Should I take the ACT again?

Applying to College
1

<p>I have taken the SAT 3 times and the ACT once. Here are my scores:</p>

<p>December SAT: 1910 (550 CR, 710 M, 660 W, 8 essay)
January SAT: 2060 (610 CR, 800 M, 650 W, 8 essay)
October SAT: 2160 (650 CR, 800 M, 710 W, 7 essay)</p>

<p>September ACT: 31 (35 English, 33 reading, 30 math, 26 science, 8 essay)</p>

<p>I'm not taking the SAT again because it would look bad to take it a 4th time, and I don't think I can improve my reading score any more. But I might take the ACT again, because I know I can improve my math and science scores.
The next ACT is December 14th, which I think is really late. My UC apps are due Nov. 30 and most of my other applications are due Jan. 1, so I won't have my score back before I submit my applications. </p>

<p>Here are my questions:
1. Is it better to use my 2160 SAT or 31 ACT, or both?
2. Should I take the ACT again? I can probably get a 33 if I raise my math to 35 and science to 30.
3. If I retake the ACT, should I include my previous SAT or ACT score (or both) on my application?
4. Are SAT essay scores shown to colleges when you send your score report? Will the 7 on my essay hurt my chances?</p>

<p>I am planning to apply to UC Berkeley, UCLA, UCSD, UC Davis, Cal Poly SLO, Stanford, Northwestern, Duke, Cornell, and Carleton.</p>

2

<p>1) If you can use both, then use them. Unless there’s a significant difference between the quality of the scores, then I personally don’t see why you wouldn’t.</p>

<p>2) If you’re confident in your ability to improve and you’ve studied enough, then sure, go ahead and retake the ACT.</p>

<p>3) Include both.</p>

<p>4) I don’t think they show essay scores; your 710 W score should be fine.</p>

3

<p>Will submitting both my SAT and ACT score (if one is higher than the other) be better than submitting only the higher one? I know that my SAT overall score is slightly higher but my English and Reading scores were significantly better on the ACT, though the opposite is true in math.</p>