Are my ACT scores good enough?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>This is my first post, so please be kind!</p>

<p>First, the top 5 schools I'm looking at are (from most desirable to least )
1) Georgetown University
2) University of Pennsylvania (Wharton Undergraduate)
3) Cornell University
4) Babson College
5) University of Virginia</p>

<p>I am interested in business/finance, as well as hotels and travel, which is why Cornell is on the list :)</p>

<p>I took the SAT as a sophomore and got:
580 Reading, 640 Writing, 650 Math = 1870 (combined)</p>

<p>I took the ACT as a junior (in April) and just got my test scores back:
31 Composite + 12 Writing
(30 English, 32 Math, 31 Reading, 31 Science, 32 English/Writing Avg.)</p>

<p>I am a well-rounded student involved in many extracurricular activities and charitable foundations, so I won't bore you with the list. Let me just say that my extracurriculars and charity work certainly won't hamper me for the admissions process at any of these tier universities. I also started my own entrepreneurial company and am active in my church. </p>

<p>I am also taking the most challenging course load that my high school offers, with the exception of AP Euro because it would not fit into my schedule.</p>

<p>My questions at this point are:
1) Should I retake the SAT as several of these universities do not Score Choice, so will they see my low scores and disregard me?
2) Should I retake the ACT as I hear 33 is the cut-off for early decision (planning to apply to Georgetown early)?
3) When should I take SAT subject tests? Georgetown says 3 are req'd, but a friend of mine got into Georgetown without any...so I am very curious as to whether or not I can skip these or not?
4) For the above, what should my priorities be and my schedule be for taking the tests I need to take so I am done when it comes time to apply EARLY DECISION next fall?</p>

<p>Planning to spend the summer doing essays and an internship (with someone who has a wing of Georgetown named after him, so that could help for a rec, maybe?) and also applied to Summer@Babson (waiting to hear back).</p>

<p>FYI, I am White, Male, Lower Middle Class (<$40k per year family), Only Child</p>

<p>Thank you so much for your insights!</p>

2

<p>FYI I am from Pennsylvania, so that may play a rule (especially with UVA, as I am out-of-state).</p>

3

<p>1) Colleges claim that low scores can’t hurt you. Don’t bother with SAT again. Besids 1870 and 31 SAT is only about ~150 points off.</p>

<p>2) You should retake the ACT because a 31 is very low for an unhooked applicant espicially for Wharton and Cornell.</p>

<p>3) From GU website. "In addition, it is strongly recommended that candidates submit results of three College Board SAT II Subject Tests. Those three tests may be any three of the applicant’s choosing, although it is recommended that applicants to the Faculty of Languages and Linguistics submit a modern language score. All tests should be taken by January of the senior year at the latest, in order to allow time for the results to reach Georgetown by early February. "</p>

<p>4) See 3. You should improve your ACT first then focus on subject tests. 31 won’t make you competative at all for Wharton to be honest.</p>

4

<p>Your ACT is definitely much better than your SAT ([The</a> ACT | Estimated Relationship between ACT Composite Score and SAT CR+M+W Score | ACT](<a href=“http://www.act.org/aap/concordance/estimate.html]The”>http://www.act.org/aap/concordance/estimate.html)) but since you took the SAT as a sophomore it wouldn’t hurt to take it again. Even if a school sees all your scores, most just consider the best ones and ignore the rest. My advice would be to prepare and take the both SAT and the ACT once again in the fall. You won’t know if you don’t take them. Plus as you do the prep over the summer you can take practice tests to estimate how well you’ll do and if one test is way better than the other, you can decide then before you register. </p>

<p>About the SAT subject tests… if you are taking any AP classes that are in a subject you are strong in and will not be taking in the fall, then sign up and take that subject test June 2. For example, if you are in AP US History or AP Chemistry, the prep you are doing now will help you on those subject tests but will most likely not be remembered by next fall. The deadline to signup without a late fee is today. If it is a subject that you will be taking in school in the fall (math, english), then you can wait and take the subject test then. Just make sure you check the test calendars to schedule out these tests since you cannot take SAT and subject tests on the same day. My experience of seeing students apply to schools that want subject tests has been that if they ask for them, they really want to see those scores.</p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

