<p>I agree with Xiggi to ask the GC why she thinks your D should retake. Once you gauge the response...she may have a reason for you to consider or else she may be misguided and misinformed and you can either educate her about what you have learned about elite admissions or be polite and go about things the way your family decides to do. My children drove their own process. Nobody at school told them what to do in the admissions process.</p>
<p>Awesome post xiggi!</p>
<p>We were told by GC's and admin officials that retaking tests multiple times looks obsessive, and doesn't present well. Not that many spots in the freshmen class for kids that are perfectionists, I guess.</p>
<p>Xiggi's begin modern in the most important way. Rather than wonder and stew, he's suggesting dialogue and communication; gathering more information to make a better decision. While his generation didn't invent these skills, it's true that they are sharp at identifying when a simple conversation can move things along positively.</p>
<p>I encouraged my son NOT to retake any tests. He did great on all of them first time out--34 and 2340. SAT II's in the 700's. I think even resting up or having fun with friends is a better use of a Saturday than obsessive re-testing.</p>
<p>I haven't gone back to reread all of Dad II's posts, but I do not believe he has ever stated that his daughter got a 34 on the ACT. In fact, on one thread he expressed surprise that a poster or two did not think a 28 was a high score, since the average score nationwide is in the low 20s.</p>
<p>Dad, if your daughter's score is lower than 34, and she is trying to get into Princeton/Yale and similar places, then I am not surprised that the GC has advised a retake. Like it or not, high scores still get attention at the top. (I am not advising a retake, BTW. In other posts, if you remember, I have advised taking a safe and realistic approach to her list).</p>
<p>As always, best of luck.</p>
<p>I believe that someone here thought she had received a 35. DadII stated that his D's score was "not perfect, but close... very close." Someone then went on to frame the discussion with the supposition "Let's say she had a 34."</p>
<p>So I don't think we need to know the exact score. Just that it was quite close to as high as one can go.</p>
<p>We can't make informed comments without knowing your D's score.</p>
<p>^^^ quite true....maybe DadII can clarify since he is seeking advice. I gave advice based on a 34/12 after you said it was very close to perfect and that my assumption of a 35 was incorrect. Care to clarify? Lots of offers here of people who want to give opinions. If not....we'll go by framing it as if she has a 34/12 and you can adjust accordingly. Let your D decide. Tell her there is no need to retake but if she truly wants to (find out why) she owns the process.</p>
<p>This is not the first thread on which Dad II has asked for advice, yet been very ambiguous about his D's profile....</p>
<p>DadII, Not at all suggesting your D should retake ( but near perfect can mean different things to different people) but I just wanted to point out that unlike the SAT where every test taken rlists the scores of the ones before, ACT is score choice, so that you do not need to submit those scores unless they ARE better than before. So, wasting the time would be a concern, but having her score go down would not. </p>
<p>I can understand why people don't want to give exact numbers here...</p>
<p>Maybe not, but it makes me wonder if maybe they don't really want the advice they're asking for!</p>
<p>OP - Your question is difficult to answer without more info. If your D's ACT score is already in that top 99th percentile range, there are different considerations than if it is lower. Maybe the GC knows that there are several students from your D's school with similar academic profiles to your D, applying to similar colleges, with slightly higher ACT's and he wants your D to be more competitive. Maybe he knows that your D is a contender for merit money at some of her colleges, and ACT scores play a big part in the formula those colleges use to determine who the scholarship recipients will be. Maybe your D has a relatively low sub-score in the area in which she wants to major, and in which she is a pretty strong student at school, and the GC thinks that with a bit more preparation she could bring up that score and be a stronger applicant. Who knows? In any case, the ACT takes maybe four hours one weekend morning, and if your D's score does not improve, she doesn't have to reveal to colleges that she ever retook and can just use her old score. Is there really a big downside to the GC's suggestion? (Unless your D is sitting there with a 35, in which case, we can all start humming the Loonie-Toons theme song to the GC.)</p>
<p>If she wants to retake it, let her retake it. The good thing about the ACT is that it does not send ALL scores like the College Board does with the SATs. If she does poorly, NOBODY has to know, not even her school. All she has to do is say not to send scores to anyone, even her HS, when she registers. If she does better and later wants to send those scores, she can.</p>
<p>Had a conference with GC this AM. He truely believes DD should retake ACT. He said he just got back from a admission officer/GC meeting. The admission guys are telling him retake after a decent score is o.k. and they will only look at the best scores. </p>
<p>He also told us DD will earn the nomination from this HS for that top scholarship in Duke. It is two nomination per HS and a kid from this HS won one of the awards last year. </p>
<p>So, we will sign DD up for another ACT today.</p>
<p>Best of luck to your daughter, on the retake and on the college quest. And congratulations to her on the nomination for the merit scholarship.</p>
<p>As of today, the list of school is:</p>
<p>Harvard, UPenn, Duke, Cornell, WashU, Vanderbilt, ?? , and State U. All we need is one more slot where we think DD will get top merit aid. </p>
