<p>DianeR: It's true that you can choose just your best ACT score to send to colleges, but if you have them all sent to your high school it's possible that they'll all appear on your HS transcript, which is then sent to colleges (check with your high school). Though these are not "official" scores, the college would see how many times you tested. If you want to avoid this, just don't put down your HS code when you register. This has no negative consequences and you can always send your best score to your HS later if you want.</p>
<p>Hmm, I hadn't heard that one before, Mrs. F. I homeschooled my daughter, so this wasn't a concern.</p>
<p>I don't know why anyone would need the scores to be sent to the high school anyway.</p>
<p>My daughter took the ACT twice and only specified the NCAA Clearinghouse in advance (we figured she would score high enough, there would be no detriment, and it would save a little money).</p>
<p>24 is a bit on the low side. He seems like a very intelligent, well-rounded student. Why doesn't he try the SAT? What were his PSAT scores? I think he has the capability to do really well. If ACT is for some reason necessary, 32+ is what he should aim for.</p>
<p>question on a couple of the comments stated:</p>
<p>how do i prevent my high school (which i know they do put on the transcript, just figured that out) and universities from receiving my scores.</p>
<p>I know if you just dont put a college code it wornt send, and you could request score reports to be sent out at your discretion ($7.00) but when you send al these score reports from the ACT, do the admissions committee see all the scores you send, or do they just stay on record at the school. </p>
<p>and what was the comment about not sending it to your high school? im thinking that its just so it wont appear on your transript?</p>
<p>The reason for sending scores to a college, and the reason colleges request them, is for the admission's committee to see them and consider them in making decisions. Perhaps I'm not following your question?</p>
<p>Yes, the reason cited for not sending scores to your high school was for those schools who put them on your transcript and you aren't sure you want those particular scores to be reported.</p>
<p>My counseler really stressed that 3 times for a test should be the maximum. Once to test the waters and see where you stand on the test, once to take after a month or two of studying, and if you really need it, a third time to max that score. 7 times is excessive, and would probably raise a red flag at the ivies or any other college. Though he may get that 34 or 35, getting that score is much more impressive on the first or second try then it is on the seventh. That being said, your son is a bright, well-rounded student. The key on these tests is knowing what concepts they will be testing for, and knowing in what way they will be testing them. If you read a review book and take a few practice tests, its fairly easy to see that they aren't really that creative in how they test the material. They'll do it the same way over and over again. Review the mistakes from the practice test(to notice the patterns in questions), brush up on some grammar and algebra, and I bet your son will get a great score the next couple times he takes the test.</p>
<p>
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would probably raise a red flag at the ivies or any other college. Though he may get that 34 or 35, getting that score is much more impressive on the first or second try then it is on the seventh.
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</p>
<p>I completely disagree; seeing that this is the ACT and the student has the option of chosing which scores to send, no school will ever have to know how many times the student took the test. In addition, the CommonApp, which I think has the most, has blanks for only two ACT tests...I for one, wouldn't list all of my scores--I took the test in the 7th grade, but I would NEVER discolse that score to any college for fear of being laughed out! </p>
<p>Although getting that high score the first or second time would look more impessive, it really doesn't matter which time the student gets it. There's no advantage for college admissions for getting a high score your first or last time on the ACT. Once again, how would a college know if you're taking the test for the first or last time if you don't tell them about every time you took the test? The only advantage is a timesaving advantage saving the student time from having to prepare again for the test and waking up so early that Saturday morning.</p>
<p>Go ahead and take the test as many times as possible to raise those scores- it can never hurt you with the ACT. However, keep in mind that students' scores don't always improve after taking the same test multiple times. In case this happens- remember that a mediocre ACT score wouldn't have to kill his chances at a competitive college- there are some top schools that will look at applicants a bit more holistically. These would include mostly LACs (some of which have "SAT/ACT optional" policies), but a couple of the Ivies are also known for a more "holistic" approach: Brown and Columbia (although these schools still have very high SAT/ACT averages) Your son's best chance is to get his ACT score up (to the 30 range). But, if that doesn't work, his future is by no means destroyed.</p>
<p>I am not familiar with ACT. Im international. Some said that HYP prefer SAt over ACT, Is this true?
Is ACT more preparable than SAT( since this is an aptitude test)?
