. She researched biomedical engineering and since then that is what she wants to major in.</p>
<p>Remember the ACT math is retained knowledge. I still think she should look at the questions that she answers incorrectly on the prep tests…it’s quite possible it’s simple algebra or something that she hasn’t used in a number of years. Also kids can get great grades in classes but not retain knowledge over the course of time. It may not be true and those may not be the questions she’s missing, but it’s worth taking a closer look. Whatever happens she’s probably not going to bomb the math and could quite conceivably end up with a 27 - 30 or even higher which combined with her GPA will leave her sitting in a pretty good spot. Don’t put the cart before the horse. See how she does on the real test. We’re in the same spot with S3. Wants engineering. Has a great GPA but we simply won’t know where his actual ACT score is until the results come back in a few weeks. He, too, ran the gamut on the test prep takes with his highest at a 29 also. Yes, the scores could potentially be make it or break it for UofM but there are lots of solid engineering schools other than UofM if that is the way the chips fall and the student wants to be an engineer. I feel your angst but because I’m working with my third off to college I know that things have a way of working out.</p>
<p>While I don’t know anything about the ACT, my daughters both took the SAT. But I think it’s important to review what mistakes were made otherwise she will keep getting the same result.
D2 had the same score consistently in the same range after taking a few tests, I suggested to her to stop taking the test because it takes about 3 hours per test, very time consuming. Instead, I suggested that she review her mistakes first to see if she can identify her weakness. I hope this helps.</p>
<p>With the ACT, one can reverse engineer the rule set examiners apply to design the tests. These rules can then be applied to eliminate incorrect answers. By learning how to pick right answers, you can guess 80% correct in reading comprehension without reading each passage. The reason almost any kid can score well is because the ACT system is adapted to a checklist manifesto. So long as students can follow a step by step system, they can achieve amazing results. If you can find an ACT tutor who uses these methods, your daughter can increase her score substantially. And remember, a high ACT score also can mean higher scholarships, which more than offset the cost of an ACT tutor.</p>
<p>Regarding Iowa State BME:
[Iowa</a> State University Biomedical Engineering Courses](<a href=“http://www.registrar.iastate.edu/catalog/2003-05/courses/bme.html]Iowa”>http://www.registrar.iastate.edu/catalog/2003-05/courses/bme.html)</p>
<p>BME is offered at the grad level. So it is on campus but a bachelor’s degree in it is not available.</p>
<p>This isn’t meant to dissuade her from ISU, only to clarify what is available there.</p>
<p>I am glad to read you are aware of other options. Good luck to her on her tests and college applications.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>That is also true of the SAT, but a total waste of time, IMO. And since the ACT requires speed demons, it is usually much faster just to solve the problem correctly and move on. Why waste time looking at and eliminating four wrong answers when finding the correct one uses less time?</p>
<p>The ACT math in particular is straightforward. Little ‘reasoning’ required on this section.</p>
<p>Momofthreeboys ~ Thanks for your post! Yes, the test is retained knowledge. My daughter did say that she was familiar w/some the problems, but just forgot how to exactly do some of them. We have only been able to review a few of her wrong answers, and after going over them she realized what she did wrong and had no idea why she put some of the answers down that she did. A few also were silly mistakes like forgetting to carry a negative through and other things along those lines. She knows she has to be more aware and not make stupid mistakes on problems she should be able to get correct. Hopefully practice makes perfect. With just a little bit of prep in math before her last practice test, she was able to get a 29 in math (up from an original score of 23). That gave her hope. I agree that I am sort of putting the cart before the horse and we just have to see what her real scores are. So you are in a similar position w/your son, huh? Hopefully he is able to get the score he wants/needs. Did your son do a lot of practice tests? If so, was he able to get the score he wanted in the practice tests?</p>
<p>Drgoogle ~ Yes, I agree it is important to go over the mistakes and see why you made them. We have only been able to go through some of her wrong answers and hopefully next week (spring break) we will get a chance to go over all the wrong answers from previous practice tests. I agree it is tedious and time consuming to keep taking the tests, so we will only do that again after she has reviewed all of her past mistakes on past tests. Thanks for the advice!</p>
<p>Beolein ~ Thanks for your advice. I think that sort of strategy will help her on reading and science where she has to get some sort of game plan on how to approach those sections of the test. A tutor is something that we will consider this summer if she needs to take the test again in September. </p>
<p>Descartesz ~ Thanks for the info. I briefly looked at their website and didn’t realize that Iowa State didn’t have undergraduate BME. She won’t want to apply there then, at least not for engineering. If she decides not to pursue engineering, then she will probably major in biology, so it could possibly be an option for her. Thank you so much for taking your time to look this up. Very much appreciated!</p>
<p>Thanks again, everyone, for all the replies. Everyone has been so helpful and you have given me so much good information. It is truly appreciated!</p>
<p>I’m not a parent, just a procrastinating college student who happened to stumble upon this thread and happened to take the ACT.</p>
<p>Perhaps reading some science articles with graphs (if your daughter hasn’t) would help with her fluctuating science scores? I read a lot of science magazines such as Scientific American and found that it was extremely easy to pick up the important information in the science portion of the ACT, especially when there were graphs involved.</p>
<p>I agree with silvercrystal. The ACT science section relies heavily on interpreting the charts and graphs that are given. If you are good at pulling info out of the charts and graphs you will do well on the science section even if you don’t have a lot of background knowledge in the specific topic. It is something that improves with practice and exposure. In the science classes I teach I always include questions that focus on interpreting charts and graphs. At the beginning of the year student really struggle with these questions but by the end of the year they view those as the easiest part of the test.</p>
