Any Reason to take ACT while in College

<p>I'm attending a community college now and I've never taken. My SAT score was a 1220 and I had no preparation. I want to get into a better college. Let me know.</p>

<p>A good Community College GPA and good recommendations from a few professors will be a lot more important than a standardized test score at this point. The colleges use the test scores to predict college performance. You will have some actual college performance to show them. Focus on your college work and don't worry about the ACT or SAT.</p>

<p>Check the schools in which you are interested. Depending on how long you've been in community college (i.e., number of credits), they may well want to see ACT/SAT scores. For instance, I just looked at U Maryland - College Park. They want to see the high school transcripts and standardized test scores if a prospective transfer has less than 30 semester or 45 quarter hours. Same is true if transferring from another U Maryland institution.</p>

<p>You could ask potential schools which ask for such scores how important they are and whether they only want testing done during high school. There is an entire forum on CC for transfer students -- I imagine the folks there could be more informative.</p>

<p>Thank you for your replies. Every school I'm looking to transfer to ask for it. I am most interested in transferring to NYU.</p>

<p>Specifically, NYU says they do not consider SAT/ACT scores taken outside of college. However, I was having a similar problem as you. I scored a 1350/1600 in high school but wanted a better score to help "seal the deal," and while most colleges consider SAT scores taken in college, I was disappointed in NYU's decision. However, on the NYU Admissions Board a question was asked pertaining to the subject, and the officer said that while they did not consider the scores "officially" when evaluating an applicant, they could not avert their eyes if you send them SAT scores taken in college. In other words, it is not required or even recommended, but if you think you can quite a bit better it is a good idea to show your improvement. </p>

<p>Standardized test scores still provide admissions officers with a way to determine the difficulty of coursework, even for transfers. The problem with CC students is that many are considered to be taking easier courses than at 4 year universities, and in many cases that may be so. My humanities courses have been pretty easy, and yet my Calculus courses have been a bit challenging. SAT/ACT scores can reinforce the idea to the admissions committee that your GPA at your CC is not simply a result of being at a CC. </p>

<p>Since standardized tests measure knowledge across the nation (regardless of your high school/college), if you have a high SAT score along with your good GPA from a CC, your academic talent will be more evident than with just a CC GPA. </p>

<p>For the record, I retook the SAT with about 2 weeks of studying and brought my score up to a 2220/2400. I don't consider myself exceptionally intelligent, and so I would recommend you study for them and take them once more if you have time.</p>

<p>SAT IIs are also sometimes required by colleges, regardless of the fact that you take them during your college years.</p>