<p>I agree that taking the ACT is advisable for the OP, but disagree about not studying for it. I think he should at least do a practice run of the science test so that he can see it’s not about science. It won’t take long and will give some familiarity to that part of the test.</p>
<p>@riparian
I have others in mind as well, is this “gamble” caused by an increase in applicants or lack of money? Thanks</p>
<p>@momofmv
Yeah I will be, thank you for the info, everyone has been so helpful in this thread haha. Also, tell your son that he’s a beast…I always get 780 or 750’s in math on SAT I practice tests because of simple arithmetic errors =(</p>
<p>@iamawesome27
Haha maybe XD. Thank you, hopefully next year the whole application process for any school won’t be as difficult as it is this year. I read an article posted in another thread about 2010 being a difficult year for college applicants, I was surprised.</p>
<p>@vballmom
Ah, I see, are the other 3 sections of the ACT similar to that of the SAT? I was originally planning on brushing up on all 4 of the ACT sections, just for familiarity’s sake. Thank you for the advice</p>
<p>@stree123: I am somewhat mystified by the seeming unpredictable outcomes listed in other threads, but it seems to be heavily affected by the exact major requested. Not just engineering in general, for instance, but the exact branch of engineering that was chosen. When we combine the possibly unpredictible swings in popularity of specific majors from year to year, together with a rapid rise in total applicants, I would hesitate to advise any future applicant that they “shouldn’t worry” about getting into their chosen major, as the data base is not stable from year to year. Stats that were a “sure bet” in one year, might not cut it the next.</p>
<p>For instance, my daughter was rejected by SLO for Civil Engr. (when we thought her grades/stats/AP course load and ECs were a solid, safe match)…and accepted into UCLA, her reach. And others on CC report similar experiences. Meanwhile, some SLO admits in different engineering majors report having far lower stats, and daughter’s school friends with lower stats got into various array of other majors. Thus it seems that the hours students spend studying or doing community service might be more profitably spent ferreting out which closely related majors are less popular than others. </p>
<p>I certainly don’t have a problem with some majors being much more selective than others, as long as that fact is reasonably well-known to applicants (as is the case for Architecture, for instance) However, I worry that for a broad array of other majors, students will be misled by the school’s admitted stats as reported in CSU Mentor, etc. and will fail to apply to enough alternative schools. I am concerned that the information widely disseminated by this state school is inadequate for students to make rational judgements about this very important matter.</p>
<p>As far as I can remember, the sections are pretty close to the SAT (other than science). However, I don’t think it has vocab section in reading and in general the ACT is a little easier (IMO) because it seemed to be less about critical thinking/reasoning and more focused on general knowledge. You do need to work at a quicker pace though because I felt time was more of an issue than the SAT both times I took it. As for science, basically like vballmom said it really isn’t about scientific knowledge or anything, it’s just interpreting graphs and data and choosing the correct pattern/relationship in the problem…i think buying a study book couldn’t hurt anything but your wallet, but I wouldn’t take an extra ACT class or anything because that’s basically what you’ve been doing in your AP/college prep courses.</p>
<p>OP…you can only apply to one school early decision…and acceptance of admission is binding…BUT if you KNOW that its your number 1 school…it may give you an advantage. There are kids who got in ED for some majors while other kids w similar stats and same majors got rejected for RD.</p>
<p>“and acceptance of admission is binding”</p>
<p>If you apply for financial aid but not enough is granted to enable you to attend, you can decline the ED acceptance without consequence.</p>
<p>Ah I see. Feel free to add anything that hasn’t already been said. I appreciate the help, thank you. =)</p>