<p>Hey everyone. My name's John and I'm a Junior in high school. I really want to attend Vassar College, but I'm afraid there's one thing holding me back. Research shows me that the average ACT score at Vassar is between 29-33. Sadly, I'm no where near that range. I got a 22 on the ACT (I just took it for the first time). Since this college is highly selective do I even stand a chance at getting in? I mean, my ACT score isn't that high but I think I fit other levels of criteria. </p>
<p>I'm a Spanish tutor and ranked 2nd in my Spanish class (Vassar is big on second languages, from what I see).
I'm ranked in the top 5 of my class.
I'm a published writer and, before this summer's over, a published author.
I have a 4.0 GPA.
I'm Vice President of the National Honors Society (possibly President my Senior year).</p>
<p>There's a lot more, but this is just a brief overview. So my question is that is the ACT really going to be the thing that ruins my chances at getting in? I know it's very important, but don't my other accomplishments sort of outweigh the ACT score? An ACT score doesn't really define intelligence the way other things at. I mean, some people just don't test well. And I can't forget about the college essays. I know those play an important role...</p>
<p>So what do you guys think?!
Feedback would be greatly appreciated!</p>
<p>You definitely have a chance at Vassar!!!</p>
<p>You have some great extracurriculars, as well as a strong high school transcript and great class rank- these are all VERY important factors at Vassar.</p>
<p>That said, a 22 on the ACT is a little low. Have you taken the SAT also, or tried the ACT again? It is very possible that you could do much better the second time, maybe you were just haveing a bad test day? I know from experience that it is possible to raise your SAT greatly, as mine went up over 100 points into the 1400s from my junior to senior year (without a prep course).</p>
<p>So, definitely work to try and raise your ACT, and try the SAT. The best advice I can give you is to buy a test prep book with old SAT/ACT tests, and practice, practice, practice over the summer. Don’t give up on going to Vassar, it is an awesome place!</p>
<p><em>Also, being male definitely helps with admission to Vassar, as the admission rate for males is almost double that for females</em></p>
<p>Yes, Vassar does not place very much weight on the standardized tests.</p>
<p>Here’s the thing. I think you do have a chance, but it’s not much. The ACT is the only thing that shows Vassar how different you are from another candidate, because GPA is influenced by your school and extracurriculars are affected by your opportunities. If you bring up your ACT, or consider takign the SAT, you would have a much higher chance.</p>
<p>If you can only score a 22 on the ACT, then your intelligence is going to be called into question. I’m not saying your dumb, but I’m saying the admission committee may think you’re dumb. And the “I don’t test well” excuse normally doesn’t fly - because almost all smart people do test well. Try to get that ACT score up - whatever it takes.</p>
<p>You should retake the ACT and/or take the SAT.</p>
<p>I second tiedyegirl’s advice that you work hard this summer to improve your test scores (ACT and SAT). In addition to getting books and practicing, I STRONGLY recommend that you take a good SAT or ACT prep course this summer. Test taking is a skill that can be improved with proper instruction and practice. You may not be able to raise your score from 22 to 33. But you CAN improve it with work. A neighbor’s S raised his ACT score by 3 points and his combined SAT score by 120 points after taking a prep course from a local who conducts prep courses for a living. In addition, unless something has changed in the last 13 months, Vassar will only consider your highest score in evaluating your overall application. In fact, last year at one of the Vassar on-campus info meetings, the Admission director made a point of telling the audience not to pay the SAT and ACT companies an extra fee to “select and send” (or whatever they call it) only the highest score to Vassar because Vassar would make that selection for free. That is probably a practice at other schools too. But I thought that was pretty cool of him to tell us that, and I’m sure it was a relief to kids in the audience who hadn’t done as well as they wanted to on their first test. So don’t be disappointed by a low first test score. There is still plenty of time to improve it, and it won’t count against you at Vassar. Good luck!</p>
