@persimmony That’s great! It’s wonderful when scores are already good, my son is a one and done (ACT one time and SAT one time). My older daughter wasn’t. I think I mentioned up-thread somewhere, it was beneficial to look at scholarship levels at colleges of interest to see where the scholarships are given. For her bumping up 3-4 points gave her over $5,000 per year in additional merit. (Not directing that at anyone…I hope by posting our experience, it can help others looking for merit. CC has helped our family and I like to pay it forward when possible.)
TexasSon18 has his AP Lang test this morning. He scored a 4 on the mock which is what he needs for comp1 & comp 2 at his first choice school. Was feeling strong about it but he texted me before school started that he got into a huge fight with his girlfriend this morning and he wasn’t sure how he was going to concentrate. :(( Hoping he can compartmentalize and focus. Sitting here on pins and needles.
AP Lang here too. He’s probably finished and heading home.
Mine’s still scribbling away right now…
Mine should be finishing soon.
test prep is a reasonably good investment. You can get 1000s in extra merit each year for investing a few 100s now
Of course it doesn’t always work D16 showed no improvement but S18 added 100 points We used Kaplan
As Junior year is winding down should S have his HS transcript sent at the end of this semester to the colleges he will be applying to over the summer? We are hoping to get most done when applications open in the summer before school starts because his fall is always crazy busy.
@jcmom716 I wasn’t aware that ACT or SAT scores had any bearing on scholarship awards. …the more you know…
I have no idea whether my son should take the ACT again. Any advice? He got a 30, which is in the range for almost any school he might get into with his (somewhat crappy) GPA, I think. But if he got a better score, he might have a better chance with reach schools. We’re meeting with school counselors next week, maybe they can advise.
Also, someone told me SAT subject tests are only for those taking the SAT, not for those taking ACT. Is that true? I had a sudden panic about those recently.
Perseverance is also a virtue on the SAT/ACT tests - while I’d love for my D18 to be once/twice and done, she keeps chipping away and slowly moving up. Hit a 30 on her 4th try, and still committed to do better on the June test date . . . and Sept if needed . . . and Oct if needed!!! :-?
@persimmony Subject tests (SATIIs) are stand alone tests regardless if a student takes the ACT or the SAT1 or both… Many students don’t need to take/submit subject tests unless “recommended” or required by the colleges to which they are applying. For other students, good subject test scores offer additional data points that can support a strong transcript (especially when a student takes at least two tests from different core subjects such as a science or math with a history or English).
^^So even if your son takes the ACT and doesn’t take the SAT1 the subject test is still smart for him to take 
@lr4550 That’s what I thought. But…what happens if they don’t do well on it. Can you opt not to submit the scores?
@my2caligirls That’s great that she has that much persistence. I’m not sure my son cares that much. But I think he will take it again if we tell him he should.
@persimmony Most schools are fine with the scores you choose to send; there are a some that want to see all. You may choose to send multiple scores if the school superscores.
Many schools use a matrix to determine what scholarship levels are available for what combination of gpa and sat/act. So a high test score can help if the gpa is lower.
I have our list in four chunks now.
The bulk of schools are sure admission safeties where D has reached their maximum scholarship level already. They are still in the $20-30k range and they have her major.
The second list is for publics that offer merit for a total COA $10-17K. Among them are couple where a slightly higher score might bring in a few more thousand per year. None of these have her exact major but have faculty doing some related research.
Then I have several colleges that offer competitive scholarships for full-tuition. This is where a score increase would make a difference for being invited to compete but that’s it. None of these have her major.
The last group is for a very few schools that are admission reaches that meet need for us and have her major. This is where higher scores would make a difference, but where higher scores alone are probably not enough. These are where I have the most concern about fit.
This really isn’t easy. And I don’t want to spend a ton of $ on application fees and sending test scores.
@TexasMom18 in regards to transcripts, my older daughter filled out the request form and gave it to guidance the start of her senior year. My son will do the same as the grades/rankings aren’t finalized right away and we didn’t want an incomplete transcript sent. You can check with your school and maybe they can send once the transcripts are ready? Colleges will start a “file” with whatever they have received. We have sent test scores for my son to a few schools over a year ago, almost two years ago. They keep it.
@persimmony Congrats on the ACT 30! Will you be looking for merit aid? Whether you are looking for merit or admittance at more selective schools, you could lookup ranges for both options. If the schools your son is looking at have ACT ranges in 25-30 imo he is in a good position. If a school is in the 30-35 range and wants SAT subject tests, advice might be study, retake ACT and prepare for the SAT subject tests? We have a spreadsheet with 10-12 schools. It lists all sorts of information including ACT/SAT ranges, ave GPA, selectivity, and merit scholarships (whatever we know), what is required to apply and more. By the time it comes to applying in fall, he hopes to have the list down to 6-7.
@MACmiracle someone else who likes spreadsheets! What’s your secret for finding colleges that offer competitive full-tuition scholarships? A few we’ve found on their websites, but many we’ve researched don’t seem to offer the information online.
@jcmom716 I mostly found them on websites. One I found out about from a visit. Others from friends online or in real life.
I once was told of a service created by a mom that listed scholarships. The price was under $10 and subscribers would get updates as criteria changed. I’ll try to find the info on that and get back to you.
Here it is: mykidscollegechoice.com
Mom of shame here.
I missed the ACT deadline. We were hung up for several days trying to work out an SAT conflict and the ACT registration got lost in the shuffle. Now I’m trying to decide if it’s worth it to pay the late fee, especially since I don’t see any ACT specific prep happening.
^^I forget stuff like that all the time, so I set myself reminders on my google calendar. Last week I was like, oh crap, I need to sign her up for the act again and I went to go do it…and I’d already done it. / Evidently that was my other personality taking care of business…
You really can make kids responsible for doing these things. I had a credit card they could use for signing up for things, but I don’t pay late fees.
Now I wish my kids would have signed up for more tests, but it really is their lives.