5

<p>I would just retake the SAT. I honk it’s fine for Babson but low for the others. I would not skip te SATlls. What’s your rank?</p>

6

<p>My class rank is 2/164 at the present. I am certainly in the running for valedictorian, but does that count for anything in the application process for this level of universities?</p>

<p>My high school is a small, low-funded state school and I’ve tried to make my best out of the opportunity I’ve been given by taking the most challenging course load available to me. We don’t offer AP courses until senior year and I plan to take as many as possible. My point is, I will be taking the most rigorous courses available at my school (with the exception of perhaps AP Biology because you have to choose between AP Bio and AP Physics, [both are only offered in 2nd period, so must choose one over the other] and I certainly think I will excel in and enjoy Physics much more than Bio…)</p>

<p>I have used CollegeBoard’s new “BigFuture” system to look up ACT scores, and it looks like 31 is right around the 50% mark for Cornell and Georgetown (29-33 is their middle 50% at both). Cornell certainly is looking very good to me now as I just learned that their School of Hotel Administration (SHA) incorporates the real estate and hotel development aspect into the curriculum, which is right up my alley. Is SHA harder to get into than other schools at Cornell (given its prestige)?</p>

<p>I signed up for the June 2 SAT Subject Tests in Math I and Math II for two reasons:

  1. Cornell SHA requires either one of those tests (planning on submitting my best, obviously)
  2. Math is definitely my strong suit and I have a great trig teacher this year from whom I have learned a lot. I think now is a good time to take those tests.</p>

<p>Planning, then, to take the SAT and/or ACT at the beginning of next year, prepping in August (well, throughout the summer, but esp. in August). Does that sound smart?</p>

7

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<p>This is very misleading. Do not think that an SAT/ACT is especially competitive if you hit the 50% mark since this number is dragged down by recruited athletes and URMs who are recruited by the institution. The typical applicant needs to do better.</p>

8

<p>A 31 ACT is very respectable. The ACT is your test. I would not retake or even submit you SAT’s. It is your decision, but we had a similar situation with mediocre SAT’s and excellent ACT’s.</p>

9

<p>A 31 is good for Babson, low for UVA (OOS at least), Georgetown and Cornell, and is very low for Wharton. You should try to bring it up a bit.</p>

10

<p>I’m shying away from Wharton (despite the prestige of their business program) and toward the other four colleges because the programs they offer sound more interesting to me, and I want to love what I do each day…but I’m still keeping it on the list.</p>

<p>OsakaDad-I agree that the ACT is my test and think I can get up to the 33/34 range with some more practice over the summer. The only thing I did to prepare for the ACT last month was watch 2 hours of prep videos online the night before the test…never took a practice test or anything.</p>

<p>YaleGradandDad - That makes sense, I just wondered how skewed the statistic was given that the great majority of kids at a university (from my perspective, at least) are there because they’re smart. Sure, you have athletic recruits, but I didn’t think the figure was “very misleading.”</p>

<p>One other ? - does being 1st gen help, and if so, to what extent?</p>

11

<p>I don’t know much about admissions at the other schools but at UVA the fact that you are first generation will definitely help you. It will also help a lot that you are so highly ranked in your class and have taken the most challenging courses. If you look at UVA’s common data set
[Common</a> Data Set: Institutional Assessment and Studies, University of Virginia](<a href=“http://www.web.virginia.edu/iaas/datacatalog/cds/admission.shtm]Common”>http://www.web.virginia.edu/iaas/datacatalog/cds/admission.shtm) you can see which factors they consider most important. Also, UVA has an admissions dean that has a very helpful blog [Notes</a> from Peabody: The UVA Application Process](<a href=“http://uvaapplication.blogspot.com/]Notes”>http://uvaapplication.blogspot.com/) that can give you the most current and accurate info on admissions.</p>

12

<p>omg hey i got a 31 composite on the ACT toooo :slight_smile: except i’m retaking it because i want at least a 34…i would suggest taking it again for the heck of it, because if you improve it’ll make the application process that much better for you!</p>