<p>I will keep everything general so that people will read it and give me advice. WHAT SHOULD I DO ABOUT MY ACT TEST SCORE? </p>
<p>I go to a school ranked highly in the nation and am in the top 10% of my graduation class
I have fantastic extracurricular (strongest ones are government based) and a business<br>
I have 2 fantastic letters of rec from my teachers and one from a senator
My essays are outstanding </p>
<p>But because of extenuating circumstances my ACT was mediocre, lower then my PLAN. I had to walk out of the testing room because of bad anxiety at the time from a terrible trauma I lived. </p>
<p>my guidance councilor sent in a letter explaining what happened. But to be honest, my score was really low and I took it three times, but because NU doesnt super score it would not help me. I actually had a really bad trauma because what I lived was less then forgivable, its a miracle I’m here… But I’m scared my ACT was too low for NU and because they do not take the February ACT, I would have to take the January SAT, but I do not like the format of the SAT, plus I never looked into it… what should I do?</p>
<p>So what steps could I take now? NU is my dream school and I don’t want those barrier to hurt me, but at a competitive school like NU could it be a deal breaker?</p>
<p>If your counselor sent in a letter, I don’t think there’s anything more you can or should do. If it is a deal breaker (which hopefully it won’t be), you won’t be able to do anything about it. On the other hand, it might not be a deal breaker - you will never know, so just hope for the best. Good luck!</p>
<p>I have overcome an OCD and depression and on top of that I worked to maintain my family. I have not gotten more than 4 hours of sleep probably since 2010. And northwestern is my dream school. I have lead a few political campaigns and I have helped a lot of people. I do not want my ACT score to break my application, but like you said there might now be much I can do at this point. I spent over 200+ hours preparing for the ACT and would tend to score from 31-33, but on the test, the stress killed me…</p>
<p>OP - you survived the trauma. That is what counts. Who cares what college you go to? There are lots of good ones. The important thing is that you survived. If not Northwestern - there are many other fine schools. Just smile.</p>
<p>Thanks glido. I know I have gone through a lot in life, but I have had to prevalently find courage to get where I am today. Similarly I am doing everything I can to get into NU. I do not want to bring unwarranted, self-loathing info into this, but I have done my DAMNEDEST, everything in my application is solid, except for my ACT score…</p>
<p>I applied. However, I do feel it will be the end because like I mentioned, I have a business which is what my family lives on right now because of hard times and I have to stay in Illinois to manage it. Thus I can’t apply to other schools of similar prestige out of state.</p>