Should I retake the ACT (32)?

Transfer Students
1

<p>When I took the ACT last June and in my sophomore year, I scored a 32 and a 31 respectively . To cut to the point, is my score high enough for me to be competitive in applying to top 15-20 ranked colleges? I’m enrolling in UCSD from the Fall, and, as of now, contemplating triple majoring in Mathematics, Economics and Philosophy (yes, I know it’s going to be tough, but I just can’t choose among the three). If it’s necessary, more comprehensive information about me can be found at my first post. Thanks.</p>

<p>(I apologize for creating another thread regarding this matter, but it seemed apparent that I wasn’t going to receive any response on my old thread.)</p>

2

<p>Come on..... 30 views and 0 reply. Can somebody please answer my question???</p>

3

<p>YES!!!!???!! haha. that wasn't being mean, that was me saying "yes" because a 32 or even a 31 is an extremely impressive score! The way to calculate how it is in terms of the "sat" scale is by : multiplying by 40 and adding 110. EXCELLENT job! Graet scores. i gota 25. go figure</p>

4

<p>If you can afford it (time and money), go for it.</p>

<p>Though anything above a 30 is pretty rare, a 33 is better than a 32 and so forth.</p>

5

<p>A couple of points to keep in mind. First a 31-32 composite on the ACT is in the 98th-99th percentile, so retaking is only going to give you a chance at very marginal improvement. That being said, you have nothing to lose by retaking because the ACT allows you to choose which scores you are going to report -- just make sure that you don't send the new scores to prospective colleges until you see them first. More importantly, keep in mind that a great ACT or SAT score is not going to guarantee your admission to ANY of the top 20 schools -- they all reject some applicants with perfect scores every year. If you have other aspects of your application profile that are weak -- grades, ecs, community service, special talents, etc., it's probably a better use of your time to work on improving those than it is trying to raise an already excellent standardized test score.</p>

6

<p>I think its basically pointless...a 32 is good enough for any school. Unless you feel you could have done much better, I don't think you should do it. The difference between a 32-33 is almost nothing.</p>

7

<p>i got into Upenn, Swarthmore, Williams, and Pomona with a 32. You are fine. Unless you plan on getting a 35/36, don't bother.</p>

8

<p>Thanks for your insightful responses guys. I’m relieved to know that I’m not being ignored. Haha</p>

<p>But seriously, you guys definitely helped me clear my head and reevaluate my present circumstance. I have decided to retake the test one more time in September because I feel I can raise my score by another 2-3 points with proper preparation. And I will try manage my time more wisely so I don’t have to compromise my other activities. </p>

<p>Jimmy 2588- Wow, that is some impressive list of colleges you got accepted to. I only hope I can emulate your success next year.</p>

9

<p>put a lot of effort in your essays. your GPA and ACT/SAT can only take you so far when most competitive schools take between 5-15% of transfers. good luck.</p>

10

<p>taking my 32 to brown!</p>

11

<p>I would take a practice test, if you do better than 32, retake it.</p>

12

<p>I retook a 32 and ended up with a 34. I'm not sure if it made much of a difference, but it certainly made me more confident as 32s were probably quite a bit more common at the schools I was applying to than 34s. You can send any score you want so you have nothing to lose.</p>