I am a senior at a very good public high school with a 95 percent average, graduating with 6 APs. I have found my test scores not to reflect my ability. I got a 26 on the ACT in June and am not that confident about my scores I will receive in the next 2 weeks. I am not worried about getting in but I am really interested in the honors program because it is a smaller community. I know Temple says to give ACT scores above 25 and says that temple option does not affect honors college but does anyone have any perspectives on this. At what ACT score should I submit scores? Will the Temple Option hurt me?
bumppp
lilyhut, i don;t know the answers to your questions. did you get the second ACT back? i am completely winging my answer here but one option is submit your highest ACT score and either in your essay or in a supplemental statement, explain why you want to be in honors program, why you belive you would be asset to program, areas, you shined in high school, etc. also send in a couple of teacher recommendations. also mention you don’t think ACT caught your strengths and the ACT score underestimates your ability to succeed at Temple.
btw, the Temple option route takes longer. look at some other threads on here as this topic came up last year and especially the posts about how the issue resolved. i think in your case temple option is still a good route since you want to get into honors program, you have solid grades, and the ACT likely underepresents your capabilities.
thanks so much for responding! I get the score back this friday!
Apply to many test-optional schools.
http://www.fairtest.org/sites/default/files/Optional-Schools-in-U.S.News-Top-Tiers.pdf
Up to # 40 or 43, these schools “meet 100%need” for almost all students, meaning their financial aid packages are very good if your family makes less than 125K (and especially good if their income is 75K and less).
I will get little if any financial need based aid even though my family is definently not wealthy we are according to the fafsa. I have many younger siblings so merit aid is very important for me to get especially since I am out of state.
does anyone have any experience in applying to the honors college? does anyone apply test optional? I am over the suggested 25, but at this point should i still go the temple option route?
How about you repost in a week or so, with your new ACT scores? If you got a 27, definitely send it. 
What’s your parents’ budget? What’s your EFC?
lily, since you need the scholarship, emphasize that in your letters too. honestly, you cannot afford to go to temple without the higher scholarships and why not. basically, family does not have resources despite efc. can you remind me of what the ACT criteria is for the various scholarships. since you need the scholarship, maybe it is wiser for you not to send in the ACT. sorry to waffle from above post but just trying to figure out what is best option for you, also, since the Temple option is so new, i at least am still trying to determine how it plays into admissions from a real world perspective.
you could contact honors and get their opinion, they may not be able to answer but they will get likely answer other questions about honors and get you contact info to students, The students may be able to give you more direct answers since they are not on staff at Temple. yes, i think some people applied to honors test optional but don’t know how that played out. honors def should be able to give you at least some general insight on that question.
also, the honors website has links to various honors student run things. you may be able to get some leads of how to reach honors students there too and if you are Facebook, there are several temple groups, i don;t know if there is an honors group but there may be a class of 16 group soon, you could also ask the class of 15 administrators if they would post your questions on the class of 15’s group webpage. i am assuming there is such a page, but anyway, if there is a class of 15 page, some of those kids very likely applied Temple option and could provide real world advice on that. i assume Temple students are set up on other social media outlets as well, good luck!!!
^Actually, the people who award the scholarship do not care whether an applicant needs it or not. That’s why it’s called “merit”, not “need”.
If the question is “admission to honors college”, I think that providing a test score won’t matter. Students DO get into the Honors College without scores.
However, for the scholarships, because the requirement IS essentially a test score, I don’t think you can avoid submitting it.
Email Admissions, Financial Aid, and Honors, and ask them whether students who go the thest optional route are eligible for the Presidential scholarships.
My guess is no, since the goal of these scholarships is to attract students with high test scores to boost the university’s standing, as well as guarantee a critical mass of such high achievers.
let me clarify what i was saying. i know the difference between the need and merit scholarships. i believe someone can get a merit scholarship to Temple using the Temple option. however, the issue is temple itself recommends submitting a test score if it’s above a certain threshold.
What i don’t know the answer is to i believe Lily/s scores put her in the range of a small partial scholarship but can she get more money going Temple option and would she be likely to get more if she does not submit a test score at all? The Temple option is so new it;s tough to answer that question. The reason i suggested mentioning finances is because if Temple really wants her as a student which is good possibility given gpa and her AP classes, they may figure out way to offer more merit aid since she won’t qualify for much need based aid.
Many students have higher EFC;s than their family can easily afford so although this concept will hardly be a new one for the admissions committee. it may be a factor they are open to considering in her whole admissions profile, esp if they send her file over to the honors dept for input. it cannot hurt to bring these points to Temple’s attention esp given their her GPA is good and she has been ambitious enough to take several AP classes. Granted, it may not make a difference but it cannot hurt.
Be aware that when you use the Temple Option, your GPA is considered as well as a score that Temple assigns to your Temple Option essay questions. My daughter has a pretty strong GPA (3.6857) as well as many AP or Honors classes in high school. However, she will get no merit scholarship from Temple because her essay score was not high enough. This seems like a loophole in the Temple Option. We don’t really have any idea how the essay was scored so basically Temple just said no to merit scholarship and we have to accept that as an answer. We are so disappointed, as I have seen other students with much lower GPAs get merit scholarships.
Be aware that when you use the Temple Option, your GPA is considered as well as a score that Temple assigns to your Temple Option essay questions.
My daughter has a pretty strong GPA (3.6857) as well as many AP or Honors classes in high school. However, she will get no merit scholarship from Temple because her essay score was not high enough. This seems like a loophole in the Temple Option. We don’t really have any idea how the essay was scored so basically Temple just said no to merit scholarship and we have to accept that as an answer.
We are so disappointed, as I have seen other students with much lower GPAs get merit scholarships.
@momquestions imo, it’s not a loophole. Why would a student who had the required GPA but did not send scores get the same merit scholarship like someone who had the same GPA and did send the required scores if the essay was not the level Temple wanted to make up for not sending scores.
and the scholarships, non Temple option, are a combo of GPA and SAT scores. a lot of kids who were very strong in one are but weaker in the area got less than what their GPA(or test score) might have suggested.
i agree with above post more or less and we now all know thanks to your posts how crucial the essay is in the process. As an FYI, all incoming freshman have to write an essay for English placement their first year. Temple may use a similar rubric for the freshman essay than what they use for the applicant essay.
but as a mom, i get it, i am still disappointed my son got no money at Pitt despite SAT, ACT, and GPA within range to get one. pitt does not have guaranteed scholarships. when you have a highly qualified kid, it is hard to see them get less than we know they deserve. Also, due to 1 point on his PSAT, mine missed out on some huge scholarships elsewhere. it worked out; he wanted to go to Temple anyway but it was amazing the difference one point made.
@ctl987 - we are in the same boat! My D has not been offered a dime by Pitt and I cannot understand it. Frankly, Pitt would likely be her first choice if they bothered to show her some love. So - now she is deciding between GTech, Temple and University of Alabama. It is a bit comforting to know that she isn’t the only one.
same here, thanks!!! does she want to leave area?
Bama apparently treats honors kids great! But as i;ve noted, so does Temple… where is GTech at? i mean Atlanta, or elsewhere? i know it’s in Ga!!! what is her desired major?
She plans to major in electrical engineering and does not mind leaving home. GT is in downtown Atlanta and she does love the idea of a city. The lack of a “big city” is her only worry about Alabama. We are going to visit Bama for a long weekend in April before she chooses. Maybe by then she will hear from Pitt – LOL. I would love for her to choose Temple but I have to be careful not to push too hard.
yeah, sounds like Temple or GTech would be best then… Tuscaloosa is NOT a big city for sure…