My ACT scores and my demographic?

Applying to College
1

<p>So my most recent ACT score is 33. I initially thought that I should stop retaking the exam because 33 falls into the 50 percent median for top schools like Stanford, Caltech, Upenn, MIT etc, a few of which I am interested. However, being Asian, male, and living in the state of California, I feel that my score is not "good" enough for top schools especially when I'm considering to major in a STEM field. Any thoughts? Should I retake for a higher score because it's not good enough for my demographic?</p>

2

<p>You’re fine. Lol. They might want a smart Asian who isn’t like all the others?</p>

3

<p>think about it. How many people are asian, male, and have a score of 33.</p>

4

<p>How many times have you taken it? Have you tried the SAT?</p>

5

<p>You could retake, but do you have other aspects that stand out? Can your essays stand out? Do you really love a school? If not, short of getting a 36 (and even then, that’s not anywhere close to a guarantee), it would be tough to get in to Stanford/CalTech/MIT regardless. </p>

6

<p>The 75th percentile for some schools is a perfect 36. It gets to a point where test scores can’t do anything to help your chance at admissions. Anything over 33 essentially looks the same. You can only focus on different aspects of your application now.</p>

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<p>@AnnieBeats Which school has a 36 as the 75th percentile?</p>

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<p>@noel597 My mistake. I thought that I had read that Caltech had a 36 as the 75th percentile.</p>

9

<p>If you have only taken it once, go ahead and retake. 34 or 35 could get you some pretty good scholarships at a bunch of schools, assuming your gpa is good.</p>

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<p>@scholarme , do you have any favorite schools in the southeast that will give some pretty good scholarships for a 34 or 35? </p>

11

<p>At the top of the Financial Aid forum there is the competitive scholarships thread
<a href=“Competitive Full Tuition / Full Ride Scholarships - Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1461983-competitive-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships.html&lt;/a&gt;
And the automatic scholarships thread which was compiled into a site has a lot of southern schools
<a href=“http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/”>http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Beyond these lists, I would suggest, look at schools you are interested in, look at what their peer schools are, see which ones have large endowments, then check their scholarships websites. If the school wants high stats enrollees and they have the money they are likely to offer you a scholarship.</p>

<p>Edit to add: no faves yet, still looking. A lot of fans of Alabama on CC.</p>