I’ve done a lot of looking around for this, but I can’t seem to find the answer!
I took the ACT last spring and got a composite of 31 which I think is in the 25th percentile, but I was wondering if Bowdoin (or any school, Bowdoin being my first choice) looks at the individual sections.
I got a 31 on the math and a 36 on the writing which are the 50th and 75th percentiles according to the Common Data Set (I think), but I have no idea how much this matters!
I will be taking the ACT again this fall and hope to get a 33 since I am studying this time, but I would like to know.
Thanks!
Bowdoin page -> Admissions -> Apply -> Test Optional (page also includes the below info).
Superscoring
Bowdoin will “superscore” the SAT. That is, the admissions committee will consider only the highest Critical Reading, Math, and Writing Scores submitted by an applicant, irrespective of test date.
Regarding the ACT, Bowdoin does not superscore; instead, the admissions committee will consider the highest submitted Composite score. We will not recalculate a new Composite score from subsection scores earned on different test dates.
I think I may have phrased my question poorly. I understand that they don’t superscore but I was wondering how much they consider the subsections in a single test-- do they care more about certain sections then others? Or is the composite the only important part?
I think you could just call admissions. To your point, my daughter’s weakest section was science, which she really hopes to study as little as possible. Hopefully they will just ignore it
My S is a student at Bowdoin. He’s been sharing advice with friend’s D, who is considering Bowdoin. He felt if the ACT scores were >=30, she should send them in. If they were <30 then don’t send them. His were lopsided as well (not a math guy) but he’s not studying math.
Agreeing with @college_query, if your score is in the range at all, I’d send them. Applicants that don’t send scores usually have to be extremely unique, gifted, talented to get in. Your 31 validates you ability to do well academically at Bowdoin, but reach for that 33
By a score of at least 30, I mean the composite score. For what it’s worth, I think my S’s scores might have been similar - in his case, the math score was below a 30, but the composite was boosted by high scores in other areas.
OP, do you have any 700+ subject test scores? A 31 ACT is pretty border line for Bowdoin especially without a hook- in fact the admissions officer essentially suggested my D not submit her 31 last year (if she were to apply) and my D wouldn’t have submitted since she had some good subject test scores and very strong GPA/rigor. So when deciding to submit or not submit a 31 you want to take the rest of your application into context and determine if the 31 supports your application or detracts from it. In my Ds case it would have detracted. Not that 31 isn’t a great score, it’s just that Bowdoin is test optional and the median score is more like 32.
I agree with above posts. Thirty-two is closer: http://www.bowdoin.edu/admissions/glance/index.shtml
However, a 31 isn’t far off the mark and without test scores, everything else better be glowing and stellar.
72% of the admitted class sent in scores.
Haha im in the same situation as you are! however, i got a 30 on the ACT and worry if i don’t send them in admissions will assume it was much worse… what do you think? (31E, 28M, 31R, 28S)
I would send that score^. It’s a 29.5 rounded up to a 30, and no category stands out as ultra impressive. That’s the benefit of a test-optional school…you don’t have to submit. Bowdoin’s 25th percentile is also higher than a 30.
