I’m a rising senior and I’m going to apply Early Action to U of M. I just got my ACT results from the June test and I got another 31 (two in a row). I’m trying to decide if I should retake the ACT in September and try and get another couple of points. I’m kind of discouraged right not and would love to just be done with it but I realize my chances would be better with a 32 or 33.
I attend an very competitive OOS public school and I’m currently 5th in my class of 400. I have taken 4 APs junior year (Lang, Pysch, Calc AB, Physics 1) and will take another 4 senior year (Spanish, Calc BC, Lit, Enviro Science) and the rest of my classes are all honors courses. No Bs, only As and A+s.
Since I’m OOS, I understand my chances of acceptance go down and the need for a better ACT score goes up
Let me know what you think.
[ *] College: LSA
[ *] ACT: 31 (33E, 31M, 30R, 31S)
[ *] UM unweighted GPA: 4.0 unweighted - 4.5 weighted
[ *] Rank: Top 10
[ *] Subjective (ECs, special circumstances, etc): Good ECs, 20 hour a week job and I run my own tutoring business. Lots of volunteer hours in the community
[ *] Essays: Currently working on them, I hope they will be good
[ *] Teacher Recs: Good
[ *] Counselor Rec: Good
[ *] Hook (legacy, recruited athlete, etc.): Sister is a junior in Ross
[ *] State or Country: Ohio
[ *] School Type: Public
[ *] Ethnicity: White
[ *] Gender: Female
[ *] major strength/weakness: Strength - GPA Weakness - Test scores
[ *] Other Factors/questions: Planning on applying early action
I am an entering freshman at U of M so my opinion may not be that accurate. I had the same dilemma as you last spring. I did take it a 3rd time last fall, going from two 32s to a 34 on my last try. You’re a legacy with a a great GPA. Give it a shot if you really want in on EA. It can only help for a school like U of M.
Thanks for the reply @96blue. Yes, I know I should try one more time. I know the potential benefit will outweigh the pain of studying. I’m going to give myself a couple of weeks off and then reassess things. Good luck with your upcoming school year. You will have a blast!
My advice is take it again, if you’ve a decent chance to do better. Even if you get in as is, which you very well might, it could help with getting into Honors, or scholarships or something. You get to slack your whole senior year. What’s one more test?
For LSA, you do have a chance even with your current score, but your chance would be higher if you get a better score (particular for CoE/Ross). ACT 31 is below admission average for UMich. I am not sure if sibling counts for legacy or it gives you any advantage although you may report it on the application.
Nevertheless, if you have reached a plateau in practice and it matches your current score, there is no point to take it the third time.
