Hi everyone (TLDR at the bottom),
So the first time I took the ACT I got a 31C (31E, 30M, 31R, 31S), and I was really confident I could improve if I retook the ACT. I felt confident going into the ACT retake despite me doing little prep because I did well on the practice tests for the most part. That confidence vanished, however, when I somehow ran out of time on English and math, the sections I usually do best on. Since I ran out of time on those sections, I made the terrible mistake of giving up on reading and science. I figured I would just delete the scores from this test date and that would be it (I know this seems incredibly dumb, but I was really upset at this moment because I didn’t even run out of time the first time I took the test. I thought there was no chance I could improve my score at this point).
Well, guess what? It turns out I did better on English and math on the retake than I did the first time I took the ACT. I got a 34 on English and a 31 on math. I don’t know how that happened, but it did. Unfortunately, since I had given up hope after running out of time on math, I got a 29 on reading and a 25 on science. My composite as a result is a 30. I feel so incredibly dumb right now. If I just got the same score on reading and science that I got the first time I took the test, I would have gotten a 32C!
Anyways, now I’m wondering if I should retake the ACT again. I’ve learned my lesson and won’t give up hope no matter what. The thing is, I still haven’t studied for/taken the physics subject test, and many of the UCs recommend taking it to those who want to major in engineering, so I’m thinking I should just focus on that as well as college apps. What would you suggest? My other question is, should I delete my retake scores? I did better on English and math, but I don’t really want colleges seeing my science or composite scores.
Thank you for your suggestions.
TLDR: I got a 31C the first time I took the ACT. I took it again, and I stupidly gave up after the math section because I ran out of time on English and math, and I thought there was no way I could improve my composite score at that point. I somehow ended up doing better on English and math on the retake though (34E and 31M), so now I’m wondering if I should retake the ACT again and this time obviously not give up. Or would it be in my best interest to focus on college apps and the physics subject test? Also, should I delete my retake scores (30C, 34E, 31M, 29R, 25S) or keep them because of my English and math scores? Thank you!