If you did that well on the English you should take at least a practice SAT before you decide.
1 Like
thank you so much for the advice! that’s a great idea. I will definitely do this!
Congratulations on your ACT results! The perfect scores in reading in English are awesome! I agree that studying up on math/science could help, and also trying the SAT. Some people just do better on one than the other (my SAT score was better than my ACT score based off equivalency charts).
I wouldn’t spend a tremendous amount of time and effort on standardized testing; most schools –– including such schools as Yale, Princeton, and Harvard –– are remaining test-optional into the 2023 application season (Harvard is remaining TO into the 2026 admissions cycle!).
Yale’s Global Scholars is fine, but it’s short. If you haven’t already applied to the Iowa summer writing program, the application needs to be postmarked TODAY and it’s certainly worth a shot. I haven’t checked application deadlines for any of the other summer writing programs, but there are some pretty great ones out there –– some of which other posters have mentioned.
As a first gen / low SES student, you may have opportunities this fall to attend fly-in programs geared towards multicultural and first gen students that provide funding for them to visit a variety of schools (e.g., Windows on Williams, Oberlin’s Multicultural Visit Program). They require applications, but they are worth the effort and can give you a leg up on admissions. This is an old list, but many of the programs still exist and there are plenty of them out there: https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/2017-05-01/diversity-fly-in-programs-make-campus-visits-accessible
As for coming up with a list of potential schools, it’s never too early to start thinking about it. In addition to the usual suspects, you should focus on schools with strong creative writing programs (e.g., Kenyon, Iowa). Even though you’ll qualify for FA, you should also investigate merit scholarships offered for creative writing. These often require separate applications, supplemental essays and/or portfolio submissions). An example of this program is the Nemerov Writing Scholars program at Wash U in St. Louis.
As someone mentioned, if you’re submitting an arts supplement, the admissions deadlines tend to be earlier, so bear that in mind.
3 Likes
As a suggestion, you may want to use your current ACT score for direction as to which colleges to look into more deeply. That is, you can use your score to see where you might place statistically so that you can identify some potential matches. You can access Common Data Sets or IPEDS for this information, e.g. College Navigator - Kenyon College. As your score improves or if you decide not to submit you score for certain schools, you can refine your list, of course. Not incidentally, congratulations on your perfect English section score. This represents an especially important section of the ACT.
2 Likes
Thank you for your help and detail- I didn’t even know some of these programs existed. I really appreciate it!
Thank you for your input and ideas!
1 Like
I would take a look at the Adroit Journal’s mentorship program for high school students–the deadline is coming up but you still have time to quickly get something in. The mentors that volunteer are well-respected writers in their genres and the college matriculation list for mentees is pretty impressive.
2 Likes
It’s true that most schools are going test optional, for many reasons, but a big one is that it’s a factor in trying to admit more students who would help to achieve racially balanced classes. Frankly, what has happened is that the schools have realized that certain racial groups don’t do as well on the test - so they made the test optional. In your case, that perfect score on the ACT English sections says a lot and would help you greatly, I think. It says to the admissions committee that when it comes to facility with English, you are at the top - never mind what race you are. So you do want to be able to submit the ACT, especially if you can get your science and math scores up.
The SAT English section is considered to be more difficult than the ACT English.
2 Likes
Thank you for your advice! That makes sense to me, and when I get my other scores up I do plan to submit now. I think just really honing in on the ACT and showing any prospective institutions that I am the best I can be at English and reading is something that will supplement my passion for literature/reading/writing nicely.