<p>I am a high school student from China. I stayed in the U.S. for my junior year as an exchange student. My ACT score is 31 with the following subscores:
English 34, Math 33 (I have gotten 36 before), Reading 24, Science 32 and writing 8 (I have gotten 10 before). </p>
<p>Since it is pretty hard to retake the test in China (I need to go to Hong Kong to take it), do you think my current ACT score is already satisfying for an international student like me applying to Yale?</p>
<p>I can retake the test in December in Hong Kong. Do you suggest me to take it again, I mean, if you take the travel and expense into account?</p>
<p>If memory serves me well, 31 on the ACT is at the 75th percentile of the admitted class, 34 being the 25th percentile. This means that your ACT is better than 25% of the class, and therefore yes, it is 'enough' if your question regards the benchmark for admissions. However, it is not so high as to warrant you an advantage.</p>
<p>Know, too, that you will be competing against others from your vicinity. In this sense, the fact that you live in China may be detrimental as the Chinese, as a group of international applicants, tend to have stronger scores (presumably due to belonging to a culture which is conducive to much studying). By no means does this mean you will NOT have a chance; it is simply a point worthy of noting.</p>
<p>Most important though, is that you know that your numbers will not be what get you in. Your score is high enough in that it is comparable to the scores of many current Yale students. Unfortunately, the bottom 25% may have some advantages that you (presumably, since you have not given these details) do not, such as legacy, minority or athletic status. </p>
<p>In conclusion, my advice is that you do not rely on the ACT score to get you in, but that you know that it is 'high enough'. Take the test again only if you have a reasonable expectation of scoring higher (and yes, even a single point could make a difference.) But even with a 36 ACT and 4.0 GPA, you will need extra-curriculars or strong essays or recommendations that set you apart.</p>