Hi everyone,
I was perusing an old thread about whether a 33 ACT is competitive enough for Ivies (with a very high GPA and strong extracurriculars, of course.) I came across someone who commented that it is not competitive, then rationalized it by saying that “the middle 50th percentile is the bottom of the actual.” The only way I can make sense of that comment is if the reported average referred to the Yale applicant pool, not Yale acceptees, but I do believe that the median figure is from accepted students. Am I not understanding the statistics behind this or did the user make an error?
(Just for reference, I scored a 33 on my first attempt and, with the test only a week away, am afraid that I may not be able to pull it up. Lopsided score–English major with very strong E/R scores, solid M for top schools, & weak S-- but that’s a story for another forum.)
The Yale ACT range for accepted students (25th percentile - 75 percentile) is 32-36. However, note that those with scores below 32 are more likely to be people with some sort of a hook: recruited athletes/ URMs/ children of major donors, etc.
Look at the stats threads from this week. Plenty accepted with 33’s as well as rejected with 35’s (or 36). GPA matters a lot. Everything I’ve read is 33 is a qualifying score. Sure 34 is better but there is a big jump from 32 to 33.
Try the SAT. I think there is value in trying both. My D scored 33 twice but got a 1530 on new SAT which supposedly correlates to 34. She was accepted to Harvard.
My biggest advice as we just finished this round is take your subject test right after you finish the appropriate class. We survived but my D took the U.S. History SAT II over a year after finishing the class and didn’t have time to study more than a day or two. She made a 720 and I’m sure she would have been 760-800 if she took it in June right after finishing the class.
Thanks! I am planning to do just that with Math 2 & US in June (after AP exams in May.) I hear from some people that 33 gets you through the door & from others that higher scores affect admissions… the science section for me is just highly dependent on luck with how quickly I can get information from the articles, and I’m nervous it may be very hard like last time. (Reddit forum also echoes that Feb ACT science was a nightmare LOL.) My GPA & ECs are solid… I made a thread on here & it seems like ACT would be my primary “weak point” at the moment, so I’m trying to alleviate pre-test jitters, I suppose. @Sportsman88