You’re not being an idiot. You’re a caring, involved mom. We’ve ALL BEEN THERE, whether it’s with ACTs, SATs, acceptances, ECs, high school curriculum – you name it. And vent away. It’s what the Parents Forum is for 
I scored a miserable 164 PSAT junior year and only slightly higher SAT practice test scores after a paid prep course.
I switched to the ACT Aug of senior year and self-prepped (practice tests, Baron’s, etc) to get a 33 on the ACT in December.
The point is that the tests are very different, although the new SAT might be a little more similar.
I had to sacrifice some other activities and gave my dad the stink eye for months but I’m glad he got on my case because now I have a lot more options.
BTW a 29 is a good score.
Someone posted that their son got very good merit at an LAC where the ratio of girls to boys was higher.
Also I would do some practice tests this summer with the new SAT, it is more similar to ACT than the old one.
You might be surprised.
And if score doesn’t go up then there are great suggestions above on how to find affordable schools that he might like.
I had the opposite problem of the slacker kid with the damaged GPA and I felt horribly and guilty that I did not do enough to teach my kid the value of hard work. I had several teachers to even tell me that it was my fault, like in my home we do not stretch enough the importance of homework etc. Anyway, one way or another we all have our struggles and things do not always go the way we plan.
I learned to accept the facts, move on and keep trying. And prioritize my worries by reminding myself of the important things.
But yes at times I feel very upset so hugs to you.
“Good but not good enough” test scores may just eliminate the very top colleges that don’t offer merit anyway. Many good LACs will offer merit aid for a 29 ACT score.
@am9799, wow. I’m sorry about those teachers. We as parents do the best we can, and still blame ourselves.This isn’t a new thing, parents used to be blamed for causing autism and schizophrenia. The thing is, kids can struggle in life, and still end up doing well. We just have to keep plugging along.
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So you would say, “hey go with the state college” and I’m with you! We have 2 very good state colleges (one liberal arts, one more tech-oriented) but, honestly, a 29 isn’t going to get him into those colleges either. He might slip in…but it can’t be counted on.
So then you would say “choose one of the thousands of great colleges out there that would love a kid with a 29” and I"m with you…but then we have the tuition issue rise back up.
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State schools USUALLY care MORE about GPA than they do test scores… What are these two schools that won’t likely accept an ACT 29? What’s his GPA?? UW?/
What was the breakdown of his ACT?
What was the problem? run out of time?
Has he taken the SAT?
Can he take the SAT in June? And maybe the ACT again??
What is his major and career goal?
I was where you are and my daughter was where your son is. D took the ACT three times (June of sophomore year, October of Junior year and then June of Junior year.) Her score did not budge the first two times (27) and she was incredibly frustrated. The first time, she didn’t prep much or at all. After the second time, she said she studied (but who knows what that meant). After that second try, I knew enough to pull back. She wanted to retake it but she was so stressed-out it was obvious she needed a break. She decided to put the ACT out of her mind until after robotics build season and then begin to study in March to take the exam again in June. The third time, she pulled a 31. She declined a fourth try - the 31 was good enough for her schools.
I honestly believe the key to these exams is practice, practice, practice. This just builds up a comfort level that really helps. I think the high stats kids often do well because they have been taking these exams since they were 12 or 13 while others first see the exams when they are 15 or 16. Every week, I would hand my child a section practice test. Just one section - not the whole exam. I would score it immediately and hand it back. She had the rest of the week to look over the results and go back over the problems and to study and do more practice questions. All in all, it was a pretty low key way of studying over three months.
One thing that also comes to mine. My child said just going through junior year helped her on the ACT - she just knew more math, and something clicked on the English. It also seems on CC, it’s pretty common to see a big jump between spring of Junior year and fall of Senior year.
Last, we chose D’s schools when she had the 27. The higher score meant she was a stronger applicant and she would receive higher merit aid. She didn’t want to add more selective schools where 31 was in the middle 50 percentile.
Thanks you guys for all of this good advice…you know how to pick a mom up from the floor. 
I always appreciate your insights, sorry that you’re in a bind now! Has he looked at any test optional or test flexible schools?
A 29 is a 92nd percentile score, and your son has some time to improve upon it.
http://www.act.org/aap/pdf/NormsChartMCandComposite-Web2015-16.pdf
Like another poster said, look at schools with a male/female imbalance. There are plenty of schools with high female ratios that would salivate over a male athlete with a 29 that can be superscored a couple of points higher.
Sorry for you and your S. It is always hard/frustrating when things don’t go quite as planned – even worse when it is relates to your child. But your assessment is correct. One way or another, one school or another he will be fine.
My D was in a similar position – she is a lovely and smart young lady but many of her friends were amazing academics. Many of her HS friends went on to various Ivy League, CalTech etc. schools. My D went to a wonderful LAC which was a great fit but not as highly ranked as her friend’s schools. And now that they are college seniors you’ll never guess who had one of the happiest, best, most fulfilling colleges experiences? You guessed it – my D. She would not trade the last four years at her college for any diploma in the world. So hang in there and know that things tend to work out – especially with supportive parents standing by.
