I’m entering my senior year and I’m taking my first ACT September 10th… I’m applying to some schools for a November 1st deadline.
How long do scores come out after the test?
How long does it take for the ACT to send to colleges?
You should be fine with the September test. Most of the colleges with Nov 1 EA and ED application deadlines actually accept scores that arrive after Nov 1, accept as late as the Oct ACT, and a number of them even accept the Nov SAT.
There are a small number that want scores in their hands by Nov 1 (UIUC and UMichigan are examples), but even for those, you should be fine with the Sep test, assuming ACT does not have the problems it had last year and it claims it will not.
Typically what occurs is that test scores begin to be released 10 to 11 days after the test. If you did not take the writing section, all your scores should be released either on that opening day or within a few days thereafter (not everyone gets scores the first day). In that case, if you have pre-ordered the scores sent by identifying the college in your test registration as one to automatically receive scores upon release, it will be sent eletronoically the same day the scores are released to you. If you wait to order scores sent until after scores come out, it typically can take up to a week for the scores to be sent after you make your order.
The issue with ACT has been the writing section. If you take the essay test, then ACT will not send any scores to a college until both the regular test and the essay are graded. Before last Sep, what tpyically occurred is that many got their writing scores at the same time as the regular section scores were released, but just as many had to wait up to a week or so to get their writing scores after receiving the regular seciton scores, so often test scores were not sent to colleges until between 2 and 3 weeks after taking the test.
What happened last year is that ACT modified its test. The content of the test was changed only a little. The major change was how the writing test was scored. Before Sep 2015, the possible scores were 2 to 12 on the writing test based on a fairly simple scale use by the graders. ACT decided to get cute in 2015 and came up with a complex system of scoring the writing section that was harder for graders to use and then converted any results to its 1- 36 point scale used for other sections. The result was a fiasco. Many had long delays, over a month after regular section scores came out, waiting for their writing scores to be released and thus waiting for their scores to be sent to colleges. Moreover, the scores themselves were then a fiasco with many scoring high on the regular section scores, 30 and above, and seemingly bombing the essay section with a score in the teens. Then many asked for regrading and their scores changed substantially, something that should not happen if the scoring system is fair and accurate to begin with. The ACT bereaucrats who created the fisaco kept trying to justify their actions throughout last year’s tests, However, someone in a position of authority at ACT finally came to his senses in Spring of this year and ACT announced that it was reverting back to its old 2 to 12 grading system which will be in effect for the Sep and beyond tests. Thus, it is expected that last year’s disaster will not repeat itself.
Wow! Thank you for all of that! That helps a lot! I already chose what schools to send to so that should speed up the process!