<p>what is an acceptable act score for colleges like princeton, yale and stanford?</p>
<p>My best estimate of Yale is that a 32 would be too low in most cases (even though a 32 is the 99th %tile) . P'ton appears to harbor ill will toward the ACT (only grudgingly accepts it). I know nothing of Stanford as my kid didn't consider it. She was accepted to Yale with a 35 and zero SAT or SAT Subject tests. A 35 on the concordance is a 1580.</p>
<p>If you search the ACT forum, you should find a thread where people were posting statistics and anecdotes about ACT scores and the Ivy League.</p>
<p>You can just look up the middle 50 percent score range for each school, too. Of course, you don't know how many of those kids also took the SAT.</p>
<p>My daughter is finishing her first year at Brown. She had a 30 (also with no SAT I or II). But Brown is a place that says it looks at ACT component scores; the ones relevant to what she wants to do averaged 33. She also had some qualitative things going for her. In other words, "an acceptable act score" will keep you in the running, but won't get you in. I've also heard that Brown isn't as keen on stats as other places; certainly lots of kids with top test scores don't get in. Princeton and Yale may be more "quantitative" -- my daughter didn't get into Yale. But it could have been the Brown courses on her transcript, the Brown professors writing her recommendations, and the desired major that is better covered at Brown. LOL</p>
<p>For Stanford, I really don't know. My son didn't get in several years ago, although all his stats would have put him in the higher range there ... </p>
<p>People who have talked to Princeton recently have said that, now, the adcomms simply now say the school takes either test and it doesn't matter. Why do you say Princeton harbors ill will? In the past, this was true, but it was true for many schools; Princeton has just been slower to see the light :) Of course, College Board is located in the same town ...</p>
<p>The choice of "ill will" was hastily thought of hyperbole. You are correct that P'ton has very recently changed the language on their website that mentioned specifically the preference. I am speculating that some remnant of that remains.</p>
<p>what do you mean by "quantitative" measures? if you don't mind dianaR, may i ask what qualitative things your daughter had?</p>
<p>Oh dear, don't expect me to be objective here! I don't want to brag, but I don't know how to explain without it seeming like that. Oh well, I am proud of her.</p>
<p>First of all, she was homeschooled. So she had different courses and her application just looked different. There were course descriptions (practically everything used college-level resources), an impressive reading list (OK, I helped determine that one, but others have seemed impressed ...), work samples, extra recommendations, and the like. Adcomms would have to look at the qualitative factors since she didn't have a GPA (I didn't grade), a class rank, or the like. The application showed academic challenge and achievement and had to be taken on its own terms if that makes any sense; she couldn't be compared to someone else.</p>
<p>She is interested in Egyptology. She had three correspondence courses with an Egyptologist in England and one from the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, plus lots of history and three years each of Latin and Greek. The English Egyptologist wrote one of her recommendations. She also included two work samples, a translation of a hieroglyphic passage and a short research paper, with that professional's evaluation. </p>
<p>She took courses two summers at Brown. So she had recommendations from those professors as well.</p>
<p>Her ECs were acceptable. She had fenced for five years at that point and competed nationally (not recruited, though). She was top flute at a local youth orchestra too, and had a couple other things.</p>
<p>She also had a killer personal essay. She had intensive special education classes for years due to a language delay; in the beginning it was thought that she might never even develop language. So to be able to work hard and end up scoring at the 99th percentile in the verbal sections of the ACT had to be impressive. It also explained how she happened to come to homeschool. I can see how this essay would make her stand out -- for some schools it might have hurt, for others, helped. I think it would be difficult not to have a reaction to it one way or the other.</p>
<p>I think the Egyptology angle is what got her into Brown ultimately. It is the only place in the Western hemisphere with this concentration. It isn't as if the school could think, "Well, she can study this in any number of other places." Her passion and ability in the field were evident, so it was clear she wasn't just trying to game the system by claiming an esoteric major. In the letter she received from an admission's officer, the hand-written comment said it was her interest in Egyptology that was "fascinating."</p>
<p>I've written more than I meant to. Well, you never should ask a parent to describe the wonderful things about her child if you aren't willing to be patient!</p>