<p>DS took the Oct ACT cold and got a high 99%tile score. At first glen, I was very happy. Then I went on to check those self reporting posts on CC and found that is very common to score that and higher. </p>
<p>Is it just easier to do well on ACT than SAT? Will colleges treat high ACT scores the same as high SAT scores? </p>
<p>Dont get me wrong, DS is a decent student who is handling 5 AP plus Math and FL, and sports, and other E/C very well. He is on the path to complete at least 11 AP at graduation and an unweight GPA around 3.9. </p>
<p>We are going to review the sub scores tonight. If there is an outlier, I would suggest DS do some study and take the test again in Feb or April. I dont think he will need to take SAT I at all.</p>
<p>If this happened in my household, I'd congratulate him and end it there. Since when is 99% not good enough? Why give him the impression that being perfect is the only goal and being anything less than perfect isn't good enough? Check the websites of the colleges that he's interested in and compare his score and GPA with what is needed for merit scholarships. It sounds as though he's well on his way to success at whatever college he decides to attend. Let him be happy with his fantastic score, congratulate him, and let him enjoy the rest of the year. </p>
<p>Dad II, congratulations to your son for a great score!</p>
<p>99% by definition is not common. CC is not the real world. He did better than 99% of the test takers! However since he does well on this test, and if there is one subsection which he thinks he could bring up, there is no disadvantage (other than wasting the time and money) to retaking it. I think it is the case that ACT is not usually super-scored.</p>
<p>But yes unless he is NMSF there could be no reason to take the SAT I. And even if he does, no reason to report it to colleges if it is not as good.</p>
<p>Dad II,
You should be thrilled with how well your son did on the ACT. He also has excellent grades in a challenging curriculum. It doesn't matter what members on CC are posting that they got. There are more top level students posting here than in the general population. </p>
<p>Your son doesn't have to take the SAT as most colleges accept either the ACT or the SAT. </p>
<p>It is hard to say whether your son needs to retake the ACT. I believe a 99%tile score on the ACT would be between 32-35 composite. So, if your son has a 34 or 35, I don't see why he would need to take it again as that score is plenty good enough for any college in the land. If your son has a 32-33, that is also GREAT but it can't hurt to retake it next spring as it is early in junior year and he has not done test prep (from the way you describe it) and there is a chance his score could rise and it is worth a shot at that even though the score is excellent anyway.</p>
<p>I was thrilled when my son ended up in the 99% on the ACT a couple of years ago. Take a few minutes away from CC and start googling average ACT/SAT scores. For that matter, start checking the average SAT/ACT scores for any college out of the top 20. That will help you appreciate the rarity of the score.</p>
<p>Keep in mind, too, that people tend to exaggerate (dare I say it, "lie"?). </p>
<p>You will hear tons of things over the next few months like:</p>
<p>"Johnny got into XYZ and was offered a full ride scholarship", when you know Johnny is a dolt, and wonder how he did it. Unless you personally saw the offer letter, feel free to be skeptical. </p>
<p>I found over the years that the greatest exaggeration seems to take place with test scores and financial aid offers. It is tougher to BS one's way with an admissions offer, because the boaster might be found out later when the kid "chose elsewhere", but even that happens.</p>
<p>So feel free to be skeptical of things you see posted here, and even more from things you hear in your social network. </p>
<p>No one wants to admit their kid is just "normal". It is our biggest fear...</p>
<p>First of all - congratulations to your son on an incredible score... 99th percentile is simply as good as it gets. </p>
<p>When thinking of retaking it, I would like to issue the following cautionary tale - a student at our high school scored 2380 on the SAT. In search of those missing 20 points, she took it again - and got 2200 ish. Thinking that was just bad luck - another time - 2200ish. Now the 2380 looks like luck and the 2200 looks like her real score. </p>
<p>I know the ACT allows you to select the one score you send - but wouldn't the time spent chasing those elusive missing points be better spent doing something else? </p>
<p>Heck I would vote for sitting on the beach and watching girls - but that probably doesn't fit into a nice EC bucket - so perhaps an environmental beach cleanup day instead :) (My DS favorite EC - you wear a swimsuit along with 30-40 other highschoolers - and pick up trash on the beach for the day)</p>
<p>^^ That student who retook the SAT (twice!) after scoring 2380 was really really stupid. Just goes to show, even stupid people can score a 2380.</p>
<p>
[quote]
there is no such thing as scoring in the 100th percentile, right?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>On the ACT, there is a reported 100th percentile. That's the same tip-top level that College Board reports as the 99+th percentile. Just a difference in terminology. </p>
<p>I also cannot imagine retaking after getting a 2380. </p>
<p>DadII...you also need to remind yourself after the experience with your D when you got on her case about prepping to retake the ACT after she had a 34, that she got into top colleges and perfection is not needed to be admitted. A score in the 99%tile suffices at any college.</p>
<p>Once you cross a certain threshold (eg 99% on the ACT) you are wasting your time taking it again. Most of us know this intellectually- but few have truly internalized it. A 'perfect' score seems so....perfect, but it really isn't!</p>
<p>Many kids score better on ACT than SAT, including my D. I am not sure what score correspond to 99% percentile. I believe that there are schools that prefer SAT over ACT. It depends what you S is looking for and what kind of merit scholarships you are interested. D's ACT=33, GPA=4.0 uw and top of class rank got her a lot of merit scholarship $$ at every school that she applied. However, she did not apply OOS or any elite / highly ranked / IVY</p>
<p>
[quote]
Once you cross a certain threshold (eg 99% on the ACT) you are wasting your time taking it again. Most of us know this intellectually- but few have truly internalized it. A 'perfect' score seems so....perfect, but it really isn't!
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Well, in my advice in post #4, I'm going by my understanding that a 99%itle on the ACT can be a 32 and above. My own kids did not take the ACT but I bet if they got a 32, they'd be content and stop taking tests. However, DadII's son is in fall of junior year and did no test prep. I don't know what he got on the ACT. But if it is a 32 or 33, it frankly is good enough in my book but on the other hand, it can't hurt to retake in spring of senior year with a little practice/review. It is not necessary, however. But it is not the same as striving for perfection. Going from a 32 to a 34, may be worth a shot. Now, if his son got a a 34 or 35, I see NO reason to ever retake it. Then, it IS striving for perfection and what I recall the push with DadII's D was (she had a 34 if I recollect and he wanted her to study more for the test even though a 34 is good enough for the top schools in the country).</p>
<p>Of course these are different groups of test-takers. Some students take only one test, some take only the other, and some take both. Some score higher on the ACT (in percentile terms) and others score higher on the SAT, and some score about the same on each.</p>
<p>DadII- as you have been through this before, you probably already know--I have two thoughts: one is that as each of the pieces of a college app are hurdls to be jumped over, if your son try has a top act score already, I would verify that it is competitive for what he wants and if so move onto the next hurdl --be it SAT II scores, leadership attained, comm service, or research. </p>
<p>If you do decide to go over the subscores, don't look for what he missed as much as what if he put in a little time, what he could get. Example would be lower math to be brushed up on. It might be speed, for example, as the act is time-challenged.</p>