Hi everyone!
I am a high achieving student who wants to go to a decent state school like the university of south carolina or clemson with a full ride.
I took the SATs [old format] last fall and I got the following scores, with best of the following:
Math : 770, Critical Reading:790. Writing 750. Essay 11.
I thought I was all set for college admissions and scholarships, etc.
Then, the state of south carolina made me take the ACT. I got the following scores in a single sitting without any prior preparation apart from that left over from the SATS:
composite: 33
English 34
Math 34
reading 35
writing 36
science 27
I ran out of time on the science portion and did not answer 10+ questions at all.
So it was not that I did not know my stuff, but I did not know how to manage my time and “hack the test” successfully.
I really do not want to take the ACT again for the sake of raising my science section score.
So all the colleges I am applying to have my scores from the SAT and ACT sent from the testing sessions.
Would they think I am a bad applicant if they look at my good sat’s and then my bad act’s or will they favor my good sat scores? Do I need tor retake the ACT?
Please advise, and thank you for your input.
By just a google search, the average ACT at clemson is a 29 which places you well above average. You get to choose whether to send in just the SAT, ACT, or both–colleges wont see the scores that you dont send. A 33 is a perfectly good score, why would you want to retake it? Theres no need.
Both the SAT and ACT are excellent scores. Why would you be worried? Am I missing something? 99% of those taking the ACT score 33 or lower. You are among the top 1% of those taking the test.
Were you unaware of the fact that you don’t have to send the ACTs and the SATs?
Youre not going to get a full ride purely based on grades & test scores, you just need high enough scores to pass a threshold for consideration.
The rest will honestly depend upon your leadership roles, interest, and HOW MUCH you can potentially contribute on campus. If you’re “the amazing musician that will impact our musical student life” with great test scores, then you can get a full ride. But if you’re not “that student that’s amazing at X” then purely good test scores won’t make you stand out.
Your test scores are high enough to hit a threshold.
I am not amazing at anything…
I do not win major competitions. The only thing that I excel at is studying math at home [art of problem solving books] and programming. I do not think that will be a good thing in terms of “how much I can contribute”. What do you think?
Edited out prohibited link to googledocs
ED
to add on to the math thing: I do not win any math competitions, I am of a different skill set.
I dont think your ACT is bad at all!! How is a 33 score bad? 
I would have killed for a score like that!!
Would it be possible just for you to send your SAT score?
I already sent both scores on the days I took the tests.
but I was not able to get a good science score because I ran out of time. would this kill my admissions, or do I need to retake ACT?
My other scores do not reflect such a low level of performance.
It’s rather tasteless to refer to a 33 act score as bad considering how many people would love that score. That puts you in the 75th percentile for world class universities like ucla and Berkeley. I can’t imagine Stanford looking down on someone with 33 act, let alone Clemson or South Carolina lol.
Do NOT bother retaking the ACT. You risk looking like a test taking automaton. Your SAT will be the score used for admission.
Thank you everyone for your help in figuring out this situation.
It is greatly appreciated!!