<p>I've gotten a 34 on my act (and a 9/12 in the optional writing) and I feel that's an Ok score. I don't know whether I'll be able to improve it much so I don't want to risk taking it again. My SAT Score however is only 2050 and I know for a fact that I can get above 2200 with a little effort.
I've also gotten a 2400 in the SAT Subject Tests (Math 2, Physics, Chemistry), and think I can get a 5 or 4 in the 4 AP's that I'm taking (Calculus BC,/ Computer Science A, Physics C: Mechanics and Electricity & Magnetism)</p>
<p>I'm looking at applying to MIT, CMU, and UC Berkeley for Computer Science to name a few.
With my current scores (coupled with the fact that I've gotten a few National Awards in India where I live) what are the odds that I can get into these colleges? Should I retake any tests? I'm also planning on working on a few projects since this is my last year of high school. Would it be worth the effort to prepare for these tests or should I just let them be and concentrate more on school and projects?</p>
<p>I wouldn’t retake a 34 ACT nor would I retake the SAT with that score. Just send in your ACT score. You’re in the upper end of the middle 50%.</p>
<p>ACT 34 is a pretty good score. But the main reason I think you should not retake it is due to your own comment.
If you are not sure to improve the score, there is no point to retake it. Although a further higher score will give you much more opportunities for merit aids, it may not not help much for admission at most schools. Nevertheless, ACT 34 is within the mid 50 for the schools you are considering. So it is not really a outstanding score for them. Your SAT2 scores are great though. By the way, no one add up the SAT2 scores.</p>
<p>I’m sorry but I forgot to include a pretty important detail which was the motivating factor for retaking the test.
My ACT score was divided as such:
English: 35
Math: 36
Science: 36
Reading: 29
I feel that 29 will effect how colleges look at the overall score and I think I can bump that 29 up to maybe a 31 or 32 but I’m afraid my other scores will fall by a bit.</p>
<p>@billcsho I added something else that I want some advice with and it’d be great if you could help.</p>
<p>Do some practice to see if you can bring up that reading score. It is not essential, but it would be better if you can get it a little bit higher. If you don’t see much improvement in the practice, then forget about the retake.</p>
<p>@billcsho So would an overall decrease to 33 with an increase in Reading from 29 to 31/32 be better than a 34?</p>
<p>In that case, send both scores in. Most school will look for the better composite scores and then section scores even they don’t superscore ACT. Since you are at 34.0, you will need to lose 4-5 points in the other 3 sections combined to get a 33 composite with reading in 31/32. </p>
<p>@billcsho Ok. Thanks. I guess that’s one more thing I’ll have to add to the calendar.</p>