<p>@JeremyRotman : Those test sores include hooked applicants which represent a significant chunk of the applicant pool. This applicant appears to be unhooked and needs a significantly higher score. </p>
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<p>Every school says that.
The reality is unfortunately a bit different. </p>
<p>Still, those test scores represent the median score ( 50 % of people accepted) I don’t believe hooks change that average considerably. Considering the OP is already one point above the average of BU, I still don’t see why 31 is considered “Very low”. It’s not stratospheric but the denomination “low” seems a little harsh.</p>
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<p>Believe it.
They do.</p>
<p>Checking Naviance for my son’s HS where 100% of the graduating class is going to a four-year college this year. The average ACT for BU is indeed 31 for the accepted applicants, but nobody with under a 30 got in (which also includes hooked applicants). So I do indeed believe that a 31 for an unhooked applicant is on the low-end. However, everybody with a 33+ got in so although she’s on the low-end, she’s still competitive and I think would likely get in.</p>
<p>The other schools (Duke, Bernard, etc.), are another story. Unhooked 31’s simply don’t get in there.</p>
<p>Well since I’m no expert I’ll take your word. This also means that since I’m unhooked I’m going to have to work damn hard. I’ve never taken the ACT, didn’t even know what it was till April. 
( I’m french not stupid xD ).</p>
<p>@JeremyRotman : Well, if you’re an international applicant, you have an even tougher road as the standards for most US Universities are a bit higher for non-US applicants. Furthermore (and not to rain on your parade even more) only a small handful of schools are need-blind for international applicants.</p>
<p>Best of luck to you!</p>
<p>Well I’m moving to the US so I’ll be studying here but in a private school ( french school) so that annuls everything no ?</p>
<p>@jcpgirl10 - I also think soze is off base on this one. I see unhooked applicants get into BU, Barnard and Tufts with similar resumes all the time, especially BU and Barnard. You are right in their zone. Can’t really call them safeties, of course, but I would say your chances are around 50% for each. You need a few more like them. WUSTL Georgetown and Northwestern are dicier, but certainly not “impossible”, especially with the triple legacy at NU. I agree that applying ED to NU would help leverage that legacy, if you are so inclined. But not if you want one of the other schools more. Duke, UPenn and Stanford are clearly very long shots.</p>
<p>I would throw in a few more schools where your odds would seem the same as BU and Barnard or even higher. Tulane (of course I am biased but it is very often a school that BU applicants also apply to), Miami (FL) (similar to Tulane in many ways), University of Southern California (more of a reach than these schools, in-between them and WUSTL I would say) would be good schools to look at. Tulane I know has a very large contingent from Chicago every year. Usually from the northern suburbs, but still. And the school is about 30% Jewish, since you mentioned that. Some of these others are likely similar in that regard. Oh, and I think Rochester was mentioned as well. You should look at that, and maybe at Case Western Reserve.</p>
<p>As I said, I think calling BU a safety might be overstating it. GWU and Northeastern are a bit more towards that category. But when you take them all into account, and especially if you add a couple if the others I mention, it is very hard to imagine you not getting several acceptance offers. Several of these have excellent merit scholarship histories, often not requiring any extra applications. So as long as they are affordable, you should have some very good choices come next spring.</p>
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<p>Not unless you’re a US citizen or green-card-holder.
You will be considered an international applicant otherwise.</p>
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Do you have any evidence for this? Say at BU, to start?</p>
<p>@fallenchemist : I didn’t say it was for BU. I said it was bellow the line for Duke, Stanford, Barnard, Georgetown, etc.
Which it is.</p>
<p>@soze ( Sorry for the parallel and kind of out of topic answer) I’m a citizen, that was an important indication I omitted, so my problem is solved xD</p>
<p>@JeremyRotman : Well, that problem is. Now you have to get in! :)</p>
<p>Right, OK. But of course a lot more than ACT scores are taken into account. It’s important, but to say “don’t bother” is, indeed, I think overly negative. As long as she knows it is a long shot, and they can afford the application fees, then why not? She isn’t totally out of the range.</p>
<p>I mean Duke took 19% in the 24-29 range in 2011-12, the latest year I could find that data. While I would agree that a lot of these are revenue athletes and otherwise hooked students, that is still a fairly high number, and she has a 31, considerably better than 29.</p>
<p>Barnard has 35%(!!) in the 24-29 range, so I think you are really not quite correct in your assessment for that school.</p>
<p>Stanford of course really is tougher, with only 13% in the 24-29 range. Still, again I point out she has a 31. Very low odds, yes.</p>
<p>Just to finish it off, Georgetown was 25% in the 24-29 range. Again, that is too many to say it is all athletes (especially since they pretty much only do basketball for hooked athletes, maybe lacrosse? Still nowhere near the numbers that a football school would have) and otherwise hooked students.</p>
<p>The stats just don’t support your contention in this case, soze. At least IMO.</p>
<p>So as a student that never took his act and for the OP what is the aimed ACT score for schools like BU, Stanford, Duke to have good to great chances ?</p>
<p>Sorry, but I think that nearly all the <30 admits to Sanford, Duke, Georgetown that you pointed out are hooked in one way or another.</p>
<p>@JeremyRotman - Of course it is different for all the schools to some extent, and the easy answer is get the highest possible. But I think if I understand the nature of your question, if you can hit the score that they say is the 75th percentile, then your chances have to be pretty good. That assumes, of course that your GPA is strong, you took a strong schedule of classes, your leadership positions and EC’s look good, and the recommendations are also very good. You can find the 75th percentile stat quite easily as it is a commonly reported number. So not to say your chances aren’t decent if you hit the 50th percentile, it just depends on the rest of your record. But that is true for any ACT score, even a 36.</p>
<p>@JeremyRotman:
For BU to be competitive a 31
For Duke to be competitive a 33
For Stanford 34
(Keep in mind Duke and Stanford are in a whole different league of selectivity than BU. Those schools <em>routinely</em> reject 36’s, which would be very rare for BU).</p>
<p>Nobody who’s unhooked can have a “great” chance at Duke or Stanford, the best you can do is to be a competitive applicant – of which 90% or more will get rejected.</p>
<p>Yeah it just angers me that I have 4 months to do what people do in 4 years, as I lived in France and didn’t expect to move to the US, I already had 31 on my ACT mock exam without studying or preparing ( my first standardized test ever btw ) but I hope I’ll be able to raise my scores by studying and tutoring this summer. :(</p>
<p>If you didn’t expect to move to the US and you’re going to a french-speaking private school, can’t you apply to French universities?</p>