<p>Not one of S’s schools “superscored” the ACT (although they would the SAT). You have to pay for every score report (meaning that if you took last May and in Sept, you’re paying to send both scores). Not one of Son’s 10 schools (all top 20 - univ and CLA) requested multiple ACT sittings.</p>
<p>Our D had a 28, 32 and a 34 ACT and was accepted to Stanford. I advise to take the ACT one last time.</p>
<p>emgamac - how long between her first ACT and her last ACT?</p>
<p>PaperChaserPop- I believe she took the first ACT mid-junior year after a marginal SAT. The last ACT was in the summer before Senior year. No prep classes- only an ACT review book.</p>
<p>For those interested in why score choice is even available: marketing and money. ACT offered this because SAT didn’t. It was a perfect point of difference to offer this, especially since students really wanted it. Then kids started to take the ACTs instead, and so now SAT offers score choice.</p>
<p>bulletandpima, my son had a 690 on SAT writing and got into Harvard. (Mind you all the other scores were up there.) Harvard accepts plenty of 32 ACTs if they bring other things to the table. In fact in 2007 25% of the class had a 31 or less.</p>
<p>I agree that there are people who get in with below 32. As others have stated, it is not just your scores, but also what you have on your app besides academics. You need to have a lot of other things, besides the ACT score. That is why I said we are just spinning wheels. The 32 ACT, 3.9 gpa, and nothing else, does not make you a strong candidate. Now the 32 ACT with valedictorian, class president, NHS member, sports for 4 yrs, volunteerism, and other ECs is a stronger candidate. Until you know, what the child has over all, it is spinning wheels.</p>
<p>I’d look at the spread within the subscores. S2 got a 1410/2200 the first time – 710 CR, 700 M, 790 W (12E). Had the CR and W been reversed (which he knew was possible, as he made an 80 CR on junior year PSAT), he would have stuck with a 1490/2200 one-and-done.</p>
<p>Retook it three months later with virtually no extra prep due to IB/AP exams and went up 90 points, all in CR/M. </p>
<p>Caveat – I am a big fan of avoiding testing in senior year. If extra effort is needed for prep, I think that needs to be weighed against the time that needs to be spent on essays and fall grades. YMMV.</p>
<p>I think wjb makes a very good point regarding the reason schools like Stanford and Yale will not allow score choice. They want their admitted class to have the highest possible superscored SATs. I seriously doubt whether they care that much how many times the student takes the test. They are in a rankings arms race with H and P and the reported scores matter. If you submit a superscore of 2300 across five test sittings you are most likely in a much stronger position than if you submit a 2200 with two test sittings. jmo</p>
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<p>I disagree that 2300, for a given student with given set of GPA/EC/class rigor/other parameters, puts that same student in a much stronger position than a 2200 would. I think if applicant is otherwise desirable to a college, 2200 vs 2300 is not going to make much of a difference at all.</p>
<p>On another thread, there was discussion that T20 adcoms look at GPA/rigor of classes as the first filter, and that they then look at SAT/ACT scores to see that they are consistent with the GPA etc. SAT is used as confirmatory value rather than as a first or an independent screen. High quality applicant comes with high scores, but they don’t look for high scores to find high quality applicant. This makes sense to me as they are looking for students that will add interest to their student body, and be able to handle the curriculum and using 2200 vs 2300 is not going to help them find that student. </p>
<p>DS is doing practice SAT’s and I have been amazed that 2 ‘silly’ mistakes among 55 math questions puts your score down to 750. The material is not difficult, the adcoms know this.</p>
<p>^ depends on the target school, of course. If it’s top tier then absolutely 100 points on the SAT matters a great deal unless the applicant has a really major hook. I think this is just common sense. If the school is not as selective then the scores will not matter so much.</p>
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<p>If that’s the case, I wish the colleges would say, “We want to see your highest subscores in each section,” instead of saying, “We want to see all your scores.” That way, if you scored low across the board in one sitting, you could just not send that one.</p>