<p>When comparing scores on the ACT, I know that universities such as Ivy Leagues view 34's better than 30's but to what extent? Is it dire? Or is it merely a small portion of the whole application that they look at and they wouldn't consider it too much a bad thing if you were to get a 30 as opposed to a 34.</p>
<p>I don’t know how Ivies see them, but to me, a 30 and a 34 are in two significantly different ballparks.</p>
<p>I see 30-32 roughly the same as above average scores, and I view 34-36 as the elite scores.</p>
<p>Yes, although they view the whole application holistically, a 34 vs a 30 is completely different.</p>
<p>I believe they view them as 4 points different ;)</p>
<p>Even most selective schools are accepting students with a 30 ACT. A 30 ACT is 96% and a 34 is 99%. The schools look at everything. Now I would not recommend that anyone with a 22 or 24 apply to the top schools. But if you have a strong GPA with a strong course schedule and come off as a unique person, you can definitely have a chance. Is it a guarantee? Of course not. You don’t have a guarantee even with a 36 and a 4.0 unweighted. Almost all of the top schools are looking to get a well rounded student body. THat means if you have something interesting about you that they want and you have a good application (not perfect, just good), you have a chance. </p>
<p>On the other hand, as I heard at one admission talk last week, if you are a LMO (like many others) you have much less of a chance.</p>
<p>Using Yale as an example, a 30 is at the 25%ile while a 34 is at the 75%ile.</p>