<p>Hello, please advise on how good I will be as a candidate for college admissions. The colleges I am looking or are from most selective to very selective. For my senior year right now I have a 4.8GPA but I have a 21 on the ACT plus writing. How competitive would I exactly for college admissions?</p>
<p>Any chance you could get higher on a retake?
Frankly for selective colleges that ACT seems low, but double check what the test score ranges are for the ones on your list.
Test optional colleges are another option.</p>
<p>How do you reconcile your stellar GPA with your below average ACT? Have you tried the SAT?</p>
<p>Test optional schools would be your best bet if you can’t get that score higher.</p>
<p>The SAT and ACT state that they cannot predict about success in school. </p>
<p>To me personally I am just a bad standardize test taker. I mean, I understand the purpose of these standardize tests because more people are going to college and college admissions need a borderline cutoff. Which brings me to my next question, with my statistics so far, how would college admissions people look at my application? Would they put it in another pile, or would they look at my application as a whole?</p>
<p>@mnm111 I am a dual enrolled student taking college classes at a college while in high school right now, and in college there is a lot of free time, which means I have plenty of time to study. Meaning I have a high GPA. :)>- </p>
<p>Perhaps take some of that “free time” and really study for your ACT to try and raise your grade. How many times have you taken the ACT? Have you taken the SAT?</p>
<p>These tests may not predict your success in school, but your low score makes it near impossible to get into “very selective” colleges. That’s just a fact.</p>
<p>Believe me I have used my free time wisely. I have taken the SAT and ACT 4 times each. I have studied 8 ACT practice tests, and 10 SAT practice tests as well. I do well on the practice tests but when it comes to the real deal, I zone out, and I do put myself in the same time scenario as these standard test do. Thank you for informing on that fact. (In the words of Stan Lee: “Nuff Said!”)</p>
<p>Here’s a good list for you of test optional schools. Good luck!</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.fairtest.org/sites/default/files/Optional-Schools-in-U.S.News-Top-Tiers.pdf”>http://www.fairtest.org/sites/default/files/Optional-Schools-in-U.S.News-Top-Tiers.pdf</a></p>
<p>What is the difference between your at home practise tests and your actual scores? </p>
<p>Presuming that the OP is a senior, he or she has taken the tests enough times to demonstrate that a meaningfully higher score is unlikely. This student simply tests poorly, and - unfortunately - that will disqualify the OP from a number of highly selective colleges. I would argue in favor of test-optional colleges. Encouraging the OP to continue chasing scores that would be competitive at the top tier of schools borders on sadistic. It’s like providing an endless litany of diet and exercise tips to a curvaceous, four-foot-eleven girl who wants to be a super-model. She might be as “pretty” as anyone in the pages of Vogue, but she is not going to be a high-fashion model. There are many, many top-notch test-optional schools, and the OP’s time will be better spent working on the additional essays and supplements they require in lieu of tests. </p>
<p>@neatoburrito When I am taking practice tests, I would score in the 30 ranges, but when I do the actual tests I test in the low 20s</p>
<p>For the ACT</p>
<p>Could anyone reccomend top test optional schools besides Wake Forest, because I know they do test optional.</p>
<p>Wait never mind, sorry thanks, mnm111</p>
<p>That’s quite a list I posted with some pretty good schools. You should be able to find a good match with your GPA.</p>
<p>I honestly don’t really understand how GPA can be that high, yet the test scores can be that low. Isn’t a large part of getting good grades taking tests? Some of my high school classes have 50% of your grade is based on tests. </p>
<p>As everyone else stated, test optional seems the best route at this point. </p>
<p>Good luck</p>
<p>Tests in school are not standardized tests. There is a different time frame depending on the test, and not the same amount of questions as standardize tests. Beleive me my tests are based on nearly 50% of the grade. Its just that alot of my teachers just give us alot of homework is all.</p>
<p>@slights32 </p>
<p>Also @slights32 I am taking all college classes, so my GPA will start at a 5.0 is all</p>