It is what it is with standardized test scores. The test optional schools are good but check with them because the ones I checked with will need a standardized test score to hand out merit. You can get in without the test score but will need to submit it for merit money. I have one D who is a very good test taker. The other two are not. Seems so unfair so I get it. The best you can do is prep them as much as you can and be proud of their efforts in the end. I know the high cost of college has everyone chasing merit and it is so frustrating.
My daughter took it twice - once in Feb of her jr year and then again in Sept of her senior year. I don’t think it would be a bad idea for him to take it again in the fall. The worst thing that can happen is that he submits a good score of 29 when he applies to colleges. I know without a doubt that in Minnesota there are many private LACs that would give him nice merit awards. He would also get money from all of our state schools. Right now it might seem important what his friends are doing, but I guarantee once they move on to college it really doesn’t matter anymore. My relatively high stat kid goes to a private LAC that is relatively easy to get into. She loves her school and has never felt like she wanted to attend something more selective. I know for certain that your son would get a nice merit award there with a 29.
Agree with what others have said, 29 is a good score with several good colleges willing to give merit aid. I will add that if your son is willing to, take a look at the “Black Book” that goes along with the Red test book. It is a different way to look at the test. I gave it to my daughter and after she used certain sections of it along with practice tests (and a weekend away with time for practice and fun with mom), she felt more confident going into the test. It helped her get the few extra points needed for higher merit aid. Best wishes!
@SouthernHope I feel your pain, but I think the best practice for taking the ACT is to take the ACT. I think you should encourage your son to go ahead and sign up for the April and subsequent tests, and don’t plan to do a whole lot of prep except to go over the items he missed on the current test, particularly the math (if you didn’t pay for a copy of the questions you missed, get them). Maybe take some practice sections the week before the test (but don’t worry about a whole practice test).
Twenty-nine is a great score and nothing wrong with it. There is also nothing wrong with wanting to do better. I really think your son should just plan to take it several more times, not with Herculean effort, but just looking over the stuff he missed and trying to make sure he has mastered any math concepts that might have caused missed questions. Some colleges superscore, and so taking the test a number of times is likely to give him a 30 or 31 superscore even if his composite never goes above 29.
I don’t know where your son wants to go to school. Ole Miss and Alabama offer some decent money for an ACT score of 29. Every additional points adds lots of dollars until you get to 32, when it becomes tuition-free, and lots of other schools start throwing free stuff at you with a 32. There is nothing wrong with trying for a 32 and there is nothing wrong with failing.
At Ole Miss, the Academic Excellence Award starts paying small amounts of money at an ACT of 24, on up to full tuition at a 32. What most people may not realize is that the score that is used is the highest one earned prior to enrollment. So a student admitted to Ole Miss should keep on taking the ACT each and every time it is given right up to matriculation in hopes of getting a higher ACT score. I doubt very many do this, but failing to do so is poor financial planning.
You ought to urge your son to try for a higher score. If he fails, that’s good, he tried. If he succeeds, that’s a lot better. Just try to make it as non-stressful as possible. He’s got all the score he needs. Just urge him to pour some gravy on top.
Completely unrelated to the above, but it is very important to wear a watch to the test. Test takers need to eat a light but filling breakfast, and then carry a snack, like an apple and a bag of Ritz Bits or something along with a Coke or whatever they like to drink. This is really important and I’m sure you already know it so forgive me.
Incase anyone reading this thread is getting totally disillusioned because they would be thrilled if their student got a high twenty something score, know that you are with 90% of the population. 28 and above puts you in the top 10% of test takers.
I totally get the merit implications and frustration that it didn’t go up for the OP and have complete sympathy for all the investment made and little return this time. But in general, I think we are adding to the pressure on these kids by not recognizing that these scores are in deed great scores. I know it is the parents forum, but I think students reading this could think they are failures with their 26 or 27 which is ridiculous.
Percent of all test takers that get these scores from the list in the link below
34-36 less than 1%
33 top 1.06% of test takers
32 top 2% of test takers
31 top 3 of test takers
30 top 5% of test takers
29 top 7 % of test takers
28 top 10% of test takers
http://blog.prepscholar.com/how-many-people-get-a-34-35-36-on-the-act-score-breakdown
(I mistakenly put this in the other ACT scholarship thread earlier today…sorry to repeat for those seeing it again.)
Yes, 28 or so is a great ACT score, but when a few more points can significantly increase the range of affordable colleges (though scholarships), it is not surprising that there can be a lot of emphasis on raising the score. A few hours on a saturday morning may earn more money to pay for college than four years of part time job while attending college.
Continuing to take the test with only review of what was missed at the last sitting seems like a very unproductive, expensive, and frustrating approach, and likely will result in no improvement. That is the equivalent of doing one teview exam per test. If the student isn’t effectively studying from practice tests now, this seems like a waste of time and money. Try the SAT.
Is he going to do the hard work and get tutoring by himself in college? That is a factor to consider when picking a college.