@wcmcollege My bad, I got that info from a Prepscholar article from last year, but it turns out that Duke has recently changed its policy.
@wcmcollege post #13 is just plain rude. You don’t need to act that way. There are many long-time posters on CC with a lot of wisdom to share. My own DD, in fact, applied to Duke this past year (she just graduated from HS last month) and she was required to submit all of her scores. My point is that colleges fine-tune their requirements annually and your snark is neither helpful nor welcome on CC.
Go ahead and take the ACT for the 4th time. I think it’s a horrible use of time and resources and will not do a single thing to enhance your application, but you seem to have made up your mind.
If you want to superscore (and many don’t superscore the ACT) you will have to send all the sittings you are superscoring.
Speaking as a 2400 SAT, 36 ACT student (ironically on the first try for both, but still hear me out), I have heard and firmly believe that you should NEVER take any of these standardized tests a fourth time. Two reasons here:
- Despite your self-confidence, you are most likely not going to improve by those two points to get a 34. Maybe you believe this because of practice test scores, but they are not precise reflections of your testing behavior, in real life, on the day of the exam, under actual pressure. Thus, a lower than expected actual score is normal.
- Colleges will see all of your test scores. I have never heard of students being able to completely wipe their test history, but I have heard that colleges will have access to all of your test scores, possibly without you even reporting them. Seeing you taking the same test four times, with only meager improvements, is a negative thing, because it shows that 1. you don't have any room for growth and are at your intellectual limit 2. you're try-hard to the extreme and taking multiple tests, not because you want to gauge your skill, but because you want that extra point or two desperately.
All in all, I strongly advise AGAINST taking it again. Be satisfied with where you are. Spend your time doing an EC you care about, building your passion, researching colleges, something more productive. Admissions is a long and grueling process, so don’t get stuck with standardized testing. 
As a 7th grader, I took ACT (duke tip) and SAT last week without the essay. Does this count as my first try or this will get erased? I don’t have preference either way since i am pleased with the scores. I plan to test end of 9th grade and end of junior year with the essay portion. Is that considered too excessive?
@zindabad please start your own thread. Don’t hijack another’s.
@mmk2015 hahaha thank you !!!
Ok maybe I will try the SAT again in the fall. I have only taken it once. Thank you for your feedback.
@mmk2015 I’ll probably try the SAT again in the fall bc I’ve only taken it once and got a 1450 the first time (out of 1600)… some of these people are getting carried away and I regret even starting this X_X
You have a 33 superscored already.
Check whether Duke and Vanderbilt superscore.
In any case, those are reach for everyone. Oddds are high you won’t get in. The difference won’t be an extra point on the test, but rather your activities and essays.
It has been found that it is unlikely to improve scores after 3 attempts. And if you do decide to apply to top schools, some will (as many have been trying to tell you) require you to send all your scores. Yes, you can request that an administration be removed, but you have to request it in writing and it may take some time, and until that occurs (if you choose to do that) you will need to be honest and tell the schools that require it all your sores. Lying is worse than taking the test repeatedly
@wcmcollege, they mean well. Everyone is just trying to help in their own way. So here are my 2 cents.
If you score much higher on your 2nd try SAT, like 1550, and your June ACT doesn’t improve much, then you can just use your SAT scores for the colleges.
Most won’t even care that you took the test multiple times. Most will just want your highest scores. Many even Super Score the SAT but not the ACT.
As for the very few who do require all your scores, you can use the system to your advantage: delete any/all low ACT scores. You can’t send anything that doesn’t exist. And don’t worry so much about schools finding out that you took the ACT a few times. Legally, the ACT scores are your property. Legally, only you can send your scores to colleges, so they have no idea what you took or didn’t take. And you can’t send anything that no longer exists, if deleted.
