If I get rejected from any competitive college, will my score be the one to blame?

Applying to College
1

<p>My act is a 32, which, here at CC, is very mediocre to say the least. Would I get rejected from say, Penn, mostly because of my score or mostly because of bad essays/recs/EC's and whatnot?</p>

2

<p>Go to the Common Data Set, for instance Penn:</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.upenn.edu/ir/Common%20Data%20Set/UPenn%20Common%20Data%20Set%202010-11.pdf[/url]”>http://www.upenn.edu/ir/Common%20Data%20Set/UPenn%20Common%20Data%20Set%202010-11.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>The ranges are wide, but you can see about where a 32 places you.</p>

3

<p>@Juv: if you research the individual schools’ websites, they’ll tell you the combination of evaluation factors. Yes, a low score can knock you out. Yes a high score with other deficiencies can knock you out. It’s not so straight forward. Look at the websites.</p>

4

<p>A 32 puts you basically right in the middle of the middle 50% range of those admitted to Penn. It will not alone either get you rejected or accepted. If rejected you will never be told the actual reasons but it won’t be because of a weak test score.</p>

5

<p>You wont get rejected with a 32 ACT but you would be distinctly more competitive with a 34-36.</p>

6

<p>"You wont get rejected with a 32 ACT " Hunh? Do you mean “It’s possible to be accepted with a 32”?</p>

<p>Certainly people with 32s routinely get rejected.</p>

7

<p>^as do those with 36! :p</p>

8

<p>If it makes you feel any better, I’m going to Penn in the fall with a 31</p>

<p>Sent from my ADR6300 using CC</p>

9

<p>Only in the Bizarro world of CC is 32 on the ACT a very mediocre score.</p>

<p>For the top top schools (say the top 25 or so by rankings) this ONLY puts you in the middle of the pack for enrolees. Meaning, IMO, it won’t keep you out, but won’t give you much of a boost either. Once you get to the next tier (say 50 or so or lower by rankings) this score becomes a major plus.</p>

10

<p>Sorry I meant “because of” silly of me.</p>

11

<p>there’s more to consider…</p>

<p>GPA
rank
course rigor
state that you’re from
ECs
URM status</p>

<p>anyway…be sure to apply to some safety schools that you can afford as back ups.</p>

12

<p>m2ck is slipping! </p>

<p>For a safety at U Alabama - </p>

<p>You can get free OOS tuition with that 32 and 3.5 GPA!</p>

<p>[Out-of-State</a> Scholarships - Undergraduate Scholarships - The University of Alabama](<a href=“http://scholarships.ua.edu/types/out_of_state.html]Out-of-State”>http://scholarships.ua.edu/types/out_of_state.html)</p>