<p>GC gave high confidence in admission into all excpet the first three. One key factors, GC said, is her selection of major - environmental sciences and her passion on that subject.</p>
<p>You haven't really answered why the GC wants your D to retake the ACT. I am not saying she should not retake if she cares to, but I am asking WHY she is retaking it and why her GC is advising her to do so. You said the GC said it is OK to retake it and only the highest scores will matter. That's true. But that doesn't answer why the GC feels strongly or is advising your D to retake the test. I personally don't get it but if your D wants to retake it, she can, but i see no NEED to. I am wondering the reason the GC has which I thought you were going to find out. </p>
<p>I don't know enough about your particular child but even for the top students in the land, that is a very chancy list and it seems to me that there should be some schools between those and the state U....because if the very chancy schools do not come through (they are chancy statistically even if she is a superb candidate), she is left with State U (nothing wrong with State U's but sometimes I notice folks tacking those on as the safety without really finding some matches and safeties they truly like that are selective for some but safe for them that are not the state U that is on the list for "just need a safety" reasons). I'd urge her to find some matches and safeties that are really good fits that are not "just because I need a safety." Also, if you are chasing merit aid, it helps to have some schools on the list that are a tier or two down from where she might normally be acccepted, and so she is at the top of the heap of applicants at the potential merit school. Schools like Harvard, Penn, and Cornell do not even give Merit Aid. My D was selected as one of 100 Scholars at Penn but NO money was involved in that selection.</p>
<p>I'd also be concerned to have a GC give "confidence of admission" to schools like Cornell or WashU. Even for top students with the whole strong profile, schools of that sort are not a slam dunk. They may be an excellent fit and a strong chance, but I can't imagine being confident of acceptance at those schools. I have a child who had a very strong admissions profile and I would never have assumed she'd get into schools with such low admit rates since very strong students do get turned away from highly selective colleges all the time. I would have assumed she had as good a chance as anyone but not be confident she'd get in. She did get in most of her schools, but I would never have predicted some of them (other than safeties) with any type of assurance or confidence of admission (not because I did not believe she was a very viable candidate but due to the odds and reality of selective admissions at schools of that caliber). Our GC, whom we love, and other teachers at the school, would always say "your D could go to any college she wanted," and while that was nice to hear, I was cognizant of the reality of elite college admissions and knew that was not true and she built a well balanced list of reach, match, safeties. The reaches were not reaches for her personally but were deemed reaches due to the very low rate of acceptance. To this day, our D's GC says, "I can't believe she was not accepted to Yale!" But we DO believe it and never EXPECTED admissions to the very selective schools. Some happened, and that school did not. Pretty much what one would expect.</p>
<p>Wash U of St. Louis has a 21% admit rate. I can't imagine being confident of admissions there. It may be a match for your D (assuming hypothetically) which means she is a good fit and has a decent chance, but "confident of admissions" fits the term "safety", not "match". I can't imagine Wash U as a "safety" or likely admit. Good solid chance of a match/fit? Sure.</p>
<p>I'm wondering if perhaps one of the subscores was noticably lower than the rest and that is why the GC is recommending a retake. It could also be that the GC took a look at your daughter's list and knew that those schools are unrealistic with the current test scores. Sometimes parents and students don't hear what is really being said between the lines.</p>
<p>But, I digress. My main reason for writing is to agree with Soozievt: While we only have limited information about your daughter at best, this list is woefully lacking in safe bets for even the most stellar applicant. Like Soozievt, I have seen some pretty impressive kids not get into the schools your GC is supposedly "confident" about, so I tend to err on the side of caution. This is ESPECIALLY true if you are hoping for top merit aid, since four of the schools on the current list don't give any merit aid. Merit at WUSTL is chancy at best (and is driven by more than just test scores and grades). Vanderbilt is a better shot, and, of course, we don't know about your state public. But, if I was advising your daughter (which, of course,I am not), and merit aid was a driving factor, I would suggest that the list needs some tweaking, regardless of her ACT scores.</p>
<p>In another thread, you said your only guide for her college hunt has been the US News Rankings. If merit money is driving you, I'd suggest looking beyond the top 20 for the real $$$.</p>
<p>O.k. This is what I could gather from today's conference. DD's SAT I score was not very good so she asked GC if she needs to retake that. GC's answer was "not", if she felt like retaking a test, she should go for ACT. Why didn't GC say "enough in standard test"? GC said her list are all very competitive, one or two points higher on ACT will only help. He said it will be different if a student takes 3 ~4 times to increase 1 or 2 points.</p>
<p>As to the "high confidence", it is purely based on previous admission results. Comparing DD's stat to those who got in from this HS, GC said he has high confidence that DD should get in. Especially, he said, because of the odd major DD wants to study. If it is pre-med or other more "hot" major, it will be of more difficult. Make sense to me.</p>