I have a 31 ACT Score and am conflicted about if I should submit the score, mostly for my reach schools. GPA is around a 4.1 weighted but good ECs and essays. I am applying to:
USC
NYU
UMich (OOS)
UT Austin (OOS)
Northeastern
Any advice is appreciated! Thank you!
I am also currently applying to USC (reach) and UT Austin (target) and I have a 30 ACT. I would have most definitely made it better if the test centers in the Bay Area didn’t get canceled due to COVID. I was extremely stressed out until I asked my counselor and other college counselors, who said to not include it as it is an average score compared to my good GPA (3.87 UW) and essays.
An ACT of 31 is at best low-mid range for these schools, and you have to figure in that it’s even lower when you take URM, recruited athletes, and legacies out of the equation. So I would only submit that 31 if you are coming from a high school known to have very low academic standards, in which case that 31 would say that you ARE prepared for college level work, and could make it at those schools. In other words, if that score of 31 is unusually high for someone coming out of your high school, submit it. Otherwise, I would not.
USC, NYU, and NEU are going to look at the subscores, not simply Composite. (Pretty sure UMich, also.) Your subs most related to your possible major are what matters more than Composite. That’s what will give adcoms an idea of your strengths for those colleges’ academics- not so much whether your hs peers don’t do as well or the hs has a low bar.
So, look at your subscores and see if they support you.
I agree that a 31 is on the lower end of the 25-75% range for most of these schools (UT excepted, and that may be an anomaly due to their in-state auto-admit process).
While they do look at subscores, it would take something out of the ordinary for me to think they should be submitted. A math 34 may support a STEM major, but that would mean high 20s-30 for other sections. I don’t think this trade-off would be better than not submitting, in most cases.
@parentologist @RichInPitt So just as a general rule of thumb, should I only be submitting my ACT score if it’s at or above the school’s 50th percentile range or is anywhere between the 25-75 percentile ok?
@medstud101 It’s reassuring to see other students in the same position, I’m definitely leaning towards not submitting as well. Anyway, best of luck!!
I wouldn’t submit unless it’s at least 50th percentile. However, if you are an URM, or are coming from a very low performing high school, that score of 31, even though it’s not high for those schools, says that your good GPA is not simply that you’re in the top of a bad high school, that you really ARE ready and able to do the work. So if you’re coming from a non-magnet, bad, inner city high school, or a poor rural area with terrible schools, I’d submit it. If you’re coming from a decent high school, I would not submit it to schools where it’s not at least 50th%.