<p>Take the SAT. some students do much better on one than the other, so it’s worth trying it out. And of course, do some really good prep work (with or without a course, depending on financial constraints).</p>
<p>Also, whoever said that being a guy helps… unfortunately statistics belie the truth of the situation. Yes, men are accepted to Vassar at a higher RATE, but that’s only because more women apply to Vassar than men. The admissions criteria is the same. If they don’t think you make the cut, you don’t get in. It’s just that more qualified women get turned away than qualified men.</p>
<p>I agree that retaking the ACT or trying the SAT is a good idea. Once you are familiar with what happens on test day your score can improve dramatically. You don’t even need a prep course, all you need is practice.</p>
<p>However, I don’t agree with Drought that almost all smart people test well. Smart people with ADHD don’t test well. Smart people with depression don’t test well. Smart people who are stressed out don’t test well. So many factors come into play on test day and I think it is small minded for one to claim that almost all smart people test well. Plenty of smart people do not test well. Will colleges be able to tell the difference between someone who doesn’t test well and someone who doesn’t care? Probably not. But that doesn’t mean that that distinction doesn’t exist.</p>
<p>P.S. it’s “you’re” dumb, not “your” dumb</p>
<p>Oh my, thanks so much everyone! I feel pretty confident in taking the ACT again after hearing this. I may even consider the SAT, but the main thing is that I’m not intimidated by standardized tests anymore.</p>
<p>Thank you all for taking time out to reply! :)</p>
<p>eakling - I’m sorry I don’t take the time to meticulously recheck my grammar when I’m hastily typing a post on an online message board. If that was an attempt to undermine my statement/my intelligence, then you should probably rethink YOUR methods (see, I know how they’re used!). My experience with standardized testing has been almost unequivocal: people who say “well, I’m really smart, but I don’t test well” are actually saying “I’m not really that smart, but I dedicate a preposterous amount of time to schoolwork, so I get good grades.” I really don’t see how a smart person could score below 2000 on the SAT: it tests basic mathematics, grammar, reading comprehension, and logic. If someone can’t read at a ninth grade level or do ninth grade math, then they are not intelligent.</p>
<p>the SAT has no correlation to intelligence. It’s strongest correlation is to socioeconomic status. are you suggesting that poor and racial minority students aren’t as intelligent? The average SAT scores of these groups are significantly lower than caucasian and higher income students.</p>
<p>You should take a look at some actual data about standardized tests and their relationship to intelligence before you put your foot in your mouth any further.</p>
<p>If the SAT has NO correlation to intelligence, then someone with an IQ of 70 would have just as good a chance of scoring a 2400 as someone with an IQ of 150. Do you really believe that?</p>
<p>Am I suggesting that poor and racial minority students aren’t as intelligent? Eh… I’ll leave that one alone. I believe that most poor students receive an inferior education, and as a result they have lower SAT scores. The correlation between SAT and intelligence may not be perfect, but to deny that one exists at all is asinine.</p>
<p>I think there is some correlation to intelligence, but studies show that SAT performance does not accurately reflect future college performance.</p>
<p>I think it is equally asinine to assert that all smart people test well (>2000). By doing so you are ignoring a myriad of factors that have an affect on testing performance. Many people with ADHD are highly intelligent, but cannot perform well on standardized tests because of their ADHD. “Standardized” test is a misnomer because these tests are geared toward white, middle-class students with no “disabilities” like ADHD or autism.</p>
<p>I do think it is more difficult for a student of average intelligence to score well on the SAT, but a lower score is not necessarily an indicator of average intelligence. I agree that many people tell themselves “Oh, I just don’t test well” when that really isn’t the case. But sometimes that is the case and a student of high intelligence does not test well on standardized tests.</p>
<p>you should not let that ACT stop you from applying - early decision will help your chances as well - put the test in perspective in your application - in your essay or my space</p>
<p>Physics Prof here</p>