I did some ACT prep last summer and a little bit into the fall, and then I put it on hold for school. I took the June ACT, but I wasn’t really able to prepare for it aside from taking a practice test the weekend before. I actually didn’t think it went very well, as I basically didn’t finish math and reading and had to guess on a few, but I did really well and ended up getting:
Composite: 34
E: 36
M:32
R: 32
S: 36
(W: 26)
I thought, “great, I’m done with testing!” My parents, however, thought, “well, if you can take the ACT without prepping for 8 months and get a 34, you could get a 36 if you study for it over the whole summer!” (also, they don’t even know that my writing score was a 26, and if [or when] they find out they’d say i DEFINITELY have to retake)
Is it really necessary to retake it though? Sure, a couple of 32s and a 26 on writing are kind of low for really top schools, but won’t retaking it make it seem like i’m a perfectionist?
My parents argue that it’s important for my test scores to be as high as possible because my extracurriculars aren’t very good, but i really feel like preparing for the ACT over the whole summer is a little silly when I already have such a high score. (also, isn’t it true that colleges are beginning to place more weight on GPA rather than test scores?)
There’ll be NO difference whatsoever between a 34 and a 36.
However, spending your summer in an interesting manner - job, project - and spending time on your essays WILL make a difference.
It can make a difference depending on the school. My D’s first choice gives a 4 year tuition scholarship for a 35 with her GPA, but a 34 is a one year scholarship. It is an automatic scholarship. So definitely research your schools before you quit.
I feel like it really depends on where you want to go to college. Are your parents pressuring you to go to an Ivy League school? If so, it may help to know that when I visited Harvard and Yale, I talked directly with admissions officers, and they told me that as long as your scores are in the range, they don’t care about the actual numbers.
Well I think your scores are very good, but I don’t really understand why you prepped all last summer and then didn’t take the ACT in the fall? That would have been a better idea imo than waiting until this summer and taking it without any prep.
You could focus mostly on math (timing) and writing this summer, do a few practice tests and take it one more time.
Also talk to your parents about affordability of schools, every school has a net price calculator on their website.
Getting accepted is only part of the challenge. Being able to pay for college is another, and many students and parents tend to focus more on admission than affordability.
Who is going to pay for college? If your parents are shelling out the money and they want you to take it again, then my opinion is to do what they say.
I’m in the exact same situation! But I’ve explained to my parents that the difference between a 34 and a 36 /really/ isn’t that major in deciding college applications. AND raising your score those extra two points is going to be pretty difficult, just because the margin for improvement is so slim. Really, it depends on if the schools you’re looking into really put emphasis on that small difference and if you have time for it between your other responsibilities. If you’re a rising senior, it might be better to focus your summer on preparing your application and choosing and researching schools to apply to. Whatever you decide to do, good luck!