Hi! As the title says, I’m a high achieving student—valedictorian, great extracurriculars, national contest winner, etc. but my test scores are awful for the schools I’m aiming for.
I’ve always known I wasn’t the best at standardized testing. Plus, despite being the valedictorian, my education experience has been very poor (school offers no APs, my /relatively/ mediocre scores are way above everyone else’s). While my 1430/1520 PSAT somehow qualified me for National Merit (so my counselor says), I’ve gotten a 1400/1600 on the New SAT, 610 on SAT Math II, and scoring 30-33 on ACT practices.
I’m definitely retaking Math II (hopefully for 750+), as my practice tests were 800s. I had a tutor and studied 40 hours for that test. No exaggeration.
Though, possible test-day anxiety doesn’t really excuse my 30-33 on ACT practices. I’m really aiming for a 34-35. So far, I’ve practiced 30 hours with hardly any improvement. My test is Sept. 10., and I’m really not sure what to do at this point… I’m just really bad at standardized testing.
I know I’m pretty late in the standardized testing timeline since I’m a senior this year, but that can’t really be fixed now.
I guess my question is… what could I be doing wrong? Why am I doing so poorly despite spending so much time on studying (trying many different techniques, etc.)? Any consolation for the fact that my standardized testing scores will probably keep me from getting into my dream schools?
There is so much here I don’t know. Are you a URM? If you qualified for NMS, are you in a traditionally low performing state?
Re no APs, that won’t matter too much. Your school has none, so you will be judged in the context of what is offered at your school. Your performance in general will be looked at in terms of how you stack up to the other kids at your school. So try not to worry too much. You are obviously a great student and I am sure your recs and transcript will reflect that.
Re your test scores not improving, I think you have hit a wall, and perhaps you need to just give it a rest and take the test after spending a few days totally relaxing as much as possible. I suspect you are anxious and that makes you stressed and not perform as well. 70 hours of study time is more than enough, IMO. Your SAT isn’t bad. You might surprise yourself on the ACT. If you are a URM, and are thinking of applying to top colleges, or if you have any extenuating circumstances (you work to support your family, or single parent house, etc…), your application will probably get a more thorough look. (Do talk with your counselor and have him/her be sure to mention any important circumstances.) and do apply to some of the top notch test-optional colleges. There are many now: Wesleyan University, University of Rochester, Bates College, many others.
Finally, please stop thinking of just dream schools. There are hundreds of great colleges in the US who would love to,have a student like you. Find some test optional achools, and find more schools where your stats are high. You could be setting yourself up for disappointment if you don’t find more colleges that will give you a balanced list of safety, match and reach schools. As valedictorian and with your good SAt score, you should even get merit aid at some schools. Good luck.
Have you been doing any prep? I don’t mean just taking practice tests but real test prep where you learn test taking techniques and analyze the types of problems you miss?
There could be nothing “wrong”. I’ve heard from one school that they consider GPA a function of effort and test scores a function of brilliance and/or family resources (depending upon how many times the test was taken.) You sound like someone who is smart, caring, and hard-working. If the schools to which you want to apply don’t value that, perhaps you should consider applying to other schools.