<p>My September ACT score ended up being an 26. I was sick at the time that I took it, but it was still terrible. I was hoping on applying EA to places like Villanova and Fordham, but am I just doomed for failure now? Also, can anyone give me some pointers on how I might be able to raise it up to a 30 for the October ACT?</p>
<p>You are not doomed. I’m also applying now, so I know there are so many things to freak out about. You may not be looking for the advice of a peer, but if you do, what’s your score breakdown?</p>
<p>I believe it was English (25), Mathematics (24), Reading (31), and Science (25). I took the ACT w/Writing, but the scores aren’t out yet. Thank you, any encouragement would be appreciated. I’m hoping to be accepted early action, but I don’t know how I would be w/these awful scores.</p>
<p>Was that your first time taking the ACT, and did you study for it? If you took it cold, then I think you would definitely see a rise, especially if you were sick the first time. I believe October is the last test date that will make scores available in time for early action programs (I’m doing early decision and early action as well). If this is the case, I say take it again, and study as much as you can. I just posted a thread with my own story… I’m not, by any means, anything spectacular, but maybe it’ll help.
Also, did you take the SAT?
The disparity between your reading and english is kind of surprising. I went from a 31 to a 27 in math, haha; I thought the math was especially difficult in September. The ACT is not particularly tricky to study for though. They throw a few curveballs at you during the test, but nothing impossible. If you study your weaknesses (coordinate geometry, for me) you will be fine. I went from a 23 to a 35 in science. I practiced, changed up my strategy, and it worked. More about that in my other thread.</p>
<p>If I take the October ACT, will I be able to see the October ACT scores first before I send them out for Early Action? Or do I must send without seeing the results?</p>
<p>That was the first time I had ever taken it, and I had just come back from a school leadership program, and I had gotten sick before I left. I will take it again in October, and study like crazy, hoping that I can get my scores up. I have taken the SAT, and my scores were in the 1780-1810s for that, so I figured i’d have a better shot at the ACT. I’m not sure why my Reading and English scores are so different, I guess I need to work on my grammar. My weakness is in coordinate geometry as well. I’ll just continue practicing from the real ACT prep book and see where that takes me.</p>
<p>@jackxu02140: unfourtunately, when you send out EA, unless the deadline is near the end of november, you’re sending them out cold, and hoping that you do really well. So study hard.</p>