Hi guys,
I’m an upcoming international Freshman applicant from the UK. Now, due to financial issues I could only afford to take the ACT once, which I did this December. However, I unfortunately fell really ill 2 days before my exam and it really affect my performance and thus I ended up with a 25. Something like this has never happened to me, so it was really frustrating. My A Levels results achieved are amongst the very best in the country (A, A, A) and my UMS scores (kinda like national point system) is in the top 3 in my whole school. In terms of difficulty, A Levels and GCSE’s were in my opinion, way harder than the ACT material and I expected to do better and my practise tests agree, but I just couldn’t foretell I would fall ill.
Now the colleges I’m applying to (Stanford, Yale, Princeton, Harvard and Brown) have December as the last ACT date, and I can’t really afford anymore testing (over £100 in this country including travelling), so what do I do?
Do I write an small extenuating circumstances essay in the Commin App or just email each admissions officer?
To help get a better informed picture, I’ve been really lucky to be involved in some great extracurricular activities for someone from a really “poor” background"(parents are immigrants, I’m first gen college, Bangladeshi from one of the top 3 deprived boroughs in London etc…) and I’ve helped produce a TV Show (presenter is writing me a recommendation for college apps), worked in Buckingham Palace for 2 years (one of the youngest employees), did a cultural project and lived with a random Spanish family in Spain for one week, won 2 regional football/soccer tournaments and some other cool things, chosen to volunteer for MET Police etc… And all of these are going to be mentioned in my recommendation letters and verified.
Apply to other schools. Many kids get sick before the ACT and either still rock it or if they don’t they just suffer the consequences. Such is life. Even if you were submitting a top ACT score, those schools are a reach. You are competing with the world for those spots, everyone brings in interesting ECs or other selling points, regardless of circumstances. You need to cast a wider net. You can write them, but I don’t know how it doesn’t just sound like an excuse and they have zillions of applicants that don’t have excuses. It happened, now adjust your plans. Sorry to sound harsh, but there isn’t time to sugar coat it.
Not to sound rude, but colleges don’t really care if you fell ill before your test.
There is no way of proving that being sick was the reason for a 25. The Ivy League schools you’re looking at are out of reach. You should focus on find affordable schools that you have a chance at given your circumstances.
Your ECs don’t sound like those of a low income student. Low income students in our area aren’t traveling out of state, producing TV shows, or working in the governor’s mansion; they’re baggers at the local supermarket or cashiers at the mall. I think colleges will wonder how you could afford to spend a week in another country and do all those other activities but could only afford to take one test.
I think you should apply to a range of schools so you have safeties, matches, and a couple reaches, but I don’t think telling colleges your scores are low because you were sick on test day will help. If it did, every kid with a competitive GPA and respectable scores on AP and state tests would say the same thing. Colleges have no way of knowing whether or not it’s true and they don’t have time to assess each app and guess what score students might have gotten if circumstances on test day were different. If you truly feel you can do a lot better maybe you should take a gap year to work and retest. You could always apply next year.
I understand your scepticism but I was given great opportunities. I was chosen during the Olympic games as one of few London students to take part in a project in Spain. I helped produce a a TV show because the show was aimed at young asian competitors, in an attempt to help young Asians and I was a participant in previous years. In terms of sport, football is a religion in England so its understandable. I worked in the Palace after a 1 year long application phase so it was hard work. All the extracurriculars I’ve done were due to my handwork and determination, mixed with great timing and luck.
Btw, I was used to be a bagger.
@austinmshauri I think it’s important to note that A Levels are very intensive national exams, and worth college credits in the US, some equaling up to nearly a years worth and are equivalent to the course material in the first year of college in America. They are a lot more advanced than AP exams and state tests
I’m sure the A-Levels are more advanced than they were before the Tomlinson report was released. I understand they’ve undergone revisions because many in the UK thought they were too easy and the results weren’t reflected in the scores of other exams such as the SAT/ACT. Some UK colleges developed their own entrance exams because their confidence in the results of the A-Levels was so low. I hope they’ve improved since then.
Which US colleges give a year’s credit for an A-Level exam? Rice gives 3 credits for each A-Level which is the same number of credits a student with an AP exam would get. Stanford lists the A-Levels on their advanced placement page with the AP and IB exams, so they apparently view them as equivalent exams as well. If you know of one that will offer you a year’s credit for one test, you should apply there.
Do you see yourself as an Oxbridge candidate? If you have been rejected there (as you already have your results, one assumes you are on a gap year), the US tippy tops will be even harder than the UK top schools for you. ACT material shouldn't be tough, so your score should give pause for thought. you need to look at match schools. What are your backup schools in the UK? There are some really great non tippy tops in the UK that would fit so much better for so little $$.
Perhaps use some of the application fees towards taking the ACT or SAT? There is no point in spending all that money on applications to schools where your tests aren’t close to the accepted range.