My son has taken the ACT in Sept outside the US and ACT has informed us that they are unable to send any test scores to any colleges at this time due to a “known issue”.
Hayley from ACT (no last name provided) committed only to send an email and not a signed letter confirming the “known issue”.
As my son has several early decision / early action deadlines in the next few days, this is a major issue for us. Has anyone else encountered this problem?
Also, for all international test takers: take the SAT! Don’t risk that the score reports cannot be sent.
I’ve never heard of such a situation but I would have your son (not you) notify the schools he’s is applying to about the situation. College admissions want to hear from the applicant and not the parent.
Has ACT given an estimated time frame for the issue to be resolved and reports to be sent?
Not sure what a “known issue” is supposed to be telling you. Any lengthy delays in score reporting are usually due to ACT’s investigating because it suspects that something improper may have been done by the test-taker, or just by others in the same room as the test-taker and it is investigating to determine whether the test-taker was also involved. Those kind of delays can also occur with the SAT. But in those situations ACT usually does not tell you it is for a “known issue” and nothing else.
As to early decision or early action deadlines, you may still be safe if scores are released by end of October. Large majority of colleges with EA or ED and a Nov 1 application deadline accept test scores that arrive after Nov 1, and many even accept the Nov SAT test for EA or ED. Check the colleges to which your son is applying. If it is a college that actually requires the scores to be in its hand by Nov 1, it will sepecifically say that (and also say it does not accept the Oct ACT for EA or ED). If it is one that accepts the October ACT for EA or ED, then you actually have until at least mid-Nov to get any scores in.
No, there is a technical issue with the new ACT website which affects many test-takers, although all of these are outside the US which would explain why it is not well-known. There are 3 colleges which require the scores to be in hand by Nov 1. He took the test in September rather than October. Here is the text of the letter we received:
“You are receiving this letter in response to a phone call we received from your father, Eli, and is to confirm that at this time ACT is aware that, through no fault of your own, you are unable to view or send the scores from the ACT Test® you recently took in September 2018 and we do apologize for all the frustration this has caused. This is a known glitch which we expect to have resolved by the end of this month. Please wait for an email from ACT with additional information. We have no further information to share at this time. Thank you for your patience.
If you have any further questions, please contact ACT Customer Care at (319) 337-1313. Our normal business hours are 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., central time, Monday through Friday.
Thank you,
ACT Customer Care”