<p>First off, I did really bad on my ACT (26 comp, i know awful). However I got a 10 on the essay which is pretty good I guess. Should I retake the exam with the writing in order to raise my English/Writing Combined Score (27 combined score on this exam)? Help is appreciated.</p>
<p>142 views but no responses. C’mon guys</p>
<p>Whether you should retake depends on colleges to which you want to apply. If 26 is fine for those, then you don’t need to retake. If 26 is low for those then you should consider it. Your writing score in and of itself has little to do with that decision because a good writing score is not going to save you if your ACT score is otherwise low for a college; in fact, many colleges still ignore the writing score and most that consider it are not giving it any great weight. If you retake you should also retake the writing section to assure the test qualifies for admission at any colleges to which you might apply unless all those colleges accept ACT without writing.</p>
<p>By all means go and retake it if you feel like the score does not reflect your true ability. That being said, the ACT is only a piece of your college application and you should concentrate on putting together a strong senior year schedule including multiple AP courses if they are offered at your school. A 26 on the ACT is by no means a red flag on an application - maybe you need to reconsider your standards for self evaluation and take the weight off of this 3 hour test when you have a GPA that shows how hard you’ve worked for 3 or 4 years…</p>
<p>drusba is right, check to see how your score falls in the spectrum of admitted freshman at your top choice schools. I’d say that if 26 is in the middle 50% don’t worry about it and focus on your grades/application essays.</p>
<p>As an Illinois resident, may I assume that you will apply to your instate flagship? If so, a retake is in order since a 26 is Illinois’ bottom 25th %. (It’s always better to be above the mean.)</p>