Retake?

<p>Ive taken the ACT 3 times now Once 30 then 29 now 31.
The problem is on my 30 i didnt finish math and reading but did great on science.
The 31 I did better on Math/reading but worse on science.
30c:32Eng 29M 27R 34S
31c:34Eng 30M 31R 28S
29C....who cares but everything was 28-31</p>

<p>So do you think I should retake for a 4th time(plus I've now had Calculus so my math skills are higher) practice reading faster(speeds/finishing in time my only problem) and try to keep both Eng and Sci high? or just take my 31.
My only reservation is I've heard colleges think more than 3 times is excessive and don't look as highly on it all. So to get into Notre Dame (average ACT 31-33) Should I retake it?</p>

<p>colleges don't know how many times you take the act - you send your best one, so just retake it i would say.</p>

<p>im pretty much in the same boat, except i could take my fourht one for free. anyhoo, bumpin this up</p>

<p>thanks lol</p>

<p>I couldn't disagree more with everyone's response. I mean, be honest, you've taken it three times and have gotten very close scores. Plus, if you look at ACT scores, your 31 is in the top 5 percentile, that's very good. Plus, as you can see if you look at the scores on a bell curve, it gets increasingly less likely to raise you score the higher you go. To go from a 19-20 is a lot easier than a 31-32. I'd just settle, you'll just regress to the mean. People think if they take something a million times they'll eventually do better, this is just not true. And you shouldn't need Calc. on the ACT, in fact some of my friends skipped a year of math and were in calculus, and they all thought the math tests were harder because their precal skills were rusty. I did about the same on the ACT as you (31), but I did a lot better on the SAT (800 math, 740 CR, 720 WR), maybe you'll have similar luck. Maybe a different style of test is what you need.</p>

<p>Well, actually a 31 is in the top 2%</p>

<p><a href="http://www.actstudent.org/scores/norms1.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.actstudent.org/scores/norms1.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>But anyway, it really depends on what college(s) you're applying to. A 31 is good for most colleges, but super competitive ones (and honors colleges sometimes) want higher. So, I don't know...Maybe take it once more in September?</p>

<p>your act scores are outstanding. no need to take again.</p>

<p>don't hang your hat on ND tho. you need to build your college list from the bottom up so look for some fine safety schools that will give you money for that score and your gpa. Look at the Jesuit schools that are located through out the US.</p>

<p>At the elite top 20 LACs and universities, it will be a mix of your ECs, gpa, , essays, recs and passion that will allow you to stand out. Look at the common data set to get an idea if applying ED will help.</p>

<p>Currently the buzz in admissions is diversity--be it socioeconomic, geographical, skin color, international. So look for schools that want you from Wisconsin in order to build their community.</p>

<p>for instance--look in the south or west for schools that have limited Wisconsin matriculants. if you like ND, chances are sports are big with you so look for schools that offer Division I.</p>

<p>ND, while a great school, is a very tough admit. Talk to your guidance counselor about kids from your HS who made it in within the last 2 years--not the last ten as admissions has fundamentally changed.</p>

<p>good luck.</p>

<p>Haha my schools only existed for 9 years, and the only person at ND is my sister (who got a 36). I understand I shouldn't solely rely on ND. I have a fairly long list of possibilities including some safety's.
And I do plan on taking the SAT in fall because ND (and others) use the highest score ACT or SAT.</p>

<p>i say take it again. wont hurt</p>

<p>I also took it three times and I would have to say that even though what spencer123 said is usually right, there are always exceptions. In my case i first got a 33 then decreased to a 32 but then increased substantially. So it really depends from person to person. Might as well try again, prepare more and hope some luck is on your side.</p>