<p>Snowday29, there may indeed be an admissions edge to a 36 over a 35. Brown University breaks out the acceptance rate for 36’s vs. for 33-35’s: 36ers got admitted at 30.6% rate vs. the 33-35 group, which were admitted at a 14% rate. Of course, the 35ers did better than that averaged 14% rate, but probably no better than 18-20%.</p>
<p>[Brown</a> Admission: Facts & Figures](<a href=“Undergraduate Admission | Brown University”>Undergraduate Admission | Brown University)</p>
<p>A lot of folks will tell you that it doesn’t matter if you get a 36 or a 35 or a 34; it doesn’t matter if your class rank was #1, or #2, or top 5%; ; it doesn’t matter whether you won a districtwide award, a citywide award or a statewide award. While there is some small truth to this argument, they miss the main point: You need SOMETHING that is RARE and exceptional to separate yourself from a city-sized pool of outstanding applicants, to get a bored and overworked adcom to wake up and REALLY take a closer look at your overall application.</p>
<p>If you think you’ve got a 50-50 chance of getting a 36 on a retake AND you don’t stress out during test-taking, why not go for it? If you get that 36, it will surely boost your self-confidence to take on new and greater challenges elsewhere. If not, shrug your shoulders and move on to another challenge – there’s a fine line between taking on a realistic challenge and becoming obsessed with it.</p>
<p>Also keep in mind that many schools are starting to superscore ACT subtests, so you could well miss the 36 on a second try and still end up with a superscored 36.</p>