Hi everyone,
So I took the ACT first time in October, and got a HORRIBLE score (for me anyways) . I was aiming for Stanford and now I am not really sure that I will be able to make it in with that first score on record… Will it hurt my chances a lot if they see that initial “bad” score, even if i raise it up significantly?
Thanks!
what’s the score?
There will be a balance between “Score Choice”, which ACT allows, and Stanford’s policy on “Score Choice” (which I do not know). If they align, great! In any case, conventional wisdom is that up to about 3 takes, it makes no difference. Some believe it makes no difference regardless of how many takes; others believe it does. Take tons of practice tests and save some cash. Just take the “Real McCoy” a few times. Use your money and time on more pleasurable pursuits!
No one wants to hear about your grandmother died the day before, or that you suddenly had an attack of the plague on test day, or whatever. Just do what you need to do and take the test as many times as you need to make yourself happy.
Certainly taking it a couple of times will not count against you.
Stanford’s a long shot for anyone unless you’re a recruited athlete or have some other significant hook. Hard for anyone here to answer your question without knowing more about you - ECs, GPA, what your “lower” score actually is.
Make sure you have a well rounded list of schools to apply to, including matches and safeties.
Stanford requires all SAT and ACT scores to be sent. However, you can always request ACT test dates to be deleted from ACT records…
^ Which is a violation of Stanford’s rules. And will result in not being admitted/being rescinded/being thrown out of the school if found out at any time.
@“Erin’s Dad” What if you delete the score before you decide to apply to Stanford?
Same penalty
With Stanford and Ivy’s it’s mostly about , race/ first time college / donor / legacy ,super EC’s and community altering projects or sports. Unhooked kids with merely great EC’s and excellent grades and ACT’s are unlikely to be admitted.
@TooOld4School My main E.C.'s i think are pretty cool and I am passionate about them big ones are: I got an internship with a start-up magazine in which I got to help with ideas in the magazine and write articles in it too. I have had the internship for over a year now and plan on continuing it for awhile. Then, I started my blog which is about my travels to different countries, life in general, and fashion. I get over 30,000 unique visitors a month and I just started that this summer. Also through my blog I have gotten to work with many different big companies and collaborated with other bloggers, too. I also jus this year started my own business (and featuring it on my blog), in which I started my own t-shirt line and part of the proceeds from the sales of the tee’s goes to helping endangered sea turtles (close to my home and heart).
Those are just my main E.C.'s and I am not really sure if they look good or not??
@mmmkkk2 , you sound like an amazing person and I am sure you will get in to one or more of the best schools, one that appreciate your talents. Are you a junior now? Just shoot for a 33-34 ACT, excellent grades and the good things will follow even if you are not accepted to Stanford. If you are a senior you still have the February test for a re-take.
@TooOld4School thank you:-) I am a junior now and planning on re-taking ACT in April, and taking many practice tests and studying before hand! I really have trouble with the timing- thats the main reason i did so bad in the first place
Good plan. Timing and accuracy issues are mostly fixed by obsessive practicing. It definitely worked for me!
@TooOld4School i hope, because my score wasn’t even ok, it was HORRIBLE. Really discouraging actually… but I look back and realize I had to guess on more than a few questions due to loss of time :-/
Just want to make sure you know, a 29 is not horrible.
@“Erin’s Dad” i need to get it up though, not good enough for top schools…
Getting a 29 is not a bad score , especially for a lot of good schools.
If you don’t have a “natural” ability to get high scores on the admissions testing, I don’t think you would have it easy in the coursework at those top schools. Admissions at Stanford sees all of your scores.
@“aunt bea”
Do you know how admission officers will judge lower scores? I have a 30,32, and 34. How much will the 30 and 32 affect me for schools such as Stanford?
@“aunt bea” i knew the material, just had timing issues
@leonardo2020 How do they judge scores, and how much weight would be placed on the score you got your first time taking, even if you raised up the score to lets say a 34?