<p>My daughter is a rising senior. She has never been a good test taker. Her elementary school used the Iowa Basic Tests for aptitude testing and she always scored around the 50 percentile. She took the ACT exam once and scored an 18. She is in test prep class and has improved to a 21 composite so far in the class. Shed love to get to a 26. It seems like everyone on this board has MUCH higher test scores. Id love hearing from parents and students whove gone through a similar situation. Shes taking the exam again in June, but is VERY stressed out over her scores. Every college we talk to seem to care about the darn test. </p>
<p>She has been on the A/B honor roll all three years of high school and has a 3.89 GPA out of 4.0. Her high school is small and offers very few AP classes. All she could take so far was AP Literature, but she didnt want to take that. Next year she plans to take AP Biology and AP Government. She wants to major in Cellular/Molecular Biology. She has won the state science fair for the past 3 years and has gone on to the Intel Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) three times with her Cellular/Molecular biology projects. </p>
<p>She is in the National Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society, Art Honor Society, has been a dancer for 15 years and a competitive dancer for 8 years. She is a great kid. She wont party her way out of school, she will work hard, she will offer a lot to their campus community and she will be a loyal alumni. </p>
<p>Please let me know if youve had a similar experience. Which colleges in the South look past the ACT and consider the whole student in their admissions and scholarship packages?</p>
<p>Almost every school takes SAT also. She could try that and see if it’s better. Because it is superscored, you can focus on different sections in different sittings whereas ACT is all or nothing.</p>
<p>Musicmomz is correct. There are more and more test optional schools if her other stats are strong. Some require more than others. Wake Forest is now test optional and might have the majors she is interested in. Sewannee is also optional but you have to sumit a graded research paper for them to see (at least when D1 applied).</p>
<p>We were in the same boat, four years ago. My son took the SAT and ACT, but his highest score, after 4 attempts, was a 23 on the ACT. (He eventually took it again in the spring of senior year and raised it another point, in order to qualify for more merit money). A 23 was high enough to get him into his intended major, at a lower-ranked school, but not his first choice. He just graduated from that college, in that same major, physician assistant studies, and was first in his class, with a 3.99 GPA.</p>
<p>Goucher is in Maryland, but it’s known for its dance program (both majors and non-majors). It’s also supposed to be pretty strong in the sciences, and it is one of Loren Pope’s “Colleges that Change Lives.” Best part = test optional!</p>
<p>Your daughter should focus on her strengths, not her weaknesses. Look at colleges that are test-optional, and that will value both her dance background and her interest & aptitude in sciences. (Even if she doesn’t plan to continue dance in college, the years & level of involvement show discipline & persistence.) Also – I’d suggest that you consider widening the geographic range, at least to look at some of the women’s colleges. Smith is test-optional, can be very generous with need-based aid, and has some very strong programs for women in the sciences.</p>
<p>You have received good suggestions/comments already from the other posters. Another point to keep in mind is that colleges would rather see an applicant like your daughter, high grades and lowish test scores, than her opposite - low grades and high test scores. The former says hard worker, the latter says lazy, underachiever.</p>
<p>The main caution I would give is that many colleges will require a certain level of test scores for a student to be eligible for merit scholarships. You might want to steer you daughter away from those schools (assuming her scores don’t improve), if she will need a scholarship in order to be able to attend. There are too many sad stories of kids who got into a school that they loved but simply couldn’t afford. Note that
I am talking about scholarships, not need-based aid.</p>
<p>One other thing - as a general rule, the smaller private colleges take a more holistic view of an applicant than large universities, which are more numbers driven.</p>
<p>Many kids turn to youtube for tips. Go to you tube .com and in the search box enter Brightstorm ACT test prep. S2 found the tips on the English section to be helpful. </p>
<p>We loved Dickinson College in PA for a test optional school.</p>
<p>I would second scmom’s suggestion of checking out the SAT. For some reason, that was a better test for my S1. Try a practice test to see how she does. If it’s a better option, then focus on preparing for that.</p>
<p>Seems like your D’s situation is much better than the opposite case in which a student tests well, has lower grades and looks like an underachiever. Your D just looks like a student who doesn’t test well or is able to perform above what her test scores would indicate.</p>
<p>Thank you for the positive comments and advice. She took the SAT in May and tested below average. We got the scores back yesterday and many tears were shed. It is so frustrating for her and us. We know she has the ability and determination to succeed…</p>
<p>Wake Forest, Agnes Scott, and University of the South - Sewanee are all excellent schools that don’t require either test. However, don’t shy away from schools that require ACT/SAT tests. Her excellent grade history and consistent high achievement are impressive, but it may not be enough to qualify her for as much non-need based merit scholarships.</p>
<p>Look at the women’s colleges. Many are test optional and have excellent science programs (Look especially at Mount Holyoke and Bryn Mawr, which may be a little more accommodating on admissions versus Smith and Wellesley .) Her good GPA and participation in ISEF will help at those schools.</p>
<p>Walker - English not her favorite subject. Her school offered AP English during her sophomore and junior years so far. I doubt the counselor would have placed her in AP English. She has been approved for AP Bio and AP History next year. </p>
<p>She really wanted to go to UF but I think it is out of reach. It’s incredible to me that state schools are so hard to get into now! </p>
<p>I agree that a small school is probably a good fit, but after 12 years of Catholic school she’s itching to get into a bigger environment. A friend told me about Wake Forest today. She attended medical school there many years ago and said that all of the new alumni news is touting their no testing requirements. We will check it out this summer.</p>
<p>i agree to try the SAT but keep in mind that 21 is a “sort of” average for college bound students so that score plus a decent GPA will get her into many colleges especially in the south. With her interests and background the test score will be one fraction of the “whole pie.” Try a few of the “matching” website where you put in the GPA and the test scores and see what pops up. Test optional is also a possibility, but do be aware that when I was researching some of those they want the test scores to award any merit money. Is her composite due to unbalance (e.g. a high math and a low English)? If so that will be taken into consideration at the STEM oriented colleges. Where is she in comparison test- wise to the other juniors - that might be a good question to ask your school. ACT is more “learned” and retained content and is structured around core curriculum and for end of year juniors/early senior year. For instance there are only a couple trig questions. The science is mostly understanding graphs and data and the English is basic reading and comprehension. If she’s lopsided, have her concentrate on the area that drags the composite down.</p>
<p>My S was able to improve his ACT score the most by using the Advantage Point test Prep (Boost Your Score - check it out on Amazon). We found the way it analyzes the tests - real ones like in the Red Book, was extremely helpful in using time to devote only to the areas of greatest need.</p>
<p>I hope it will help your child, as well. Good luck.</p>
<p>I’m nearly positive that Alabama would accept her…especially if she applies early in the app season…app goes live in July. However, she won’t get any merit money. Merit money is very test driven. </p>
<p>Even many of the “test optional” schools will expect test scores for merit consideration. </p>
<p>Getting into a college won’t be that hard. The problem will be if you need/want significant merit. </p>
<p>How much can you spend each year? </p>
<p>Do you know what your EFC would be?</p>
<p>What is going on when she tests? Does she run out of time?</p>