<p>I just received my results and got a 32 Composite ( 31 English Writing, 33 Math, 34 Reading, 30 Science). i was just wondering if i should retake the test to get into like Middlebury, Bowdoin, Wesleyan, Duke, assuming everything else on my application would be stellar like a TOC bid for policy debate and other such stuff. I took this test without any preperation and probably could raise my score to at least a 34 - but do i really need to? i hate taking these tests.</p>
<p>That score puts you in the middle 50% at each of the schools you mention. I’d say it keeps you in the running, but doesn’t help you stand out.</p>
<p>My mentality: always aim for perfect, nothing less.</p>
<p>^</p>
<p>Perfect is rarely possible. You are aware that less than 700 people per graduating class get a perfect ACT?</p>
<p>I recommend that everyone takes the ACT either two or three times. You should take it once more, send the higher of the two scores, and be done with it. A 32 is a strong score, and if you had that on a second attempt, I would tell you to just keep it, but a second attempt usually is an improvement over the first.</p>
<p>Let me ask you a question: why aim for JV football while you can shoot for the NFL? Why aim for something less than the best? Think about it.</p>
<p>Because JV football is a realistic aim, and getting your heart set on the NFL is sure to result in disappointment?</p>
<p>For the ACT, you should really only take it three times. Therefore, it’s unwise to expect or even try for a perfect score, as odds are, you will be disappointed.</p>
<p>If you take it too many times, it wastes a lot of money and makes you look score-obsessed on your college apps.</p>
<p>Plus, if you prep obsessively for a 36, you’ll probably waste money, time, and be very disappointed.</p>
<p>True story: Guy preps beginning in middle school. Takes ACT junior year. Gets 33. Is determined to get a 36. Takes more prep. Takes ACT again. Gets 33. Takes more prep. Takes ACT again. Gets 33. Is not happy.</p>
<p>Oh, you realists bore me… And who said I was wasting any money on anything? One can only educate himself; no one else can do it for him.</p>