<p>Hey everyone. I'm pretty sure I'll be applying ED to Dartmouth next fall... here's my issue: I got a 33 on the ACT, while I got a 1980 on the New SAT. I'm from New York where SATs are more commonly taken. For ED, would submitting a 33 ACT and a significantly lower SAT score do damage to my application? I'm retaking the SATs in June, but I don't know if I'll be able to even break 2100. Do adcoms at Dartmouth, especially in the ED round, view the ACT as the equal of the SAT when it's a student from NY? </p>
<p>My other scores are pretty strong:
790 SAT II Biology
780 SAT II Math Level 2
Probably upper 700's for SAT II Physics
Either 4 or 5 on AP U.S. History
Probably 5 on AP Physics B
5 on AP Macroeconomics
5 on AP Microeconomics</p>
<p>And I have nothing lower than an A- on my transcript, having taken all honors and AP classes available to me. </p>
<p>I'm not asking about my chances, I'd just like to know if a high ACT and low SAT will hurt my chances.</p>
<p>Thanks! Go Dartmouth 2011 EDers (those who are kinda leaning towards it lol)!</p>
<p>I would consider retaking the ACT rather than the SAT - a 28 reading isn't great, but it isn't bad either, and a 36 Eng with an 11 (out of 12?) essay is great. Search this website for the Xiggi method, and buy a couple of prep books - spend a lot of time on the explanations of the critical reading passages.
It is a little unusual to have such a strong grasp of the mechanics of English, and miss on reading comprehension. You may need a diagnosis of the problem - is it vocab or pacing yourself or "I just don't get the point"? Xiggi's method is geared toward the SAT, but the principles he outlines would carry over to any type of standardized test. Improving your reading comprehension might also bring up your science score a bit, because the harder science questions are about interpreting graphs and data - sort of reading comprehension with numbers, some of the same skills, skimming, not getting intimidated, pacing, etc. will help. If you don't have a strong vocab, spend all summer reading as many classic novels, the Wall Street Journal, NYT, The Economist, any sort of reading material with a substantial vocab. If you can't read a passage from the front page or lead story from one of these periodicals and summarize it or understand it, keep working until you can. Just memorizing word lists won't help, you have to have strong skills in deducing the meaning from the context. Good luck - this effort won't be wasted, no matter which college you attend, your reading comprehension sticks out, and improving it, will improve your ability to excel in college tremendously.</p>
<p>I think you'll have to "submit" the SAT, because even with a great ACT, Dartmouth requires SAT II scores. When you send your SAT II report from CB, like it or not, along goes the SAT1 score.</p>
<p>What if you went and talked with a person in the guidance department at Dartmouth. Explain to them about your situation and see what they have to say.<br>
God bless,
Tony</p>
<p>Don't retake the ACT for a higher reading score. Dartmouth looks at only the composite ACT. I do believe that if you submit your SATIIs (which you have to) your SAT score gets sent along with it. But, they say they take the highest score, so don't worry. Good luck!</p>
<p>It's interesting. If you look at the common application, for the ACT score it has spaces for "English" "Math" "Science" "Composite" "English/Writing Combined". Why is reading left out?</p>