<p>So far I have taken the ACT twice and the SAT once. I'm wondering if retaking them again would really make any impact in the college admissions process.
1st ACT
Composite:34
E:34
M:36
R:35
S:32
Essay:11</p>
<p>2nd ACT
Composite:34
E:35
M:36
R:32
S:34
Essay:9</p>
<p>SAT
CR: 650
M:800
W:760</p>
<p>Would it be worth it to retake one or both of the tests again next fall before college applications are due(I'm a junior right now)? Would an improvement of say, 34 to 36 on ACT, or 2210 to 2300 on SAT really make any difference to colleges such as the University of Michigan, UIUC, Purdue, Cornell, or MIT?
I'm looking to go into engineering if that makes a difference.
Any replies will be helpful, thanks</p>
<p>Find out if any of them superscore. Superscored, you have a 35 composite. Your score is high enough for the University of Michigan. I know kids who got in with less than that.</p>
<p>Perhaps that would make a difference at MIT and Cornell, or getting merit scholarship in the other schools. You have exceeded the 75% of accepted students in all the other schools including UMich. If you are sure (through practice test result) that you can have significant improvement in any of these test, you may go ahead. Otherwise, you may focus on AP and subject test for now and start working on the essays and application in the Summer. All these other things may have a more critical effect on your application than a small increase in SAT/ACT scores.</p>
<p>Thanks you guys thats pretty much what I’ve been thinking.
One other thing, would any of these colleges have a preference over the ACT or SAT or should I just send both when I apply?</p>
<p>Traditionally, schools in the mid-west has a preference (or requirement) on ACT. In your case, your ACT score is actually better than SAT in terms of overall score and distribution. Your CR in SAT is a little bit weak for top schools. Nevertheless, your ACT reading scores compensate for that. Most of the schools on your list with higher chances are in the mid-west region. In any case, I would say you should submit your ACT scores for sure and SAT would be optional. Anyway, I don’t see how would a 2210 SAT score hurt your application. Are you planning to take any subject test in May/June? For engineering major, you should have at least math2 and a science subject tests to help your application. My daughter is in a very similar situation like yours. She is also looking at Engineering programs in most of the schools on your list too. If you are going to retake SAT, try to focus on the CR. If you can get it above 700, it would be helpful.</p>
<p>Yes I’m planning on taking the Math 2 and Chemistry subject tests in June since MIT requires them. I don’t know why or if this is true, but I heard from a U of M admissions rep that for U of M you can send your SAT 2 scores, but they don’t factor at all in admissions.
About the CR on SAT, yeah I just didn’t do well on the vocab section. All those obscure words that few people use just killed me. I think if I do end up retaking it it will be next fall after I’ve read a few more books and hopefully expanded my vocabulary</p>
<p>As for UofM (and most other schools), the admission process is very complicated. You never know how they weigh different factors. If you really want to try MIT, you should try to improve your SAT score to get a better chance. Keep up the good work.</p>