<p>Right now, my son is only interested in taking the ACT -- not the SAT. He has taken some SAT II tests for schools that will require them.</p>
<p>He has taken the ACT twice, waiting on the scores from the second sitting. He is trying to determine what score would be needed to put him in the top 25% of the pool of applicants at the schools he is interested in:</p>
<p>Where do we find this information? I tried collegeboard, but didn't find it. I know some of the schools list their 25% -- 75% range score, so is it the top of that range up to a perfect score?</p>
<p>What do I google to find this information? Is it available on the USNWR premium college info (I was waiting until August to pay my $15 to get it)</p>
<p>He is just trying to figure what score he is aiming for -- he knows that perfection would be nice but he isn't expecting a 36</p>
<p>just so that I understand what I am seeing -- Princeton Review says"</p>
<p>"About the Middle 50%</p>
<p>The 25th percentile is the score that 25 percent scored at or below; the 75th percentile score is the one that 25 percent scored at or above. The middle 50 is the range between the 25th and 75th percentile"</p>
<p>so that means that when stanford lists 28 -33, that a score of 33 - 36 would be in the top 75%, does that sound correct?</p>
<p>It looks like he needs to shoot for a 34 in order to be in the top 25% of the schools he is interested in.</p>
<p>i agree w/ s snack. 2300 just sounds better than a 35 which would actually probably convert better. i got a 33 on the ACT and 2200 on SAT. statistically those convert the same but i'm gonna submit the 2200.</p>
<p>he doesn't want to take the SAT -- he really doesn't care for standardized tests. I might convince him otherwise, but all schools say they accept the ACT and SAT equally and he would rather stick with the ACT unless there is a significant reason not to.</p>
<p>I know that test scores aren't everything -- he is looking for a number to shoot for. If he gets the score he wants, he will be done taking tests. My guess is that he will need to take the ACT once more to get to a 34 -- he is thinking he scored about a 32 on the one he just took, but we shall see.</p>
<p>even with the ACT, i would highly recommend taking the SAT II's with them. i submitted my ACT (34) and 3 sat subject tests as well. even though these schools dont require the subject tests if you submit the ACT, i have to believe they would recommend it for sure. i think 33+ is a good score for top schools. idk why there is an SAT bias though (2300 is better than a 35...i think they are the same)</p>
<p>The other advantage to taking the SAT is that if you take it multiple times, colleges allow you to superscore. Most don't allow that for the ACT.</p>
<p>ridewitbd24 -- he is planning on taking 3 of the SAT II tests (he just took the US Hist and Lit tests June 3rd).</p>
<p>s snack -- correct, very few schools superscore the ACT.</p>
<p>Lurker -- it really depends on the schools, some accept the ACT in lieu of both that SAT and SAT II tests, however -- several of his schools do require 2-3 SAT II tests in addition to the ACT, so he is planning on taking 3 of the SAT II tests.</p>
<p>What it really boils down to is that he wants to minimize the amount of time he spends on standardized testing (both preparing and taking the tests). He took the ACT last December completely unprepared (didn't even know that it had 4 sections or how much time it took). It was a test run for him -- he ended up with a composite of 27 (English 26, Math 23, Reading 35 and Science 25). It wasn't bad for no prep -- plus, he miscalculated the time on the science and english and left the last 10-15 questions unanswered.</p>
<p>He did about a week of prep work and then took the ACT again last saturday. The sample tests he was taking were giving him composites of 31-32. His biggest problem is math -- his geometry class was horrible and he needs to relearn most of it. We find out how he did in another week or two.</p>
<p>What he wants to do is take the ACT one last time next June, after taking another year of math (including some good review of math). He really doesn't want to do any other tests (he knows he has one more SAT II test to take)</p>
<p>He has decided he is not going to take the PSAT -- he took it in 9th and 10th grades and his scores were 186 and 183. He has said that he doesn't want to put the time into studying enough to give him a chance at NMS -- that he would rather spend his time on his ECs, community service and classes. Since he is fairly far off from NMS possibilities, I can't see a reason why he has to take the PSAT.</p>
<p>after all is said and done, it is important to remember that even applicants with perfect scores are not guaranteed admission at any of these top schools. when you analyze those ACT/SAT scores, you have to also factor in how many students are recruited athletes or legacies.</p>
<p>wbow -- we do realize that and certainly don't expect that any certain score is a guarantee of admissions. On the otherhand, there are most likely certain scores that would virtually guarantee a rejection (I can't imagine many with an ACT score of 20 get into Harvard).</p>
<p>He was thinking if he aimed for the top 25% of the admitted student scores, that would take into account the recruited athletes, legacies, etc that might have had ACT scores in the lower 50% range of accepted students.</p>
<p>however, the ivies use an academic index when recruiting. let's take football as an example since they make up a large number of recruits. All football recruits have to meet a minimum academic index. out of the 30 recruits, there are perhaps 12 spots in the top band, 10 in the middle and 8 in the lower band. </p>
<p>the assumption that all athletic recruits are the lowest academic qualifiers is not necessarily true.</p>
<p>i would agree that your odds are greatly improved the higher your score! not that it takes a high act score to figure that out!</p>
<p>agreed -- not all athletes, URM, legacy, etc have low test scores (or low stats at all).</p>
<p>However -- I am guessing that those in the bottom 25% of the range do have something that makes them stand-out. </p>
<p>I am just trying to figure out an ACT score for him to shoot for -- and I think a 34 looks like a good number. I doubt sincerely he will get that composite score this test, but he could probably do some additional test prep and get that score next year.</p>
<p>barium -- that's what I would do, but aiming for perfection totally frustrates this kid so it wouldn't work. don't ask me why -- but he likes to set a "realistic goal" and then if he surpasses it, he is happy.</p>
<p>Your son is a lot like me: hates test prep, hates wasting time on useless "measures of intelligence", and hates giving money to the college board! I'm also doing the ACT and SATIIs thing and shooting for that top quartile at my reach schools. I'm at a 33 right now and toying with the idea of trying a retake in fall for a 34+.</p>
<p>being black is so sweet. i got a lower score than anyone else on this thread and i'm still just as likely to get in. i feel kinda guilty though.
this is one of the only times i think being black helps.</p>