I recently took the ACT and received a 33 composite. This came as a great surprise but I’m still not sure if it’s high enough to be competitive at Harvard. The test breakdown was: math(31), science(34), english(34), reading(31).
Here’s where my problem comes:
The Harvard website says they require the ACT with writing and the SAT. The ACT that I took didn’t have writing. I will take it again with writing but if I don’t do as well on the ACT with writing as I did on my last ACT would that hinder my ability to get accepted? Also, I took the SAT as a freshman and did terrible. Will that hinder my success or will the ACT score outweigh it?
^^ Harvard does not superscore the ACT, so your test without writing does NOT count – at least for the purposes of Harvard Admissions (sorry). If you submit the 33 without writing, the test will be disregarded, so just try to do your best the next time around when you take the test with writing.
My daughter was accepted with a 33 (with writing obviously). She also had a 530 SAT. You just need a qualifying score and then the rest of the application comes into play. Sure a 35 doesn’t hurt but it isn’t necessary nor a guarantee of admission.