Should I retake my ACT

Test Preparation ACT Preparation
1

Hey,
I am currently a Junior in Highschool. I just received my ACT today for the February test. I was pretty satisfied with the Composite Score of 35. however I did really bad on the essay (I know I am a weak writer, lived in the US for only the past 3 years), scoring a 7. Should I retake the test, or just focus on my future SATs?

Thanks

2

Congrats on the 35 - great score! I would not retake it to improve your writing score - 7 is not terrible and the 35 is very impressive.

3

My boyfriend got a 36 and then a 7 on the essay. If this helps, he’s gotten into Washington University in St. Louis, University of Chicago, University of Michigan, and Case Western Reserve University so far. The essay score is probably fine, especially if you are in an honors/advanced/AP/IB english course.

Congrats on the 35!

4

Celebrate the 35. Don’t sweat the essay because most schools know it has no bearing on how you will write in college.

5

35 is a great score. That’ll open up quite a few college choices. I would think your essay would have more impact on your application than the writing score.

6

Yo I got 35 too! That score is good enough to get into any college, getting a 36 won’t make your stand out much more. Now focus on other posts of your applications, such as asking for recommendations, writing essays, finalizing your college list (don’t put this off), etc. I got into Cornell and Columbia with that score, but waitlisted at Princeton and uchicago. I have a friend that got a 33 and was admitted to Princeton. Your score is good enough, now focus on other stuff

7

I’m not sure if has been resolved but ACT scoring is awful. There is an old thread on rescoring. We paid to have our D’s rescored and it doubled (composite 33). Of course they didn’t refund the rescore fee which was supposed to happen. In the scheme of things, that was a small price in our college journey.

Increasingly colleges are revolting. I think it’s U Penn that now says they don’t require writing and out right say a third party score on a one hour (30 min?) writing assignment is not reflective of a student’s ability compared to essays on the common app and supplements.

8

35 is amazing. I got that score! No need to retake…