Do highly selective colleges look at individual ACT scores

Parents Forum
21

How did he do on the SAT? I know that Illinois replaced the ACT with the SAT as part of their mandatory state testing junior year.

22

Agree. Submit both. Do NOT retake.

23

One downside is you now will spent an extra $13 sending each test to the universities.

My D19 has a friend that has to send 3 different ACT scores in for schools that superscore to get the highest score. I said to my D19 well at least you saved me $13 on all 16 of those college apps.

24

I think OP has gotten the gist of what most folks who responded are laying down:

  • fantastic ACT scores - have him submit both
  • don't waste time/money taking it again
  • work on the other parts of the college "resume" (GPA, EC's, essays, interviews, getting LOR's if needed)
  • don't go insane when kids with lower stats get in where your son doesn't - college admittance is an enigma
25

"I am looking for advice on if a retake is required for ACT to improve the chances for admissions at highly selective school (due to the lower Stem scores in the second test). "

I’m a bit confused by this question . If you think a school is going to look past higher scores on specific sections and see lower scores on one specific test date, why wouldn’t they continue to do so with a third score? Another test won’t make the 33’s go away.

“While a 33 in M and S is good, you may want to see if he can raise that, to be more competitive for stem.”
Why would M35/S35 on a third test be better than the M35/S35 he already has?

26

He is going to take the SAT in April. His teacher is asking him to take it easy (other than taking the test) as his focus has been on ACT only.

27

We haven’t submitted any of the scores to the schools yet.

28

You said your S is targeting selective schools. I assume you live in Illinois and are referring to the state mandated SAT. S will have to study for the SAT if he is looking at any of the schools that require an applicant to submit ALL test scores.

When it does come time to apply, make sure you understand the testing requirements for each school. Whether a school superscores or not will also help determine which score(s) to send.

Many schools now allow self-reporting of test scores…meaning you don’t have to pay to send official test scores at application time. Your S will likely have to send official scores to whatever school he decides to attend.