@Waiting2exhale Thank you for your kind comments. The amount of information/knowledge that is available on CC is overwhelming (Almost everything done with my son has been recycled from something already done on CC). I would be happy with my son being heard during interviews (He has an extremely deep voice that is hard to hear if he isn’t speaking up:)
@ChangeTheGame awesome ACT score! Congrats. Very exciting.
@ChangeTheGame Any updates with the PSAT score?
@chercheur It looks like my son missed the cutoff. He ended up with a 1430 (730 EBRW and 700 Math/216 Selection Index). Looking back over the score report 1 more writing question and 1 math question would have gotten him to the 220 SI he would have needed if the cutoff remained the same in GA. If he had gotten the math score from his sophomore year PSAT he would have hit the 220 SI. He was not happy for about 5 minutes and then completely moved on (his normal reaction) which was great because I tend to hold to things for a while. My son never talks about his PSAT/ACT scores or grades to people (including his best friends) so even his own peers have no idea that he done so well. It looks like the standardized testing journey is over for him as he has decided not to apply to any schools that need the SAT subject tests. We visited some schools over Thanksgiving break and he plans to apply to 8 schools. He is applying to 6 summer programs (most are underrepresented minority engineering programs) so we will see how things turn out.
Well, we were hoping to hit the 75th SAT score percentile for the schools my kid is interested in, but 770 on each section doesn’t quite make it. So the decision we are facing is whether and how to squeeze out those last 20 points. Advice?
@ChangeTheGame I have no doubt things will turn out well for him! I think everyone reading this thread was impressed with your son and family. Thanks for reporting back.
Enjoy these last few months having him at home. It goes by so quickly.
@roycroftmom Are you for real? The difference between a 1540 and a 1560 is insignificant and won’t be the thing to get your kid accepted.
@roycroftmom My own philosophical view on test scores is that once you reach the scores of your kid, it starts to become a risk/reward scenario where using that time towards other things may bring more value. But I know some disagree with me and look for that 75th percentile or higher score no matter what. Has your child taken ACT? If my own child were to test again, I am a big believer in preparing for a test (which can sometimes capture those last 20-30 points), but I know that is much harder to do during the school year. My son focused the most on practice tests, studying previous incorrect answers and trying make sure he understood the underlying concepts. But at really high scores, the incorrect answers tend to be just making mistakes (misreading a question, or even bubbling the wrong answer in error), or forgetting an abstract concept learned a long time ago. I would tell my own son job well done and focus on other parts of his application with those scores (unless he continued to want to test) and I would then let him. I know you/your child will figure out what to do next.
I appreciate the advice. I’m leaning toward saying it is enough but husband insists the math score should be higher. Well, ACT results are out soon, so we shall see.
@roycroftmom You will have to come back and let us know what you decided. I have a feeling that it will be over after you see that amazing ACT score coming. Let’s go 36 composite!
My D19 got a 30 on the ACT I think December of her Junior year. I started to get a little worried. I had been the parent that was ready to send her to prep classes right after freshman year. We didn’t go that route. I didn’t push it with Mom and D19. She took the SAT in the Spring of her Junior year and got a 1460. That was an improvement, but I was still a little worried. D19 took the June ACT right after finals and AP tests(5 of them). She got a 34. I was happy and she was too.
She only took a prep class through the school for the SAT, but she felt like it was a waste of time. It seemed to be more about test taking strategies rather than concepts. It was a cheap one. We talked about taking one more shot, but in the end she didn’t think it was in the cards. I didn’t push it. She is proud of her 34.
We took her 34 into app season and so far it has worked out well. Really only one disappointment with Merit money so far.
I had a goal to get her COA per year under $20K and she has 4 offers so far under that goal. Now we have to wait on the rest and figure out which ones meet her needs academically and fit.
She will apply to two ivies and one other selective school. I think she will get into at least one. Sadly she probably won’t go there because of the money. She knows this. Even if she doesn’t go to an ivy she could always say well I turned one down. Plus there is always grad school.
My S19 got a 34 (rounded from 33.75) his first time junior February and I convinced him to take it again in June as he finished the year. He ended up with a 34.25 rounded down to a 34 again. We decided it wasn’t worth it to try again given that he wasn’t shooting for super selective schools.
Thank you, @ChangeTheGame. You were right, the ACT came through for us, so all done. Appreciate your guidance.
@roycroftmom Congratulations on the great ACT score for your kid. It sounds like your child is applying to some great schools and good luck.
My daughter has proclaimed that she is done with her 34 from the 12/8 test. Her mom might argue otherwise!
@ChangeTheGame 35 ACT is awesome. Especially his improvement. My kid got 33 ACT as a junior, and I felt that was good enough for him to apply to Stanford or to any of HYPS because his scores in Reading and Grammar were 35s, and his indicated interest area was non STEM. Actually, it was out hope our kid get into either UCLA or Berkeley; it was never our intention for our kid to apply to Stanford. I also knew perfect test scores don’t mean all that much to top colleges so 33 ACT was a job accomplished for us. The thing that surprised me very much was when he was able to do well enough to make NMF in CA when he took PSAT right after he took ACT. Basically his self prep for ACT helped him with his PSAT score more than ACT score. Based on my kid’s experience, I found it weird how kids who scored 1570s or 35+ in ACT did not get good enough scores in PSAT to become NMFs. To me personally, making NMF was more helpful than getting slightly higher scores in SAT or ACT due to full rides available to NMFs. I always have a little bit of wistful feeling of having passed up full rides. Researching full rides based on NMF status was what brought me to CC.
“I also knew perfect test scores don’t mean all that much to top colleges”
They mean a lot, my last check had only 10% of Stanford’s class having an ACT below 30. So, 90% being 30-36, and the 25-75 distribution being 31-34 means Stanford cares a lot about test scores.
Thanks @websensation. We were hoping for NMSF too, but he will fall a little short. NMSF would not have done as much for him (son wasn’t planning on applying to any NMF full ride schools) but my son just wanted that designation. Sometimes, I think his score was partially about taking the right test on the right day and he was prepared. Now that my son has basically nailed down his list of schools and they are mostly safeties based on his stats, the 35C is just a luxury number will look good when determining merit aid. But he may have gotten full ride offers from some of his schools on his list with a 30 ACT. But I am hopeful that the good score will help while applying to some great summer programs…