Just make sure you absolutely don’t want those ACT scores to exist because once you delete, it’s permanent. It will be like you never took those tests. ACT will send a notice to your high school that the deleted scores should be removed from your high school records. Make sure to follow up with your high school to make sure those deleted scores are in fact removed. Some high schools print your entire testing history in the transcript. Make sure your high school doesn’t do that. If it does, make sure the deleted scores are not on that transcript.
I’m pretty sure that’s the info you were really looking for. Ethical or not, it’s the real info.
@mmk2015 Ok thank you. I know that Duke does not superstore for ACT but they do for SAT so I can try to improve my lower score!
Well, Duke kind of doesn’t superscore and kind of does. They consider the highest score for each test but don’t recalculate the composite. http://admissions.duke.edu/application/instructions#testing
I understand your frustration and question. It does seem that you want to try one more time, and there really isn’t any harm in it. You will only send the scores you wish your schools to see, unless you send them as part of the “free 4” when registering. That said, and after 4 kids having tested over the years, I think you are in a good place. I would focus now on putting together a beautiful application package, with well written essays etc. Your scores are good. They may not be the top, but you may not be able to get any higher! It is more important now that you focus on getting your apps together and submitted early for early consideration. I have loads of experience with Notre Dame as two of my four have gone there, so if you have any questions, pm me. The other schools are similar. In the end, do what you feel comfortable doing. My youngest took the ACT this past Saturday and I told him “this is it” no more! ha ha-he doesn’t mind testing and would probably take it again if I let him, so if testing isn’t stressful for you, do it, but if not, then I think you are good! Good luck!
My child just took the ACT for the 4th time this last Saturday. She is trying to get to a 32 for scholarship considerations. She also said this was the hardest reading section she’s ever had (both practice & the 3 prior tests). She thought the math was much easier than prior tests.
All of her scores have moved up with each test. She feels she will get 32+ this time.
My advice is if you are going to take the test again then make sure you really make it worth it and study hard!
Good luck.
I don’t suggest you take it again. After a while, any improvement is marginal. Instead, use this time to pursue your passion, strengthen an EC, impress a teacher, research colleges, visit colleges, or something else.
Is there actually any evidence that schools who require all scores will be concerned with a student taking a test 4 times? Many people here seem to be saying " you will look like a test fanatic" Now, please don’t take this the wrong way guys, but how do you know how the admissions team at any particular college will interpret the amount of times this student has taken a standardized test? It is true that the higher we are in ACT scores the more marginal improvement is, but this student’s best composite (without superscore) is a 31 (great score btw, you will not be denied entry for this score anywhere, though it is a disadvantage at schools were a 31 is out of the range “very few schools”), a 96th percentile score. The student says he thinks he can get a 33 (a 99th percentile score). Though these scores are just 2 “points” apart, they are 3 percentiles apart. Making that score improvement will set him apart ( however marginally it may be) from many thousands of students scoring a 31-32.
Final verdict: If many of the schools you are applying to require you to send all scores, maybe reconsider (though nobody really knows how they will interpret the information in context) If not many schools require that, consider if you are willing to spend the time to improve your score. Certainly a 31 to 33 jump will take a fair amount of studying (or you could be surprised when your score comes back from June). I believe the next date is in September, you will certainly be busy with application work by then, so consider you will have to be prepared on the day to do well, or you will have wasted your time. Overall, you will have to weigh the options yourself. How badly to you want to reach for your reach schools? Do you have match schools that you really love? I think you could make a case for retaking, so don’t feel bad if that’s the decision you come to.
@ManaManaWegi just want to say that admissions officers at several Ivy League schools have told me, in real life, that they see 4+, even 3+ attempts on a standardized test as a waste of time, and these admissions officers themselves have cited the “your score will not improve after three times” statistics to discourage this unhealthy focus on standardized testing.
@bzhang42 we should rephrases to " your score is not likely to improve ". Individual situations will vary. But, anyway, can we confirm that taking a test more than 3 times will affect their admission decision.