<p>I realize that there are many factors that go into admissions decisions...but I was wondering what you think the minimum ACT score is for an unhooked (i.e. white, middle class, no legacy, etc.) applicant is to an ivy league school? I know that there are anomalies, but I am looking for an estimate for the score an applicant would need to have a realistic/decent chance.</p>
<p>If you don’t want your ACTs to HURT your chances, get a 33+.</p>
<p>Colleges report ACT and SAT scores for the middle 50% of students, and 34 is the highest ACT score I’ve seen at the top of that range (i.e. 75th percentile level). This shows up for the most selective LACs and most selective universities, including HYPS. So I’d say a 34 would be a score you could be very comfortable with, though you would still have a chance with a lower score. Obviously, it depends on your overall profile.</p>
<p>I would say a 33.</p>
<p>im gonna go ahead and throw out 34.</p>
<p>i have a friend, a junior, that’s looking into yale and brown for his ivy choices. he will probably have a 4.7-4.8 out of 5 weighted gpa, and a very rigorous class schedule to be noted. his ECs aren’t stellar, but he is a highly competitive mathlete and got 2nd in state in the oral competition. he’s also assisting with the schools volleyball program. he doesnt have much work experience or volunteer experience.</p>
<p>i think he’s one of the smartest people ive ever met, but doesn’t have all that “awesome” stuff to put on your application. his ACT is a 34, and i am doubting his chances at yale. brown is still a slight reach for him, in my mind. if he had a 36, i would still say yale is a slight reach and brown is more likely to accept him, but still might not.</p>
<p>my point is that ivies really really want the complete package. for unhooked, middle class, white applicants like you and him, it comes down to being EXTREMELY qualified and slightly lucky. if you have a 34 ACT and a really really complete package behind it, you could get in (and still very well might not). people like you should ignore fauxmom’s advice, as those mid-range ACT scores take into account people that had severe advantages in admissions (wealth, legacy, minority, athlete, etc.). but for people that are average on paper like you, me, and my friend, the bar is raised much higher.</p>
<p>^^ Sorry, I didn’t mean to suggest that a 34 would get someone in without an otherwise excellent application! I guess it’s more of a “you’d have good reason to apply” situation.</p>
<p>I realize that many other factors are important. I guess I should have prefaced my question with the assumption that the hypothetical applicant is extremely qualified in all other areas.</p>
<p>charlie brown, under that assumption i stick with 34 as the minimum, and you would be safer with a 35-36, and even with all that, they can still reject you. such is the nature of the ivies.</p>
<p>fauxnom, i wasn’t discounting your post as a whole, because i agree that those ranges can be very helpful in deciding whether a college is in your range of academic difficulty and whatnot. however, if you look at one of the more recent princeton review books on colleges, you’ll see that the ACT range given for Harvard is 31-34. however, i would be be shocked if a white, middle-class, non-legacy kid could ever get in with a 32 or 31. i really just don’t see it happening. so those ranges should be taken with a grain of salt, and a consideration of what you will look like to that school on paper.</p>
<p>I agree ^^ I always worry when I see posts suggesting that one should take comfort from being within the 50% range. Between athletic recruits, URM’s, development admits, first-gen, extraordinary talent of some sort, and (to a lesser extent) legacies, there’s not much room in a given class for a “high-five’n white guy” who falls below the 75th percentile. (Forgive the odd joke; if you’re a kid, maybe your parents can explain 
- - - Wait, I take that back; it’s a Seattle thing: <a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYafV2dN6vg[/url]”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYafV2dN6vg</a></p>
<p>Yeah, I know a kid, got a 36 on the ACT, great schedule and probably a 4.0 UW. He had decent EC’s, not great, but not shabby either. He is a white male. He applied to Yale and got rejected, and is instead going to Brown.</p>
<p>Another kid I know, with a 35 on the ACT, amazing schedule and probably a 4.0 UW. He is a white male, but has great EC’s and leaderships stuff and applied to Harvard and got rejected. He was offered a large scholarship at U of M, but is instead going to Notre Dame, and I think with a full ride but I am not sure.</p>
<p>So those are just a few examples, but they show that it isn’t just ACT scores. But I am not going to say that you don’t have a chance. To even hope to get in I would say a 33+ would be ideal. Good luck with your pursuits!</p>
<p>Do Ivy’s superscore the ACT?</p>
<p>^ some do, some don’t. there’s a pretty huge thread about this.</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/act-preparation/444349-can-we-start-official-list-colleges-superscore-act.html?highlight=superscore[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/act-preparation/444349-can-we-start-official-list-colleges-superscore-act.html?highlight=superscore</a></p>
<p>you can revive it if the school you’re thinking of is not in there</p>