<p>I am helping a friend's daughter with her applications. Her GPA is 3.3 and she is a talented artist, but her ACT is an abysmal 20. She being tutored and retaking it at the end of October. She would love to apply early action to her top choice schools, Indiana and Colorado (Nov 1 and Nov 15 deadlines). I am concerned that the ACT score will be a deal breaker unless she brings it up. Should she wait to apply after she gets her October score on the assumption it will be better?</p>
<p>First, check with the school if the Oct score can be used for EA. They might take it. </p>
<p>If not she can still apply EA. If she gets deferred she might be able to get in RD with the Oct score.</p>
<p>Yes you can always add the October ACT if her stats improve. She has a good GPA and I am sure they will also look at an art supplement.</p>
<p>What about test optional schools?</p>
<p>I can’t imagine it’s ever good to do EA with a 20 ACT, no matter how talented you are, unless the talent involves throwing a football 70 yards or hitting 80% of your three-point shots. There is no upside there.</p>
<p>Definitely hold off until you absolutely have to apply. Indiana even has rolling admissions, so she can probably keep taking the test into early next year. Not sure what the absolute end date is for IU, but Colorado is Jan 15, I believe.</p>
<p>Check the admission stat of the schools you want to apply and see how do you compare with it. If you are below the average, you should try to improve your scores/GPA and apply RD.</p>
<p>Will she need financial aid? If so, is she in-state for any of them? Because these two universities would not meet need for out of state students.
Typically, EA accepts October scores, so it’s a win-win situation - the better scores are included, she gets to apply EA.</p>
<p>She does not need financial aid. She has a learning disability and gets extra time for the ACT, but it is still a really tough test for her. Perhaps the relative strength of her GPA and her art portfolio (where considered) will outweigh the test scores. I appreciate the advice, but I remain no less conflicted on what to recommend!</p>
<p>If she does not need financial aid, she should apply to test optional schools. (Many test optional schools are only test optional if you don’t need merit aid/scholarships, but some have other requirements such as written essays.)
if she needs LD support, she should not apply anywher ED that doesn’t have a superior LD support program.
[Low</a> SAT Scores? 20 Great Colleges for Students with Low SAT Scores](<a href=“http://collegeapps.about.com/od/choosingacollege/tp/great-schools-low-sat-scores.htm]Low”>20 Great Colleges for Students with Low SAT Scores)
You can also check out:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/1340027-test-optional-flexible-colleges-top-tier.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/1340027-test-optional-flexible-colleges-top-tier.html</a></p>