<p>Okay guys, i need your opinion on something:
Since in highschool, I have taken the ACT three times. The first time I took it I got a 28, then a 30, and I just got a 33. Should I retake the test one more time, or would it look bad taking it a fourth time? For your information, I really am looking at the most prestigious universities in the nation. THANK YOU</p>
<p>Most schools say do NOT take it more than three times, and only even take it 3 times if you must.</p>
<p>I think 33 is a great score. What were the subscores - was math or reading perfect?</p>
<p>Unlike the SAT, I think with the ACT you can ONLY send individual dates, even if you want them to see the results from multiple test dates. You don’t opt out on dates, you have to opt in (and pay double) to send two dates to colleges. All of this to say, I don’t think schools ever can see how many times you’ve taken the test. I could be wrong, but because D had a much higher score on an earlier version of one subtest, we were advised to send two dates to colleges. While most don’t superstore, if they did (or even considered it), that one score would take her comp into the next higher bracket of breakdowns. </p>
<p>So… while I don’t think you need to take it (as most really selective schools are going to want to see an SAT II or two anyway), I’d ask your GC as well. S took the ACT twice… once as a benchmark in Dec of his junior year and then again in the spring. How close together are your test dates? If you do decide to retest, I would wait to retake until the fall when you’ll have a better idea what your SAT IIs are.</p>
<p>@Modadunn
I made a 36 in math, 35 in science, 31 in english, and 30 in reading.
I took the tests close to each other, however, i don’t think i took them back to back. I am just worried that the ivies won’t admit me in with a 33. I know this sounds snobbish, but I have heard from people that you need a 35 to get in, and it is just kind of demoralizing i guess.</p>
<p>Have you taken any SAT’s, SAT II’s?</p>
<p>I looked up Harvard on our School Naviance connection. So I will agree that your English score could use a boost. But as you can see, the overall combined average is a 32.<br>
High low Average
ACT Combined: 34 31 32
ACT English: 35 32 33
ACT Math: 35 31 33</p>
<ol>
<li>You don’t need a 35 to get into an Ivy.</li>
<li>The Ivies aren’t the only good schools in this country. They’re not the be-all-end-all of higher education. They’re not some magical, mystical place where all your dreams automatically come true. Some kids love them, some kids hate it when they get there. So look beyond the label of “Ivy” to find schools that really suit you, not just schools that you think will impress others by name.</li>
</ol>
<p>(and just a note, some of those are recruited athletes… which is always hard when looking at averages for an entire population. You don’t really know what kind of hooks are involved.)</p>
<p>You must have other hooks because I’ve seen many posters with ACT 33 were rejected from MIT and Penn.</p>
<p>
That makes no sense. I’ve seen posters with 2400 SATs or 36 ACTs rejected from HYPSM. Does that mean you NEED a hook in addition to those scores to get into those schools? The answer is no, therefore your logic is flawed. Just because some people get rejected with certain scores does not mean everyone with those scores has no chance.</p>
<p>And applicants with ACT 36 also are rejected. I would call 33 good enough and move on. A composite score of 33 is in the 99th percentile, same as a 36.</p>
<p>At that level you’ve demonstrated you are academically capable. A point or two won’t be the difference between acceptance and rejection; they’ll be looking at your other achievements.</p>
<p>raca1111 how much time did u have in between the ACT 30 score and 33 ??
and did you study like crazy everyday or so so…
PLEASE HELP…I have only been studying SAT got Math 800 CR 580 Writing 710
Do i continue focusing on SAT or study ACT?? i took ACT once got 28???
WHAT DO YOU GUYS RECOMMEND</p>
<p>OP, let’s me put it this way, I’ve seen more posters with 33 ACT were rejected than posters with 2400 SAT. Yes, I agree not all 2400 were accepted either. There seems to be a higher bar for ACT scores.</p>
<p>Thanks guys for your insight. And for hilster4, I just read all the ACT princeton review book and took a bunch of practice tests until I felt pretty confident. For each person, it’s different; the ACT could be better for one person, while the SAT could be better for the next. It all just depends. I enjoyed the ACT more so I focused on that one.</p>