<p>Hi, I plan to major in economics.</p>
<p>My ACT composite score is a 33, however my Math sub-score is rather low at 27.. (I recieved a 36 in both reading and writing hence the high composite score, and a relatively decent science section score)</p>
<p>Will top 10 universities be lenient with my math sub-score seeing as how I have done very well throughout high school in Extended Math courses and IB Mathematics courses? (never below an A-) I plan on applying to NYU Stern, Columbia, Berkeley, Brown, among others.</p>
<p>I do not think it is possible for me to re-take the ACT. This was my first sitting and I'm quite happy with it but quite disappointed with my math sub score. (Otherwise my GPA is 4.0)</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>If you intend to major in STEM, it may be a slight issue / disadvantage. Otherwise I wouldn’t worry about it too much. If you plan to major in STEM, especially for the tier of schools you plan to apply to, it may be a red flag.</p>
<p>There’s no downside to retaking it one more time, especially for those schools that superscore. Just concentrate on the math section before retaking. Might be worth checking out Kumon for the summer, just to get all your math basics down - you might be surprised how weak your math fundamentals are and polishing them may help get that math score up to 30 or 31 - which would really help as a potential Econ major - and that would supercore you to a 34.</p>
<p>FWIW, I ran a basic Kumon placement test on D a few months ago, who scored in the low 30s on the Math ACT, did great in Calc AB, and was always a pretty strong math student. She couldn’t get past the 4th grade test because her math fundamentals were so weak, she’s too calculator dependant - wish I’d known this 18 months ago. I was never a Kumon fan until I started realizing what they were actually doing, now that I understand what’s going on, I’ve got S avoiding the same fate.</p>
<p>I intend to major in economics, so hopefully this won’t have too much of a major impact. I take IB Economics HL and have a high 7 (an A+ on my transcript) so maybe thats a better indicator of my knowledge than a stupid ACT math sub section! </p>
<p>Thank you</p>
<p>Depending on where you want to go, math can be a major part of economics. One of the best schools for economics is widely regarded as Chicago, and math is a major part of the program there. Not all economics programs have as intense a math component as Chicago - but look at any of the top programs and I’m sure they all regard math as an important component, particularly if you want to go beyond a bachelor’s. The further you go down the scale, the less the math requirements tend to be, but I don’t think your aiming for lesser programs to begin with.</p>
<p>I think you should really consider taking it again with some prep. While grades may be a better indicator, a 27 fro Math going into Econ, especially the top programs, will have some effects. If you can retake that and get a 30+, there would be a slightly significant difference in my opinion. Not only will your math subsection look better, but you will probably go up to a 34 in the process if you can hold serve on the other sections, and guarantee your equivalency with the top applicants at pretty much any school.</p>
<p>Another option: Take the SAT2 Math II Test to show that one sitting to be fluke subsection and nothing more.</p>