<p>I took the ACT in December and scored a 32 composite. My individual scores were a 33 in math 32 in english 31 in reading 30 in science and 29 in writing. Are those scores good enough for schools like Rice, Wake Forest, Vanderbilt, and Duke?</p>
<p>Great for Wake. Last year, it appeared to be a cutoff for Vandy, i.e., unhooked applicants with a 31 were rejected, while many 32’s were waitlisted…</p>
<p>Since Rice and Duke tend to be more selective than Vandy…</p>
<p>Cativy,
Assuming your GPA is solid, an ACT score of 32 should be enough for Wake Forest RD and Vandy ED1. I think Duke is more selective, and I do not know enough about Rice to comment.</p>
<p>It would be worth a retake for another couple of points to make you more competitive at the more selective schools on your list.</p>
<p>It’s good enough in the sense that it’s around the middle of their ranges. It’s great for Wake.</p>
<p>Being in the middle of the range makes you an unlikely candidate at many schools, including the OPs targets, where 40% plus of every class has a hook.</p>
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<p>I think the text of your statement is technically correct - unlikely means chances of anything less than 50%, but this statement can be taken far too negatively then you should take it. Be careful of CC. I would guess it makes your chances of acceptance much closer to 40% than to 2%. There are plenty of unhooked people who get into good schools.</p>
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<p>Of course, but a large majority will have stats above the middle of the 50th percentile.</p>
<p>An ACT 32 is at the 99th percentile. It’s equivalent to an SAT 1420 (Math + CR). </p>
<p>What was your SAT? Do you have any hooks or significant ECs?</p>
<p>What is your GPA and curriculum?</p>
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<p>LOL! No only a small majority will. Plenty of the hooked kids will have stats above the middle of the 50th percentile too. Your conclusion assumes that almost all of the hooked kids have stats below the 50th percentile, but that is not likely.</p>
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<p>Wouldn’t that be only half the class that has stats above the middle of the 50th percentile?</p>
<p>We’re talking about unhooked kids. </p>
<p>Assuming kids with hooks can get in with a lower score, and 40% of every class has a hook (not sure where that number came from) then the majority of non hooked kids scored above the median. Even if ALL of the hooked kids were below the median, then 5 out of 6 unhooked kids would be above the 50th percentile. However, it is preposterous to assume that anything close to all of the hooked kids are below the median. </p>
<p>Suppose 2/3 of the hooked kids were below the median (still probably too large), then only 61% of unhooked kids scored above the median and 39% scored below the median. I don’t call that a large majority. </p>
<p>Those odds shouldn’t scare anybody away from applying to a school.</p>
<p>A majority of the unhooked kids have below median stats at ivies and the like. Certainly not all, but a clear majority. And while 40% is the number admitted to by ivy adcom, we’ve parsed it on a few threads and figured out the number is clearly higher at many schools. Do the math: 17% athletes, 20% URM, 12% legacies (this is about average for ivies) then staff kids, development, special skills…Even with overlap, that leaves the unhooked to bring up the stats.</p>
<p>is there a typo, hmom?</p>
<p>hmom, in your scenario, what percentage of hooked kids do YOU think have stats below the median?</p>
<p>I think someone stated it pretty well in another thread. Students compare themselves to the Common Data Set 75% level to assess their chances. Those %iles are for students who opted to go to the school. Schools BELOW the Ivy level are frequently used as safeties for students who will ultimately select an Ivy (or a higher prestige school), so the ACCEPTED scores will be HIGHER. I’ve seen a statement that to be a match you should be around the 75% level and I agree with that. </p>
<p>That being said, those schools weight grades and ECs as much or more than scores.</p>