My son is having a difficult time with the CR section. Is the reading section in ACT easier than SAT?</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>Harvard and Yale say they take either test. They can have a preference if they want, so I see no reason why they would lie. The Princeton web site is ambiguous. At one place it says either test; at another, it says that the ACT is acceptable if every other school being applied to requires the ACT. So if it is Princeton you want, you would have to get clarification from them.</p>
<p>As far as other schools, Wake Forest just mentions taking the SAT and Randolph Macon says it prefers the SAT. That's all people have been able to point me too as colleges requiring or preferring the SAT anymore, and I've been arguing about this subject for years.</p>
<p>It used to be that colleges in different areas of the country relied on different tests. The colleges have changed, but the test-taking habits of people in different parts of the country haven't. You will see folks repeating the preference idea quite a bit, but the colleges themselves deny it. There is an accepted chart for converting scores in one test to those of the other, so even if a college is more accustomed to getting a particular test it can easily assess an applicant taking the other.</p>
<p>Some people find the SAT easier, some the ACT, some do equally well. The only way to know with your son is to have him take a practice ACT.</p>
<p>thank you for your reply DianR</p>
<p>Getting a tutor may be a good idea, but I'm a proponent of self-study. I see no reason why with enough practice and general studying (The ACT is largely content-based...it's nothing this kid hasn't done in school) he can't raise his score at least 5 points on the composite. I studied a little bit and got a 34... but then again everypne's different. And if you are going to do some sort of supplemental class/tutor, I would suggest a class... seeing people succeed around you is always motivating.</p>
<p>sophmore year is a little early to take it and expect a great score...it is a good practice experiance though. End of Junior year will probably give him the best score especially when related to what you are learning in school. Hey, it worked for me...(34)</p>
<p>I agree with laurah1027. Sophomore year is a bit too early for these tests. In sophomore year, your son may not have had the mathematics experience to do well yet. Sure, he can study a ton for it, but it's quite a different thing from studying it to using it in a class everyday.
Whatever you decide, though, best of luck!</p>
<p>I just skimmed the responses so blondie you may have already answered this, but why did your son take the test as a sophomore (seems pretty unusual)? I'm a senior now but I took the ACT last April (when I was junior) and a lot of people though THAT date was rather soon (opposed to taking in later in June or taking it in the fall -- now). Your son's 24 is going to increase dramatically if he prepares well and simply attends school. A 24 isn't a bad score (considering the nation's avg is 21) but if he wants to get into a school with a strong medical program, he'll need a much higher composite. Good luck.</p>
<p>Perhaps this message is too late, but here goes anyway.</p>
<p>Taking the ACT as a sophomore is a good thing insofar as it will familiarize him with the test format (which is quite different from normal tests taken in high school courses), but you shouldn't place too much weight on his score. As a sophomore, he most likely has not had the curriculum necessary to ace the ACT. The math section, for example, has questions on trigonometry and "advanced" algebra, and these topics usually aren't covered until the junior or senior years (which one depends on the school and the student's choice of courses). The English section tests for awareness of parallel structure and other "higher-level" concepts that he may not be familiar with yet as a sophomore.</p>
<p>A 24 as a sophomore is a pretty good score. </p>
<p>You should have a band of potential score range on the report. The upper limit is a pretty good predictor of what the ultimate score will be by the time your child hits senior year.</p>
<p>I just pulled out my kids PLAN report and his hs. The kids who ranked in the top 1/4 of the class had an "average" score of 27 which provides a range into the 30 plus.</p>
<p>as your kid gets accustomed to the test and its time constraints he will get better. </p>
<p>I think a 24 has a projected high of 29--with some prep and continued good education in class you should do a little better.</p>
<p>Just to correct the misconception- you can take the ACT/SAT as many times as you want, even a 100 times! The colleges will only see the highest score.</p>
<p>yea but see sometimes schools put all the scores on your transcript (like my school), which really really sucks</p>
<p>you need to relax on the hs reflecting all of the scores.</p>
<p>colleges will take the best composite score as they use it to their advantage as well as the student's advantage. some will even take the best individual sections from various test dates (you can get an idea if they do that from looking at the common data set of the school in which they break it down by subsection--altho not every school does so)</p>
<p>the score doesn't define you except at the standardized test whore schools which can be readily identified thru scattergrams from various high schools.</p>