Chances With Low Test Scores?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Right now, I'm applying to the University of Pennsylvania, Cornell University, Dickinson College, Boston University, SUNY Binghamton, and (if my parents let me) the University of Notre Dame. I feel like my accomplishments and stats are good (especially considering my small community and limited opportunities)...but then you have my test scores. Can you please explain how colleges will look at my application despite the scores? Also, am I completely doomed with some of my top schools? Here are my stats:</p>

<p>Female, Pennsylvania, White</p>

<p>SAT: 1720 (won't send if I don't have to)
ACT (superscored): 28C - 33E, 29R, 26M, 24S (will take again in October)
AP: 4's in both English Language and US Government
Planning to take SAT Subject Tests in early November</p>

<p>GPA: 4.2 (weighted)
Rank: 5 out of 95</p>

<p>Currently taking 5 AP classes (my school doesn't offer many AP's, and most of the AP's offered have nothing to do with my field of interest)</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:
-Trumpet player for marching band (president, lead) and concert band (lead). Ranked 1st in county. Qualified for Districts, Regions, and States. Never had a private lesson.
-Concert choir. Ranked 1st in county. Qualified for Districts.
-Musical theater
-Student council (treasurer)
-Newspaper club (section editor)
-Biology club
-Debate club
-Veteran's Day Committee, Taps player for Veteran's Day assemblies and Memorial Day
-Pep club (president)
-Academic competitions
-Lay leader at my church, selected to attend our denomination's national meeting in California as a voting delegate this past summer. Also a member of tone chimes, minstrels, and adult choir.
-Held an internship for Barack Obama's campaign for reelection, put in over 150 hours.
-Young Democrats chapter of my county
-Youth program at a seminary</p>

<p>400+ hours of community service
Volunteer at the local hospital, soup kitchen, church, teaching kids how to play the trumpet, etc.</p>

<p>I will probably get good to awesome recommendations. I come from a small school, so the teachers know me very well. Additionally, my essay is really good (probably my best work). It focuses on my personal transformation through my musical endeavors. Sounds run of the mill, but I made it quirky.</p>

<p>How do my chances look with such low test scores? What should I expect? Thank you for your help.</p>

2

<p>UPenn: reach
Cornell: reach
Notre Dame: low reach/reach
The rest are all matches and low matches
The only one of those reaches that miiiight be in your range is Notre Dame, but i still wouldn’t count on it until you improve your test scores</p>

3

<p>From the ND website:</p>

<p>“We will accept either the SAT or the ACT at Notre Dame. We do not have a preference for either test. We suggest to our applicants to take the SAT or the ACT test at least twice because we tend to see a jump in the score, especially between the Spring of junior year and the Fall of senior year. Students will often take both the SAT and the ACT to see if they can score higher. Please submit all scores, SAT and ACT, to Notre Dame for review. We will take your best composite score for the ACT. For the SAT we will take the highest individual scores for each of the three sections: critical reading, math, and writing. These three best scores will make up your highest individual SAT score.”</p>

<p>So, ND now “super-scores” SATs but not ACTs. That’s the first time I’ve seen that particular variation. To be blunt, super-scoring is silly. Some schools do it, but most do not. The odds that it makes a material difference in the decision is quite small, but it seems to make applicants ‘feel’ happy from what I can tell. The more common practice is to take the single best test score – which is what ND does with the ACT.</p>

<p>For schools like Penn, Cornell, or ND, you’ll likely need to hit the 98th percentile or higher (composite ACT >= 32) to approach having a 25-50% chance. For these schools, some 75+% of the students have test scores at least this high, a class rank on a par with yours, and EC’s on par with yours. </p>

<p>An ACT composite of 28 simply isn’t high enough for these schools – unless you play hockey, are a legacy, etc. </p>

<p>The 2 most important ACT section scores are English & Math – the other 2 don’t matter anywhere near as much. Your 33 English score is good enough, but your Math needs to go up. </p>

<p>Note that the ACT Science is a highly volatile score: missing only 3 questions can drop you to a 31. The flip-side is that your Science score could shoot up several more points if you have a ‘good’ day – it is not uncommon to see it jump 7 points (up or down) from one test to the next. Getting your math score to jump, say, 4 points is a much tougher task. It can happen, but it’s less common.</p>

<p>Good luck on the October test. Get to bed early before the test, take a 5-hour energy before the exam, stay relaxed during the test, and ‘attack’ the test with all your energy.</p>

4

<p>University of Pennsylvania and Cornell University: reach
Dickinson College: low match
Boston University: match
SUNY Binghamton: low match
University of Notre Dame: Match</p>

<p>Good luck with the subj tests and the ACTs! If you really want, apply to high-tier testing free schools, like brandeis and bowdoin…</p>

<p>If you’re willing:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1550070-looking-some-helpful-input-chance-me.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1550070-looking-some-helpful-input-chance-me.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;