So I have a strong ACT score (34 superscore) but the problem is I also come from a wealthy area (which I think admissions will note). However, my family isn’t wealthy. We’re well off, but our income is much below the average of our neighborhood. The thing is that I’ve heard that admissions check where you live when looking at your scores since an inner-city kid who scores a 25 isn’t the same as a wealthy kid who scores a 25. I applied for FA, if that even remotely helps my case (if it’s a case at all). I didn’t hire a fancy tutor since we don’t really have the money for that and I took the test twice. So will my 34 not really be a 34 (if you get what I’m saying) since I live in a wealthier neighborhood?
It’s not your neighborhood. It’s your school. Your app will be assessed in the context of the school you attend. Does your school offer many AP classes, after schools activities, and the like? Do students at your school score highly on the ACT and SAT on average? Your financial aid is completely separate from the admissions process. The status of your neighbors’ wealth will have no bearing on how much aid you recieve.
@Lindagaf oh ok, good to know. The highest anyone scored this year on the ACT was a 34 from my school, and I believe our average is in the mid 20s. I always heard that admissions take into account where you live when considering test scores, but I guess that would be a rash assumption to presume your income based on location. My school, on the other hand, is in a very diverse, more average neighborhood.
You did very well by virtually any standard. And certainly you are well above average for your HS (and the average HS grades will be shown on your HS school profile which will be attached to your transcript)…
In any event a good rule of thumb in the college process is don’t stress over things out of your control.
I don’t know if money matters in all cases as my daughter prepped for SAT herself with free resources so did many other kids of different family income levels from her public school, I don’t see how family income was a factor in it. All of them were disadvantaged against kids who took 4-5 year plan from local prep centers, regardless of if that program was paid by their parents or by non profit groups.
34 is good score in any neighborhood. Being well off, the test score isn’t the issue, getting financial aid will be. A lot of “well off” middle class Americans can’t afford college and don’t get FA. They (and the high income folks) pay for their kid and everyone else to go.
apply to some schools who will reward that 34 with a big fat merit scholarship.
^ I agree. That 34 is precious because you can leverage it for big scholarships at many schools. UA HONORS, ASU BARRETT, your flagship 's honors college, all will reward you for it. Even if many don’t superscore for scholarships you must still have a 33 which will net you scholarships early on. Imagine how relieved you’ll be when mid-Fall you already have safeties nailed down.
Then you can focus on your bother apps and keep your fingers crossed.
A 34 is a great score (Congrats) from any neighborhood or school. There are lots of kids, who spend lots of money on test prep, who never come close to a 34.
I second that. Every year thousands of kids from ours and neighboring districts start regular pilgrimage of test prep centers, most score under 32 on ACT and under 1400 on PSAT/SAT. With so much material available online and with awesome Sal Khan’s Academy, anyone can DIY it.
@SugarlessCandy when exactly do these kids start prepping for the SAT and ACT?
What is your highest non-superscoring composite score? Make sure you check how schools look at testing. Done schools superstore while others will only look at your highest scores per sitting. There will be schools that do not superstore for merit consideration.
More schools than not do no supercore ACT. If the highest comp score is say, 32, it IS 32. The 34 may well not count for merit, as above, honors college, etc. Get more comfortable with your highest comp score, vs super score.
@Sybylla actually 6/8 colleges I applied to superscore the ACT or only consider highest subscores.
Right, but your highest comp score is 32, right, so you have a 32 comp and 34 SS. These details matter, I think at least on CC discussions like this. A straight up 34 comp result is not the same as one section's highest score from multiple sittings. If you have found 6/8 schools that do only take your highest subscore from multiple tests then you have done a good job with that. How many acceptances have you had with this strategy? Have you been able to work it for scholarships?
@Sybylla Northeastern superscored, and I received a scholarship from them. Pomona also superscored, but I was denied probably just because of how insanely competitive it is.
Was the NE scholarship doable though? My kid was accepted there a couple of years ago and with a 33(34) was offered 10K a year from soph yr LOL. I didn’t think NE did SS though. Certainly it wasn’t a consideration.
@Sybylla mine was about 20k a year starting freshman year!