Our family is still waiting on PSAT scores as a guide to what our college decisions might be, but I’ve been thinking that Tulane might be worth a visit. As a practical matter it’s not going to be affordable without a full or nearly full tuition merit scholarship.
My soon took the ACT in December and made a 34 for the second time. He’s a little disappointed and is going to take it again in February in hopes of making a 35. I assume sending a score lets the college know you are interested and perhaps might help down the road. But is he better waiting to send a 35 or sending a 34 now and a 35 later.
@EarlVanDorn
Please, please trust me when I tell you that no school, not even Harvard or Stanford or MIT, see any difference in a 34 or a 35, or a 36 for that matter. Not sure why he is fixated on at least a 35. They are all 99th percentile, and the schools really are not concerned about decimals. They know that virtually all students that score that high can be academically successful (assuming it matches up with a high GPA), so at that point they are assessing the rest of the application to decide if that person fits with the other priorities they have that year.
He could certainly send in the 34 so they can start a file, although if he sends it now he may confuse them that he might be a current applicant. I would wait until after March 1, well after this year’s application deadline. And to get directly to your question, it won’t help or hurt if he sends it in March and then gets a 35 in September. They will just update their file to reflect the 35. It certainly helps to show that much interest, and I would also advise a note to the admissions person for his region at about the same time that indicates why he is focusing on Tulane. Kind of a preview to his Why Tulane essay.
@fallenchemist Mississippi high schools have an honor called STAR Student which goes to the student in a high school with the highest ACT score, or to every student with a 35 or 36. The STAR Student gets to pick his favorite teacher as STAR Teacher. It’s a nice honor, photo in the paper and such as that, and looks good on a college app. My son’s school has a lot of high scorers, so STAR Student requires a 35.
I had heard a few colleges really like early interest, and that’s why I asked. I think I’ll just wait until after the next ACT in February.
Ah well then. That is a different animal.
Yes, many schools like early interest. That sounds like good timing.