<p>Both are impressive, and I don’t think you’ll ever be required to choose one over the other, but I believe the 2370 SAT would be slightly more impressive.</p>
<p>(I’m talking infinitesimally better)</p>
<p>i know i can get a 36 if i take it one or two more times, but why??? i got a 34 and for any college a from 34-36 does not make a difference getting a 34 instead of a 36 is not going to affect my admission chances at all. so why worry about not getting a 36?</p>
<p>thirdbasoo7, choosing to retake the ACT may be right for some and not for others (depending on available time, goals, money, etc.) but I think you’ve made a logical error. One of the reasons you gave for retaking the ACT is that 50% of those who do score better than before. However, that statistic applies to those at all score levels. It is probably not true that 50% of all those who retake a 35 make a 36, because some of the reasons for score increases wouldn’t apply. For example, some people take the test with no preparation, are unfamiliar with the format and do poorly the first time for that reason. Even if you didn’t prepare, unfamiliarity with the format didn’t hold you back at all.</p>
<p>I received a 35 and there was never a thought in my mind about if I should retake it. Be happy with what you have, its a great score</p>
<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>
<p>Having personally scored a 36 on the ACT I know what the difference can be. Consider this: Last year in Minnesota only 24 students scored a 36, and Minnesota had the highest composite score average in the nation. Kansas only had 10 “perfect” 36s in the whole state. The one point between a 35 and a 36 may not seem like much, but it really is. 35s and 34s happen all the time, but a 36 puts you in the elite of the elite. You become a group that is a percent of a percent. A school, like Harvard, for example, may see hundreds of applicants with a 35, but not nearly as many 36s. If you are sure you can acheive a 36 go for it. Another point to consider, however, is the time period you have between retaking the test and graduating. Is there really enough time to warrant retaking the test? If you had this score as a junior, or even a sophomore, as I did, then I would say definitely retake it, however if you are a senior, there really may not be a point. Another thing to consider is the college(s) you really want to go to. Will a 35 already be enough? Or will the heavy competition warrant an attempt at the 36?</p>
<p>All things considered I would retake, provided I KNEW I could get the 36. The increase in value from a 35 to a 36 is more than one point, it is exponential.</p>
<p>It may put you in an elite group in terms of state and national stats, but does it <em>really</em> make that much of a difference in college admissions? I don’t think so.</p>
<p>The only colleges where 35 vs 36 would be an issue are the elites and Ivies. The people who apply there have so much more to them than just ACT scores. I’m sure that somebody with published research and a 35 could beat a 36 straight-A student in a few basic clubs, sports, and band. In other words, the more competitive you get with ACT scores (up in the 34, 35, 36s), the more there is that makes up each applicant and therefore the less emphasis on the ACT score in the first place.</p>
<p>It would be completely pointless to retake the ACT because you might do worse. Colleges DONT care about a 36ACT!</p>
<p>I would like to ask a similar but different question: my son got SAT 2210 in his first sitting unprepared, he then took ACT two months later and got 35. His SAT2 are 800’s (Math-II, Bio-M, Chemistry) and GPA is 3.98 (UW) and 4.62(W), ranking 1/125. He is an Eagle Scout, and he has won some local science competitions and attended this years Intel ISEF but didn’t win. He aslo had two summer interns at a local university, and has a 1st author conference paper accepted by an IEEE conference.</p>
<p>My son is to apply MIT and Cal Tech early action. Given his overall qualification I think he has a good chance and ask him to concentrate on his essay and other fun things, however, he insists on preparing for Oct SAT, which I think is unnecessary. Now after reading this thread, especially replies from SeekingUni and beandawg57, I got confused, Maybe ACT 35 is good but only ACT 36 or SAT 2400 can assure?</p>
<p>I would personally retake it. The game changes when you have a perfect score… And for those who want to argue that, look up the Brown statistics…</p>
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<p>Well, my son got a perfect 36 and he got into Brown and 3 other top-20 schools. However, he was rejected by Yale, Princeton and MIT. Even a 36 isn’t a magic entry passport.</p>
<p>He also received personalized letters from 3 of these schools, one from his regional rep and committee advocate from Brown and one each from Amherst and Williams in conjunction with his early-write acceptances. All 3 first mentioned his commitment to community service. No one specifically mentioned his stats.</p>
<p>I have no doubt that a 36 will get you noticed – anything that makes you stand out from the crowd will help – and that it might be worth ten hours of time for a quick review and retake. But if it’s going to take 50 hours or more of prep time, you’d be better off starting an innovative community service project and writing about it.</p>
<p>I’m retaking a 35 ACT, but only because the state makes all juniors take the ACT. :P</p>
<p>Here’s an updated link to the Brown statistics:</p>
<p>[Admission</a> Facts | Undergraduate Admission](<a href=“Undergraduate Admission | Brown University”>Undergraduate Admission | Brown University)</p>
<p>The difference is worth noting, but is not exponential. </p>
<p>Note that the largest proportion of accepted students falls in the 33-35 range, followed closely by the 29-32s.</p>
<p>Other factors, such as grades, would need to be filtered before a direct correlation could be established. (I would wager that a higher fraction of the 36 crowd had perfect GPAs, for example). The less than 3:1 odds of acceptance <em>regardless</em> of score matters, too. </p>
<p>Obviously Brown is looking at many other factors here. </p>
<p>Consider this when deciding whether to retake, and be absolutely sure you won’t risk lowering your score. Worth the cost? Anyone seriously considering Brown should realize that the cost of the test buys just under 7 hours at Brown. (“Hours” as in real-life wall clock, not academic credits).</p>
<p>I got a 34 
34 on Math, 36 on Science, 31 Reading, 33 WR. Ohio State here I come!!!</p>
<p>I know I am late to the party, but I see nothing obnoxious in having the drive and confidence to shoot for the top. What college or employer wouldn’t want that?</p>