piece of advice from an ACT person and ivy admit

Test Preparation ACT Preparation
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<p>Hello everyone. I just wanted to dispel a myth that seems to go around these boards like wildfire: that ivy league schools will not like it if you take the ACT. That is far from the truth. Also, the February ACT test can be used for most ivies.</p>

<p>I am in SAT country, California. I took the ACT and submitted a 33 while applying regular decision to many ivies and top privates. Then I took the February ACT, got a 34, and sent it to all my colleges through the fast shipping service. Most colleges, except Gtown and Stanford, accepted it from that date.</p>

<p>I have never taken the SAT 1, but I was able to get into Brown and Columbia (as well as good non-ivies like Duke and Georgetown SFS) with just the ACT of 34 and SAT 2 requirements. Do not let anyone's speculation or theories force you to constrain your options.</p>

<p>Take practice tests before both and see how well you do. If you do better on the ACT, take that and DO NOT take the SAT. Remember that the SAT isn't score choice. With the ACT, I took it over 3 times, but colleges only got two scores.</p>

<p>Also, my case has been confirmed in the past by books written by former Dartmouth and Harvard admissions officers. "A is for Admission" and "What it Takes to get into Harvard and other Highly Selective Colleges" both mention that the ACT is simply converted to an SAT score.</p>

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<p>Good post. My daughter also only took the ACT and is currently attending Brown. She didn't even report any SAT II scores (unnecessary for the schools she applied to if submitting the ACT). She also got into University of Chicago and UNC - Chapel Hill (OOS, so the admit rate is on par with the Ivies).</p>

<p>On another thread a while ago, people were posting about other Ivy admittances with the ACT. Yet the myth persists.</p>

<p>I didn't know about the February ACT. My daughter had taken it in the fall of her senior year for the second time, but did worse (she was sick). She then thought she had run out of time for a retake. Hyperpuritan, were you able to know what your February score was before you asked for it to be sent? Just curious ...</p>

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<p>Thanks for the advice, I've taken both and have scored the exact same thing on both or pretty close. A 26 on the ACT and a 1750 on the SAT, any tips on how to boost my ACT score; especially in the Science and Math sections?</p>

<p>I've forgotten that colleges don't see all your ACT scores so I suppose I'm going to focus more on improving that score.</p>

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<p>All I can suggest is practice. Was your problem running out of time and leaving problems blank or were you coming up with wrong answers? If you go through a practice test or get back your actual one (some administrations of the test you can do this), you can see where you went wrong.</p>

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<p>Another ACT fan. My D submitted the ACT only , no SAT subject tests and was accepted at two of her three reaches (Amherst, Yale) . Mistakenly waitlisted at the other (Duke) ;).</p>

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<p>the following posted by clayvessel (not rosebudfi)
Yes, hyper,
I would have to agree--- DO NOT TAKE THE SAT I if you obtain a high score on the ACT(over 33?) and your SAT I is not equivalent-- my d's case study, while anectodal backs this up. So its wise to plan a strategy of taking/prepping for the ACT first, and if you boost your score into the higher ranges, then take the SAT IIs NOT the SAT I(see the other thread on our ACT/IVY experience. </p>

<p>The ACT measures a slightly different kind of intellgence than the SAT, plus has more focus on actual learning. It is best to showcase only the type of test you score best on..... whether ACT or SAT--- but not both if you are weaker on SAT because it is my hunch that the schools immediately hone in on the weaker SAT, as is their habit. If you take the SAT I first, of if your high school reports the scores on the transcript-- you are kind of stuck with it if you are a ACT genius....</p>

<p>My d's guidance office suggested that she take both SAT I and ACT and hinted that the schools would count only the higher score. I took them at their word--- which was, I later found out, probably poor advice. But you live and learn, and as Jimmy Carter said, life is not always fair but we learn best from our challenges.</p>

<p>I had suggested to my daughter to send only her 34 ACT score to Amherst and Yale, but her school included the SAT I scores on the transcript, so they would have gotten the the 690 CR anyway..... which is very low for both Amherst and Yale, and as a girl from NY she probably would not have gotten in RD even if she had reported only the 34... Her only hope for these institutions was ED, but she was stubborn about not applying anywhere ED.... so... her destiny is Physics at Cornell--- not bad......and Cornell is ranked higher in US News than either Brown or Georgetown.....</p>

<p>Anyway, despite the many extra hours and dollars prepping for and taking the SAT tests, plus the many extra hours and dollars spent on an embarassingly large amount of RD applications, our results with a 34 ACT ended up being great--- Cornell University plus some large scholarships at other schools. Which is fabulous for a girl from New York state!</p>

<p>So it all turned out great in the end..... </p>

<p>I hope this information, while anecdotal, helps someone else avoid test taking burnout and many hours of driving/prepping, plus huge SAT prep costs. The irony is-- my d did not prep or really study hard to get an ACT of 34-- but we spent $1,000 on Princeton Review for SAT I prep.... hopefully this helps someone else save their hard earned money on SAT I prep classes if they have an ACT superstar........</p>

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<p>One more point-- if you score equally well on SAT and ACT, then go ahead and submit both scores --- i.e.--as 1520 or greater on SAT and a 34 on ACT, but if SAT practice tests are lower than DONT TAKE SAT I...especially if your verbal is less than 730!</p>

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<p>Just to clarify the intention of my post... I am not trying to say that taking the ACT is a hook compared to the SAT. I'm just saying that they're on equal footing.</p>

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<p>DianeR, you asked: "Hyperpuritan, were you able to know what your February score was before you asked for it to be sent? Just curious ..."</p>

<p>I definitely was able to see it online on Feb 21st, before I sent it. It got there very quickly since a lot of colleges get the scores via web nowadays.</p>

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<p>Oh well, my daughter probably didn't want to take the ACT again and things worked out for the best even without getting a higher score with a retake ...</p>

<p>It is good to know a late test can still avail. I occasionally run across people who took the SAT/ACT for the first time in the fall of their senior year and don't like how they've done.</p>