Hello,
I am planning to apply to the UCs for the Fall of 2018 and I had a question about if I should take the ACT again or not. The thing is, I took the test with writing in June and didn’t get the score I wanted (27 and a 7 on the writing), but then I took the test again in September without the writing and I got a better score (29). But of course, since I didn’t take the writing portion of it, I can’t use that score for my eligibility. The reason why I took the test without writing was because I didn’t know that UCs don’t SuperScore tests so I had no knowledge of that until I went to a college presentation hosted at my school.
I took the test again in October with the writing, hoping I would get the same score, but after taking the test I felt that that test was harder than the previous 2 I took. I ended up getting the same score (27 and a 8 on the writing) I got when I first took the test, so I was wondering if I should stress again and take the test in December for my last time to try and get the same score or higher than the one I took without writing so I can submit that for my score instead of the score of the one I recently took.
The only reason why I’m iffy about taking the test again is because I feel like I wouldn’t have enough time to study for it since this is college app season (I would literally only have a week to study and refresh) and the $92 would be coming out of my own pocket. I paid for the last 2 tests out of my pocket too because my mom didn’t believe that I would do better, and she’s definitely not going to pay for this upcoming one because she knows I’m not going to study as hard so she’s thinking why should she waste her money on that.
I know this is a little confusing but I don’t know what to do and I’m just afraid that I won’t qualify since my score is below the average.
Thank you so much!
You have about 3 weeks before the exam. Because it’s the last one, you need to be honest with yourself: how bad do you want to get into these schools? The range is 29-34, so if you want a good chance of getting admitted, you need a to get in the middle range (30-31). This should motivate you to study. There are a plethora of resources online to use, there are 4 official practice tests online–just take 45 minutes to an hour a day working on the sections that are your weakest. Crack ACT provides hundreds of practice questions.
If you really really want to get in, then you should really really get serious and study. Cramming a week before will likely get you the same score. It’s important to stretch out your practice, so repetition and evaluating your mistakes builds up to you improving your weak points. I think it’s worth a shot. If you can devote 30 or 45 minutes a day, and take a few practice tests each Saturday and Sunday, while drilling in your head what you get wrong and approaching those questions in a new way, it’s doable. It really is doable.
Set a goal for your subscores. What’s the highest you can realistically attain in science, math, English and reading in 3 weeks? Aim for those goals. Aim for ABOVE those goals so you land right on them. Tack them up on a corkboard, tape them to the wall where you can see them. Remind yourself every day: “I want to get this score so I can get into this college.” While everyone says they don’t JUST consider your scores, getting an above average score helps you get into that “likely to be admitted” zone.
I wish you well. We are all capable of scoring high, and this can really make a difference in where we are admitted. It just depends on how much we actually prepare 
Thank you! Do you have any strategies for me because it seems like when I take the test, I look at my scores and usually study the area that I need most improvement on and then when I take the test again, the area I studied always goes up but everything else went down. For example, I took the September ACT and got a 34 on English, 31 on Science, 25 on Math, and 25 on reading so I decided to study mainly the reading section so when I took the October ACT, I got a 31 on Reading, but all my other scores went down drastically; I got a 27 on English, a 24 on Math, and a 26 on Science. I don’t know what went wrong.
@ashleymyg This is where taking full length practice tests comes in handy. It happened to me too, with the SAT and the ACT Reading section. When you put more energy and focus into one section without practicing in the other sections, you might see a decrease in scores because you may have forgotten the format or types of questions tested on the other sections, and were in for a surprise, or maybe you hadn’t practiced timing in the other sections lately. For example I didn’t practice timing on the reading section in Sept. after several months and panicked, my score dropped from a 34 to a 29. So that’s why you need to still practice all sections a few times in a timed setting before the exam, to avoid any surprises and to make sure you nailed down those other sections for an improved score overall.
Ohh okay I see. So since I have only 3 weeks or so left, that means 3 full length practice tests if I take one this weekend. Would that be enough or should I take more?
3 full length practice tests should be good. And then of course use Crack ACT for practice in your weaker areas Good luck! I’m doing the sameeee
Thank you very much! Good luck to you too!!
Hello, sorry that I’m a few days late, but I’m in the same position as you! I’m taking the ACT one last time in December as well, hoping for a score that’s a few points better, maybe.
A mistake I have been making is that I’m focusing on my score too much. As you probably already know, there’s a lot of other factors that come into play when colleges are considering your application. If I were you, I would focus more time on the essay and less time on the ACT. It’s a little out of your control know what your scores are, what extracurriculars you did, and stuff like that. But the essay is something completely within your control, so make it as good as you can!
I’m sure you’ll get accepted at the UC schools! Best of luck to you!