The first time I took the ACT (without studying), I got a 33. I took it like eight months later (with studying) and again got a 33. The third time I took it, I got a 32. I took it again in September and got a 32. (36 on English and Reading and 28 on math and science). I want to be a PoliSci/Econ major and am applying to high reach schools (Harvard, Yale, Stanford, USC, Vandy, Cornell, etc). Should I take it one more time to try and hit that 34 level or just give up and submit my 33?
How badly does the 33 hurt me in applying to those schools? Thanks so much
how was your subject test( math? ) also, I see that you are planning to double major in political science and econ. At least for Stanford, everyone is admitted undeclared and so the approach my D took was to package herself with the strengths she had ( it was music and public speaking) even though she had no intention of pursuing a career in music or law/english/communication. BTW my D took it many times , too, and was stuck at 32 until she hit 33 on Oct 2015 ( we were able to cancel all prior ACTs btw so she didnt have to send the priors – make sure you do this now, as it takes a while to get it erased).
You have reached your threshold of 33, you could increase it 1 or 2 points but that would take a long time and you should just put that time into your essays. Plus taking it more than 4 times will not look very good in the case you cannot delete your past ones. Take it and move on, it’s a great a score but you should take a math 2 sat 2 to make up for your act math score.