<p>LadyHam, yes the school has an ACT test prep class that is required for all juniors. All together he probably took 4-5 complete ACT tests toward the end of the class and yes the scores went up as he adjusted to the speed and timing. During the test prep class various high school teachers come in and out so they actually review basic algebra and basic geometry since some of the kids haven’t taken them for a number of years but they also have social science teachers that rotate in and out that cover vocab, reading comprehension and someone who reviews reading charts and graphs and the info that is contained in the science section. It’s kind of a neat way to do ACT prep within the high school setting. My son thought this was particularly helpful. He took the Michigan ACT and is scheduled for the national version at the end of May so yes, we have our fingers and toes crossed. He wants at least a 30, I’m praying for a 28-29 in the math which is where he was scoring on the practice tests once he got the hang of it.</p>
<p>LadyHam - Glad I was of some help. With your daughter’s challenging math coursework in HS, I wouldn’t worry too much about the impending ACT at this point. I am very familiar with the rigor of AP Calc and it’s impressive that she’s in that realm! Even if the ‘crazy’ happens and she doesn’t do great on the ACT Math, yet continues to do very well in her advanced math classes, the HS Counselor’s letter (required for all applications as you know) could serve her well. The Counselor could mention that despite being a brilliant math student at school, there seemed to be a testing dis-connect when it came to standardized testing. Schools WILL read the letter and take it into consideration. </p>
<p>Me thinks your DD is going to be fine, BUT if for some reason she’s not, it is clear that she could likely DO the math in an Engineering program based on her advanced courses in math ( by the way - hats off to your hubby - Purdue is HARD!) This is where the ‘visiting the colleges/universities’ and advising them of a possible testing issue will come in handy.</p>
<p>As an east coast parent (SAt prevalent) with a child who applied to schools in the midwest (ACT prevalent) I highly recommend that your daughter take the SAT at least once. She can buy a book and self study for the exam. It is different from the ACT and some kids do significantly better on one than the other. My son scored around 1950 on the SAT (equivalent to about 29 on the ACT) but scored 33 on the ACT (equivalent to about 2250 on the SAT). </p>
<p>My son found the ACT easier to deal with but your daughter may do better on the SAT. I have never heard of a school that wants only the ACT or only the ACT. Every school we visited accepted both.</p>
<p>Another thing I wanted to comment on that several parents have mentioned. My brother is on the admissions board of a college. He says that they truly do not care how many times you take standardized tests. He says that the highest scores are just sucked in and used to populate a database. There is no need to pay for score choice. The people reading your file will not be able to tell how many times you took the test, nor will they know whether your best score is superscored from different sittings, or done at one sitting (despite the fact that CC kids like to think it matters).</p>
<p>Just let your daughter take the ACT once this year and the SAT once this year and see which one is “her” test. Then let her take that one again in the fall.</p>
<p>ProudPatriot - While the information you passed on might be true for your brother’s institution, it certainly is NOT true at most schools. And, I know for a FACT that if you do not use “Score Choice” and you give a college permission to access the SAT/ACT scores, the people reading your file WILL INDEED be able to see how many times you’ve taken the test. </p>
<p>(if this were not true by the way, there would have been no need for the SAT to come up with Score Choice in the first place.) </p>
<p>I’m very curious as to where your brother works, as it contradicts nearly every other school that I have had experience with.</p>
<p>One of my daughters had the same type of stats and an initial (unprepped) ACT of 28. Needed a 31 to qualify for a scholarship at the school she wanted to attend. We went to the library and got one of the books that essentially explained test strategy for each part of the ACT test (Sorry I don’t remember the name but there are many to choose from.) I had her take a practice ACT and for each of the test sections, we together reviewed her incorrect answers, why the correct answers were correct, and any applicable strategy from the book for answering that type of question, if it truly was a question which she did not know how to answer. We did this the week before her 2nd ACT-reviewing one section a night. She scored a 32. That is the only prep she did. Knowing how to eliminate obvious incorrect answers as the book suggested saves a bunch of time. Also (someone may have suggested this already as I have only skimmed the thread), I hope in science and reading that your daughter is reading the questions before she reads the selection upon which the questions are based. That way she knows what info she is looking for as she reads the information.</p>
<p>Score choice is just a way for the College Board to charge you money. Every single school we visited said that schools do not look at your individual sittings and do not care how many times you take the tests. All they look at is the final numbers.</p>
<p>laurendog-They are ABLE to see all of your scores, but they do not consider how many times you take them</p>
<p>This summer we visited:</p>
<p>Tufts
Bowdoin
Williams
Ameherst
Hamilton
Franklin & Marshall
Johns Hopkins
Case Western
University of Chicago</p>
<p>Each school told the parents NOT to spend money on School Choice as they only look at the highest scores from each section no matter how many times a student takes the test. I do not purport to have visited every single school in the US but I can tell you that we heard the same story from all of these selective schools. One actually told us that Score Choice was just a way to prey upon the insecurities of college applicants. </p>
<p>As far as the OP’s child I stand by my advice to take both the ACT and SAT. She may just find that the SAT is the one that she prefers.</p>
<p>PP, we visited several of those schools as well, and did not hear one mention of score choice in the info sessions or elsewhere (tour, chats with in admissions, etc.). Were you asking specifically? Because I do not believe several of these colleges are routinely volunteering that as part of their “patter”.</p>
<p>Also… if no colleges care, then why do some INSIST that you send all scores? Eg, Harvey Mudd, Stanford. I think they want to ferret out the kids who took the test more than a few times.</p>