<p>Your son will be fine no matter what happens with his test scores. He can improve his test scores with a tutor or a class (the places that have classes also have tutors and this might be better). But unless he is the one who is really motivated to improve the score, so therefore he does lots of practice tests, reads a lot of high quality books, reviews vocab, etc., it probably won’t change much. If he cares a lot about the scores, he can bring them up with lots of work. My D did much better on SAT than ACT by the way, and she has great grades. She did increase her SAT score by reading classics that are marked with SAT vocabulary highlighted (example: Frankenstein) and doing timed practice tests. She also had about 8 hours with a tutor. But, it all came from her. She insisted upon the tutor, and did work very hard at it, for a few weeks, anyway. She also played a lot of piano… I was the one saying, don’t worry, your scores are fine, but she insisted, and did very much improve her scores.</p>
<p>My son’s scores, on the other hand, were lower than your son’s, but with his high GPA (4.0 plus), and interesting, extensive ec’s he had no problem getting into excellent schools. I do think that they look at GPA even more than scores. Good luck, your son will do just fine. Don’t let the superhero students on this board skew your perception. I’ve read posts where kids are thinking they need to re-do a 2280 SAT…ridiculous!</p>
<p>You are all right- it has to come from my son. He did look shocked for a minute when he saw his score. He is in a competitive high school and his friends are extremely competitive. Several took the SATs in January too. I am assuming there was talk about scores at school. I will come back here and report his ACT score. He studied for 2 weeks- no, not a lot but I think he knew the SAT was harder than he was expecting and figured he’d better prepare somewhat for the ACT.</p>
<p>Well, DS will get an honors diploma. I know it really isn’t that big of a deal but he has worked hard in his classes and I’d like to see that recognized.</p>
<p>ACT composite 28
English 29
Math 27
Reading 31
Science 26
Combined English/Writing 27 with a writing score of 8</p>
<p>I am a little surprised his math score is so low and he will definitely need to work to improve that score. I am also surprised at his essay score of an 8. I think he got a 10 on the SAT essay. DS is going to take an ACT prep class before the June 12th ACT so we’ll see how that improves his score. I am happy with the 28 considering he only prepared a minimal amount. Of course he wants to go in pharmacy and he scored lowest in math and science. Hopefully he can improve those the 2nd time around. </p>
<p>The schools he is looking at take the ACT or SAT. Should he retake the SAT? If he does, I would probably have him take a prep class for that too. He wouldn’t be able to take it until the fall.</p>
<p>My S’s scores improved each time he took the SAT (3 times). He took an SAT prep course at a local CC which was reasonably priced–they took lots of practice tests and taught strategy. Also look at the SAT Prep Forum here and read through Xiggi’s SAT prep advice which gives great advice on breaking down studying/preparing for the SAT.
Good news on the ACT scores!</p>
<p>know that most colleges do focus more on GPA than on SAT/ACT.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t say that. The number of high GPA students is VERY high, due to grade inflation. The number of kids with high GPAs and high test scores is much smaller. Test scores are what often “separates the men from the boys” so to speak. </p>
<p>I agree that a child with a high test score and modest grades may not get accepted (unless his high school is known to be academically challenging.), but scores do matter a lot. I know that some publics (like the UC system) do place a lot of importance on GPA for admittance, but that’s to help their diversity numbers.</p>
<p>Well, when I look at the official February ACT thread on CC my son’s score looks pretty low.
But it is a decent starting point for him. Hopefully the prep class will help him bring it up. He needs a 29 for an early assurance pharm program he is interested in. A 30 would open up a few more scholarship opportunities. </p>
<p>I just emailed his HS counselor to see if it would be okay for him to only retake the ACT and forget about the SAT completely. Does anyone think that isn’t a good idea?</p>
<p>Your S does not need to wait for summer to prep for the SAT. The Xiggi method (a stick on the SAT board) is excellent and only requires the purchase of the CB’s RealSATs and the willingness to do practice tests and go over them with xiiggi’s tips in mind</p>