Sent Scores Too Late for EA?

Hi all

I just sent my ACT scores, for Indiana University Bloomington (October 25). Would I still be considered for EA?

ACT says it takes a week to process, but a week from today is November 1. What should I do? I would like the hefty SSA scholarships but my foolishness led me to believe I sent scores to my high school, and they would send it to colleges.

What should I do? Should I contact the Admissions Office at IU?

So I contacted via email IU’s admissions counselor for my school, and asked what would happen.

Is IU strict with their Early Action deadlines, or do they give a small lenient period?

I would call the Admissions Office at IU and ask them what you should do because I am sure most schools have dealt with situations like this before.

I cannot speak specifically about IU. But generally if you do not have all of your required material in by the due date, most schools would just put you into the regular decision pile and wait for your missing material. So the worst thing that will happen is that you will have to wait a little longer for your decision.

I know, but IU has got thousands in SSA scholarship money that I (would) have potentially blown.

I reslly hope what you say is the case, but I called in and asked earlier today to the admissions office of IU and they said to be considered everything must be in on or before Nov. 1. Do you think what you said still applies? I’m not sure if they are saying that just to scare eveyone into getting things in early, or if they are truly strict about deadlines.

Thanks for your response!

Well if they clearly stated that they want everything by Nov. 1 they are probably serious about that date.

What you could do is rush your scores to the schools because as long as the school has your scores it should be fine. It doesn’t have to be processed by Nov. 1. They just want your scores and other required documents in before the due date so they can process everything they have without worrying about other things being sent in.

For SATs “If you request rush service, your score reports will typically be sent to institutions within two to four business days.” (from CollegeBoard website)
For ACTs “Priority reports can only be sent within the United States. Processed within two working days after your request, priority reports are usually delivered three to four business days later.” (from ACT website)

If you rush your scores they should get there on time and you don’t need to worry.

I have tried, but IU doesn’t accept priotity. They only do electronic delivery.

I remember reading somewhere that ACT sends out ordered score reports on Monday, Wed., and Fri. of each week. So suppose the scores are dispatched tommorow. They have to be accepted by IU. Is this “acceptance” of scores what you mean by processing the scores?

Yes. For one of my schools they notified me on my portal that they had received my SAT scores but had not been processed yet because they have to make sure it is official and meets their criteria. After a day, there was a checkmark next to “SAT Score” because it had been processed.

Ah, it helps to know that. My issue is that it is still late on my behalf if the colleges have not collected all recently-sent ACT scores by the date. Hopefully they will run a collection cycle the day of, or at least Monday!

Not sure of the deal with weekends, but I sure hope the ACT still sends on non-business days!

If you don’t mind paying again, you could also order rush delivery and see if it goes through electronically. Last year, with the SAT, one school gave the same answer about rush delivery not being accepted. But when I actually ordered the report as a rush delivery, it was still sent electronically, just faster. It made me wonder if that information from the admissions offices might be dated because in the past rush delivery was only on via mail. It can’t hurt to send it again, although you would have to pay the extra fee. You could also call ACT and ask whether rush reports are electronic or paper.

Check with them to see if they received it. You may be surprised at the speed of delivery. My son ordered an ACT score report to be sent to an EA school, and to his surprise, the school’s student portal shows that they received the official report within two days. Electrons travel in light speed.

I suppose even if I do try rush or priority for electronic delivery it still depends on when the college collects the scores, which is what I am worried about.

Upon talking to some people who had sent scores to IU they said it took around a week to show up, even though other colleges had it in earlier. But perhaps they will run a score-collecting cycle over the weekend, or Monday.

Are there any resources that would help me or tell me when the score collecting cycle runs for IU?

My scores were in today, for IU at least.

I’m very happy, and for future reference, it takes around 3 to 4 business days to update the portal for electronically-sent scores.