<p>Our experience with a high ACT score (34) and Ivy applications has been disappointing at the uper IVY tier which advertises ACT scores of 34+ as being in the top 25% of accepted students, thereby prompting applications from kids who meet this requirement.</p>
<p>We would not have otherwise bothered to apply to the top tier, based on my D's SAT scores of 2160.. but her high ACT score seemed to justify the extra expense and effort--- which did turn out to be worth it.... but only by a hair!</p>
<p>Ultimately our story ended up great --- probably with what will be my daughter's destiny school-- Cornell University-- perhaps as a result of their number 1 physics department and a great letter of rec from my d's physics teacher who attended Cornell...... and not as much due to the ACT. </p>
<p>Although I am out $900 in application fees to the top tier Ivies because of the hope inspired by the high ACT score hook, with very few other statistics to back it up.. Also, I hear that this year was tougher for girls from the east coast, all around. (Based on reports from my daughter's Very Smart friends who were waitlisted en masse!)</p>
<p>My daughter applied from a public school (with an aggressively counterproductive guidance department in super competitive Westchester county) for elite east coast schools already overburdened with New York applicants.<br>
My d has no minority,athletic ability, celebrity or special home schooling hook, although she does have a super art and photography portfolio with professional exhibition, lots of volunteer work, AP scholar, (7 APs total) and 8 years in classical piano plus excellent teacher recs. Her grade point average was 95.4-- perhaps low for the top tier-- but again her school does not rank, and there is no way of knowing what a 95.4 means to top tiers, although my gut is that it is a bit weak. I do not know what her guidance depart sent in its writeup, but other parents have had problems with the school's guidance department's poor advice and sloppy reports and their huge workload. </p>
<p>Personally, I believe that it was perhaps a mistake to submit lower SAT I scores along with the very high ACT score. The SAT I scores were very respectable (2160) but not as high as the ACT score of 34. My daughter did not have energy to take the SAT I test a second time, and once you have taken it once, the scores are reported.. She probably could have boosted her verbal score from 690 into the 700s without a lot of extra work, but she was stubborn on this and thought that the high ACT would counteract the 690 Verbal, which does not seem to have been the case, although I certainly do not understand the vagaries of admissions committees. </p>
<p>I do think the top schools look at a CR 690 as a bit weak(bottom 25%), and that it overshadowed the top 1% 34 ACT score (top 25%)--- Also, I have heard that a high Critical Reading score is more highly valued by adcoms than Math. because it indicates an ability to get through lengthy reading lists with ease.... </p>
<p>ANyway, here are my d's stats and results:</p>
<p>34 ACT
690 Verbal 710 M 760 Writing
780 Math 2C, 740 Physics 700 Math 1C</p>
<p>Accepted:
Cornell University, Vassar College, University of Virginia (honors) UC Berkeley (out of state) UCLA (out of state) Colgate University, Skidmore, USC (Presidential Scholarship) Boston University (half tuition)</p>
<p>Waitlisted:
Pomona, Tufts, Georgetown University, Wesleyan University</p>
<p>Rejected:
Yale, Amherst, Dartmouth, Brown, Stanford, Johns Hopkins</p>
<p>Anyway, we are delighted with Cornell, UVA, Berkeley and money from USC and Boston University--- and her big problem now is where to go!!!</p>
<p>I hope that someone finds the above information useful in their quest. Congratulations to everyone who was accepted at their dream school and apologies in advance for any typos in this post!</p>