<p>How much does it hurt you if you don't improve?</p>
<p>Are you trying to be funny? Don’t you have a 2400 already?</p>
<p>LOL either the world has come to an end or THE christiansoldier is asking a question about testing!</p>
<p>On a serious note, however, it doesn’t hurt. You gotta trust admissions when they say they will take your highest scores. Don’t worry :P</p>
<p>No, I’m not kidding. I retook the ACT and got the same score again. I’m afraid that I’ll look like a cocky idiot for retaking a test that I got a good score on and getting the same score again.</p>
<p>Also, does it make a difference if the score breakdowns are different? Would it be better to show good English + Reading, or good Math + Science, or what?</p>
<p>And please don’t shout ■■■■■ or anything. I’m really quite concerned about this.</p>
<p>what act score did you get? are you using it just to supplement the 2400? cuz you really don’t need to report any act scores if you feel it might come off as arrogant or irrelevant…</p>
<p>If you have a 2400 SAT, there is no reason to take the ACT at all, let alone again.</p>
<p>Of course you look like an idiot for retaking a test you got a good score on already, and you look like an idiot for taking an additional test when you already had the highest score possible on a different test that is a perfect substitute for the one you took and re-took. You are going to have to live with that: you are that kind of idiot. I doubt it’s much of a surprise to anyone who knows you in real life.</p>
<p>Fortunately for you, your particular brand of idiocy is not particularly uncommon at selective colleges, so they tend to be forgiving about it. Also – because they are experts at standardized testing – they know that most people DO NOT improve much when they re-take the tests, especially people who did extremely well before, because there isn’t that much room for improvement. You could have gone down – there was plenty of room to do worse. No one is going to penalize you much for retaking a test in pursuit of meaningless pseudo-perfection. Someone may mutter that it shows a mild character flaw, but (as above) I’m guessing that it won’t be the only evidence in your file for that. You will have to live with it. Things could be worse.</p>
<p>DO NOT re-take the ACT again. You have the option of not reporting any ACT scores if you wish, and you should take that option if you are really worried. I doubt it will make a difference, though.</p>
<p>DO devote your energy to something more valuable than racking up scores on standardized tests. In this context “something more valuable” includes things like hanging out, sleeping, or jerking off. (The latter is essentially what you were doing when you re-took the ACT, but in the future you don’t need to share the results with the world.)</p>
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<p>That’s not surprising, considering that you got a 35 the first time! I wouldn’t submit your ACT. 2400 is perfect, obviously, and retaking a 35 IMO looks arrogant and overly perfectionist (although I’m not sure adcoms would see it this way).</p>
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<p>I agree. Seriously. Did you take the ACT for the first time after you got a 2400, by any chance?</p>
<p>EDIT: Did your parents pay for the retake, or did you? My parents said after my first scores came back that I would have to pay to retake if I felt I needed to improve, so I didn’t bother.</p>
<p>@Whitecadillac: 35, with opposite breakdowns</p>
<p>@JHS: Hah, you’re absolutely right (nobody I know was surprised that I took or retook the ACT). And don’t you worry, I’m getting tons of friend time. </p>
<p>@Tres Elefantes: I didn’t take the ACT until well after I had gotten a 2400 on the SAT. I save the money by skipping a couple weeks of lunch.</p>
<p>If I had been in your position with a 2400 already under my belt, I would’ve eaten lunch instead of taking the ACT. But that’s just me.</p>
<p>OP: Why did you decide to take the ACT after getting a 2400 on the SAT? Colleges prefer applicants who look like they spend their time doing productive stuff. Trying to ace a second standardized test that fulfills the same purpose as the first standardized test you aced isn’t productive. I suggest that you not send your ACT scores to colleges. They’re not going to enhance your application.</p>
<p>I’m more productive when I have an imminent threat. Knowing that a test (or a competition or a similar deadline) is coming up gives me energy and focus, and helps me do better in everything I do (which is why I think law will be a good career field). It’s kind of like always having my back to the wall; I have no choice but to do my very best work. I’m good at dealing with clearly defined problems and responsibilities, but less effective when my goals are more nebulous. I’m always taking tests so I can be at peak performance.</p>
<p>christiansoldier, you said you got 35 in different sections – then perhaps your superscore for ACT is 36? (I’m not sure if they superscore ACTs).</p>
<p>Yikes! Kid, it’s time to start weaning yourself from standardized-test addiction. There are only a few more you are ever going to take, anyway, although I suppose you could always slip in the MCATs or GREs. Seriously, your idea of challenging yourself and keeping all the ropes taut is great, but your method is terrible. You are probably a terrific applicant, but that attitude – “I’m always taking tests so I can be at peak performance” – is your Achilles’ Heel. People are not going to respect it. If they don’t think you are going to grow out of it soon, they are not going to want you around.</p>
<p>Start finding meaningful ways to challenge yourself and keep your edge. Also, you really ought to try some things that you can actually fail at, that can’t be managed with a little studying and practice. For someone who’s smart, taking standardized tests is like . . . well, I already said what it is like.</p>
<p>@Cadillac: My superscore is 36/36/36/36. I get to use it for MIT, but that’s it. But again, that’s not the point. The point isn’t that I didn’t do well enough on the ACT, because I know 35 is a good score. It’s not what I wanted, and that’s why I retook, but it’s a good score. This whole bit wasn’t for colleges. It was for me. Now I’m just concerned that it will backfire.</p>
<p>@JHS: I really do understand what you’re saying, and I do want to start doing things that are more meaningful. I just don’t really have the support services for writing and research like I do for tests. I want to do something better. I don’t plan on spending the rest of my life on tests.</p>
<p>^Well, you COULD become an actuary if you want to take tests for the rest of your life. </p>
<p>Anyway, I vote you just submit the SAT. They’ll see you took your first ACT after your 2400 and think you’re crazy (or at least I do–crazy with envy, that is :P). It’s a little psycho to keep taking tests over and over when you’re in the top half of the 99th percentile anyway. >_<</p>
<p>@JHS
I see no problem for the OP to take so many standardized tests if it gives him the motivation to work hard and concentrate. From what I’ve heard, he has plenty of friend time and does a lot of meaningful stuff besides taking the test.
@christiansoldier
I do think that you should just submit the SAT. It’s the perfect score. Taking the ACT simply for fun is perfectly fine. But there’s no reason to use it as a substitute for a higher score.</p>
<p>But I do think it is kinda weird that you take your first ACT after your 2400:p</p>
<p>I think it’s also weird but not uncommon. I think it’s someone who can achieve a lot and is looking for more challenges (like acing another standardized test). Some might say it’s self ego stroking. </p>
<p>At best, CS is bored and looking for challenges. At worst, CS is looking to brag about another perfect score. Whatever.</p>
<p>Funny thing is if CS gets into Yale, no one in his/her entire collegiate career will ever ask about the 2400/36 accomplishment. Why? Because no one will care. My hope is that CS will find useful things to channel engergies into. Heck even help mom re-arrange a closet or fold laundry or walk the dog would have more utility than to re-take an ACT if one has a 2400 under the belt.</p>
<p>I doubt CS would see it that way though. I surely do.</p>
<p>@T26E4
I think CS is just looking for challenges.But it may appear to some as a bit obsessive and crazy.</p>