How Hurtful is a 31 ACT for an Ivy

Just wondering how much a 31 ACT will hurt my chances at Ivies like Brown and Dartmouth?

Are you really good at basketball or football? Are you or your parents famous or rich? If the answer to these questions is no, then take the test again. Your application is not evaluated in a vacuum. You will be compared to all the other kids who are applying, most of whom will have a score higher than 31. Unless you have a strong hook that is going to make them overlook the relatively low score, they will most likely pick another candidate.

Using the documents from the Harvard lawsuit, they would likely give you an academic rating of 3. To overcome that, you have to have something else that they really want.

I would take the test again and see if you can get a 33+. 31 is a very good score, however the Ivies will turn down plenty of kids with 34-36. You don’t need a perfect score. You need great grades, a very competitive score and the balance of things they want to see in a student (that’s the tricky part- all competitive unhooked kids will have strong LORs, essays, ECs, etc.) Lower scores mean you must compensate in other places - like national award winner in X, solid research exp from prominent organization, etc. Getting a 33+ in no way guarantees you anything, but having less than that puts a lot of stress on the rest of your application.

Well, it’s low for Ivies and if SAT is low too then it’s going to hurt your odds, unless you are eligible for a special quota like URM, First Generation, legacy, rural residency, athletics, donor, faculty kid etc

That score won’t help you, but if you are hooked, it might not be too damaging. Retake if you want to boost your app a little.

Thanks for all your help guys!

25th percentile ACT composite at both schools is a 32.

How much does it hurt to have a sub 25th percentile score in one of the two major academic (Standardized test score/GPA)ac stats?

Probably a lot.

Don’t worry kid. Just do your best and hope for a good outcome.

But for any colleges that end up on your list, try to learn the fuller picture that matters to them. And even if your scores improve vastly, there’s far more to being a compelling applicant. To present your best, it sure helps to have an idea what they look for.

The best source for that is what the colleges themselves say and show.

Schools where your ACT falls at or below the 25th percentile must be considered reaches for an unhooked applicant. It is fine to apply to a couple of reach schools – you might have a particular attribute or talent the school is looking for – but it would be a mistake for you (or any unhooked applicant for that matter) to pin all your hopes, dreams, and self-worth on being accepted.

As long as you took the time to build a well balanced college application list which includes not only reach schools but also a number of match and safety schools that appear affordable (hopefully you ran net price calculators) and that you would be excited to attend then you should end up with some really good choices at the conclusion of the process.

Are you an athlete? Could you fill a spot on one of their teams? Are you a legacy? Did your family donate a lot of money to the college? Are you a URM? Are you the child of faculty or staff? Are you SES disadvantaged? Are you international? All of that factors into how you are evaluated.

@CupCakeMuffins, I hope I am correct in assuming you didn’t mean the term “special quota” in your post. Of course several of those designations may be hooks or tips, but none AFAIK are quotas.

MODERATOR’S NOTE:

Let’s not get bogged down in semantics. Athletes are a fixed number by university, as an example, so call it whatever you want.