<p>My daughter has taken the ACT 4 times, and my husband and I are in the process of advising her which ACT scores to send to the colleges she is going to be applying to. Here are all of her test scores and the breakdown of each test:</p>
<p>April 2012 without Writing
English: 32
Mathematics: 30
Reading: 33
Science: 30
Composite: 31
Writing: No writing since this was a test administered by my daughter's high school, and they lost the funding to offer the writing portion to the students.</p>
<p>My husband and I think she should send the scores from her 2 tests in April and her test in September, sending a total of 3 tests to each college. We don't feel she should send the one from June, even though that was her best writing score. Even though her highest composite <em>w/writing</em> is her September test, we are worried about her low math score. Even though colleges don't super score the ACT, we feel it is important to send those 3 scores to show that her math score in September was sort of an anomaly for her, plus her writing score was higher for the one test in April. With the one test in April however, she had a low science score. I don't know how much the colleges will take into account each individual score for each test date, but we feel by sending these 3 scores, it will give them a better overall picture of her.</p>
<p>For a little more background, she is going to apply to 5 Big 10 schools as an engineering major. Her weighted GPA is 4.272, her unweighted GPA is 3.918, and she is number 15 in her class out of 557 students (top 2.69%) at a suburban Chicago area high school. I know that the programs that she is going to be applying to are very competitive, and we want to give her the best shot of acceptance. The money it would cost to send these tests to the colleges is not an issue. It costs only $11 to send each test score to each school, so we are only talking about it costing $165 to send those 3 test scores to the 5 schools she is going to apply to.</p>
<p>So, what would you do if you were in our position? Do you like our strategy, or do you have another strategy that you could suggest to us? What do you think we should do? Thanks in advance for any advice and opinions!</p>
<p>Hunt ~ Thank you for your reply. I don’t believe any of the schools <em>require</em> you to submit all your test scores; however, Purdue has a place on their application where you have to list all of the dates that you took the ACT/SAT, but I don’t perceive that as them requiring you to send in all of your scores. Do you think in the case of Purdue we should send in all the scores from all 4 tests since you have to list when you took the test? Do you think it would it look weird to them if my daughter didn’t send them all of her test scores?</p>
<p>If there is any doubt, I’d submit the scores–it’s not like the June score is really all that much different. You could call Purdue’s admissions office and ask them what they want.</p>
<p>As long as the school does not require that she sends all scores (some do), then I agree with your selections. A 9 is not that much better than an 8 and otherwise the scores are not as good.
Thank you for posting her scores, I had NO IDEA there could be that much variation in sub scores, especially when the total score remains so similar.</p>
<p>The writing score is basically irrelevant for most admissions, especially with a 34 on the English and a 31 on the Reading. If you are only going to send 2 score, send the first April score and the Sept score as that gives you the highest superscore and while it might not make a difference for admissions, it could make a difference for merit aid. I would send all 4 scores in as the superscore on those 4 tests is a 32.</p>
<p>Steve, you think she should send in the June scores? She has her lowest scores in almost every section on that test. The only exception is science. She scored lower in science in the first April test (25).</p>
<p>WordWorld ~ I think it is interesting how her scores can vary so much between test to test in each section. She felt very prepared for the ACT going into each test date. For her June test she scored a 28 in English and for the September test she scored a 35 (a 7 point difference). Comparing each section with the low score, the high score, and then the difference:</p>
<p>I think it is quite a variance for one student taking the test in a 5 month period of time. I do feel like my daughter is a very consistent student, but in some ways, her ACT scores in each section have varied greatly from test date to test date. I am not sure what to make of that. It is interesting that her overall composite has only varied by 3 points though (29-31) no matter what her scores were in each section.</p>
<p>Does anyone know if when colleges are looking at ACT scores if they mainly focus on the overall composite score, or will they heavily scrutinize the subscores in each section as well? Will that 26 in Mathematics during the September test date hurt her or will the fact that she got an overall composite of 31 take away some of the sting of getting a 26 in that one section. Thanks in advance for any replies!</p>
<p>“Does anyone know if when colleges are looking at ACT scores if they mainly focus on the overall composite score, or will they heavily scrutinize the subscores in each section as well? Will that 26 in Mathematics during the September test date hurt her or will the fact that she got an overall composite of 31 take away some of the sting of getting a 26 in that one section.”</p>
<p>usually, if they look at individual subscores, it is noted on the common data set for each school…</p>
<p>LadyHam–her scores are pretty normal. Graph them out on some graph paper using a 10 point scale and a one point scale and see how little they really fluxuate. When you are only counting out of 36, they are all within range. Colleges know that various portions on each test are harder/easier each time. It’s more rare to have consistent scores then what you are seeing with your DD.</p>
<p>As for what “colleges” look at, there is no “norm”. Each college has their own way of doing things. What you should know is she has very, very good scores and not to worry so much :D.</p>
<p>I don;t care what any college says about including all ACT tests or listing them. We won’t. My last kid started taking the ACT in 7th grade as part of a talent contest. She took one in 9th grade and will be taking one again in 10th grade- both times these are done with two reasons- one, she wants to get a higher score to get into a higher level on the gifted summer program and two, we homeschool and use it as a standardized test the same we used other standardized tests earlier in school. She isn’t applying to colleges now, she isn’t trying to apply to colleges with those test scores, and she won’t be listing them either. Now I expect her to be able to do anywhere from one to three ACT tests for college when she is a Junior and Senior, and we can do those. On the other hand, reporting test scores costs money so depending on how many she applies to, that all depends how many we send.</p>
<p>“I don’t care what any college says about including all ACT tests or listing them. We won’t. My last kid started taking the ACT in 7th grade”</p>
<p>Even the schools that say “submit ALL scores” make the exception for Talent Search testing. Basically, they want the scores from the tests as a Junior or Senior.</p>
<p>Is anyone else here as grateful as I am to have a college freshman and be done with the wild ride for at least a few years? Last year at this time I was freaking out with firstborn. I will be so much calmer (I hope) with our second and third kids.<br>
To those of you reading this and starting the senior year journey, esp. if it is for the first time, take a deep breath, be good to yourself and your kid (and spouse and other kids if you have them), and try to enjoy the process.<br>
You will hear this over and over, love thy safety. Worked for us almost too well, he ended up loving it so much he chose it over three higher ranked schools, two of which were cheaper. That was honestly hard for me, but it is and was his choice and I guess part of letting go is learning to trust that they know what is right for them. He is blooming where he is now!
For the experienced parents here, THANK YOU! The advice here has been wonderful and even life-changing for my kid’s college experience, thanks to everyone who has helped along the way!</p>