Should I even apply to NU, Tufts, or BC if I have a 27 act? Everything else is very solid except my test scores.
Are you an international student asking for financial aid?
If you don’t have a hook, that is going to be an uphill slog. You can try, but the odds are stacked against you. You sound like a perfect candidate for test optional schools.
My daughter was admitted to NU In last year with a 28 ACT, below the average for the admitted students. She was full IB and and international student. She wrote a very strong common app essay and had strong recommendations (per her HS counselor). She did not get any merit aid, though, and we talked about it. She said “it’s like spending the price of a house” for four years - the bill would have been over $70K per year. She really liked the school. In the end, she chose a midwestern liberal arts college that gave her a good merit aid package. She is very happy.
Northeastern does not consider SAT/ACT from international students (and does not include the scores of international students in their reported score ranges).
For the other schools, consider trying one of the official practice SAT tests available free online. Some students score dramatically better on one test than the other. (Late registration for Dec is Nov 20)
If your curriculum schedule, grades, and extracurriculars are very impressive, it is sometimes okay to have a lower ACT.
From my perspective as an ACT/SAT tutor at a tutoring center, I work with a lot of kids trying to raise ACT/SAT scores to get into selective schools-- NU, BC, and Tufts averages are around 32s. If you still have time to take one more ACT, I would recommend doing that. If not, colleges sometimes understand that standardized testing is tough for some kids even though they are very brilliant.
Specifically for these competitive schools, I think your odds of being accepted are low, BUT you never know! I have not seen your grades or extracurriculars, and sometimes colleges accept people because of an outstanding essay.
Also remember; although numbers play a big role in admissions, scores and grades aren’t everything. Keeping up with impressive extra curricular and writing AMAZING essays on the college apps will go a long way.
If one of those schools is your absolute favorite and you really want to go there-- try applying ED or Early Action to show interest. This might raise your chance of being accepted with a low score.
@hathora did your daughter apply RD?