<p>Hey I'm applying to schools like Penn/Corny/emory/cmu/wustl
although a 31 is 98% I was wondering if this was to be sent, would
I be competitive?</p>
<p>You're still in the middle 50%, so yes.</p>
<p>Are you kidding, the only thing a 31 is good for is working at McDonalds!</p>
<p>Jk,jk, yes a 31 is competitive, but I would advise you to retake it and see if you can get anything higher, preferably 32 since that is the 99% cutoff. .</p>
<p>what about a 31 for harvard/princeton/hopkins/mit/columbia?</p>
<p>At Harvard and Princeton, you'll be struggling. They reject a lot of people who apply with 36s and 2400s. 31 is more like "he's given himself a chance to be considered" because your other stuff has to really stand out. I think 31 is like the 25% and 34 is the 75, so definitely get to at least 33 for Princeton.</p>
<p>you said i have to have something that really stand out. how about an international award?</p>
<p>IF that international award was related to leadership, then yes I think it would stand out, but the only problem is that so many people at these universities also have international awards, and many people from foreign countries come to Harvard.</p>
<p>it was in science research :p</p>
<p>yeah like would I be in the competitive pool for top schools like penn/emory/notredam/wustl?</p>
<p>^ definitely not. Sorry to be so harsh about it, but I have gotten a 31 too on my first test and I researched if it was good for top schools. What I found was, 31 is an okay score to apply with but you have a low chance of getting in if you don't have outstanding ECs. There is a thread about good Extra Curriculars on another forum. </p>
<p>I am trying to get atleast a 33 because it will give you a much better chance for top schools. 33 is 99 percenitle so 1 percentile is better than you. Even if 2 Million people take the ACT, you would be in the top 2000. Each college takes in 200-300 students for uindergrad so you are a shoo in for the top 10 schools if you have decent ECs.</p>
<p>Hope it was helpful.</p>
<p>HA. Yes, a 31 is not competitive at ALL. Please don't listen to that garbage. It is a reasonable score that will not hurt you in applying to top colleges. In reality, it is much more about grades then test scores. Still a very good score.</p>
<p>URM status outweighs any international awards and such. If you're URM with high test scores like you're 31 (and are decent overall), you're competitive, period.</p>
<p>If you're asian, I'm sorry...</p>
<p>yeah I'm Asian and what sucks more is that I'm Korean</p>
<p>But I'm a citizen thank God...I wouldn't wanna compete with those crazy exchange students</p>
<p>if the international award is something of any real consequence, something that has some prestige and isn't something easily acheived, i'd imagine you have good chances. just dont seem arrogant and haughty. i had a friend who really didn't do that good on standardized tests or in school (3.5 ish i think, not a hard course load), but was an A ranked fencer, competed at tons of national competitions and did very well, and had won tournaments internationally. she thought because of grades she'd end up at Arizona State UU, but ended up at Cornell.</p>