When is it worth it to retake the ACT?

<p>Title should explain most of it, but I can expand. For the "average" CC'er, one who is planning on applying to Stanford, a couple Ivies, and many other top schools, when can an ACT be considered good enough?</p>

<p>I'm more than satisfied with my score (a 34 with a 12 essay, though tbh I just had a good day, it was that stupidly hard September test date), but would it be worth it to take it again? I've heard different responses to this question. Some say that at a 34, not even Harvard is going to hold your score against you, and that getting an extra few questions right won't matter because so many other applicants have a 35 or 36. In fact, taking it again to not improve significantly might be looked down upon by some schools that require you to send all ACT scores. Therefore, if it can only hurt you, not help you, then why risk it (hubris is not an acceptable excuse in this situation imo)?</p>

<p>On the other hand, I'm literally one question away from moving up a composite point (34.25), so I should be able to raise it with little prep. And I figure that every point /might/ just make a difference, so why not go for it, ya know? Plus, it might help when applying for merit scholarships, might be a nice talking point in the future, and has to potential to up my superscore for those colleges that superscore the ACT (if I happen to get the same composite).</p>

<p>Anyways, I wanted to hear what some of you think about this topic. To broaden the discussion, I suppose you could talk about at what scores in general you should just stop taking the ACT because it simply isn't worth your time.</p>

<p>A 34’s a really good score. Test scores usually don’t decide victory or defeat…usually it’s some other factor in the application (such as rec letters, EC’s, how well you might “fit” in, etc.). So it might not be worth it to retake, IMO.</p>