<p>My DD has taken the ACT two times. Both resulted in a composite of 34 but had slight differences in the subjects. </p>
<p>ACT 1= eng 35,math33,reading33,science 33 writing 8</p>
<p>ACT 2= eng 35,math33, reading36, science 30 writing 9</p>
<p>I think they are really similar. Since her college list is long (looking for Merit $$) I would like to save some money and submit only one score if they are basically the same. I am hoping the writing counts for very little! My DD thinks the ACT 1 is better since the science is a 33 and she will be a PSY major with her sights on Med School. She is applying to selective schools (no ivies) and some lower tier.</p>
<p>ermmm…
well…i know quite a few schools that have policies that you have to submit ALL scores, so i don’t know if that will be an option</p>
<p>also, if you want to save money, can’t your HS just put both sets of scores on her transcript? I know like 3 of my colleges will accept scores like that, and thus wil save some money…</p>
<p>I agree with your reasoning about the higher science score, and that ACT is for the most part equally strong across the board. I would send ACT I.</p>
<p>Here’s a vote for submitting her test 2, with the better Reading and Writing scores. And perhaps submitting both sets of scores to the one or two colleges she really, really wants to attend or colleges known for superscoring the ACT.</p>
<p>Hey Rocket,
Well I have to admit I dont know alot about this since this is my oldest and our first time through the college admission maze. I didnt know schools listed your ACT on your transcript. I thought you had to pay to have them sent to all the schools you were applying to. I also thought you could choose which ACT you wanted unlike the SAT (until recently) which you had to send all. I guess I have alot to look into.</p>
<p>spring,
Both are very strong scores, and I doubt that choosing one over another will have any difference in admissions. And it is true that the science score has nothing to do with scientific knowledge.</p>
<p>However, some schools superscore the ACT, and at such schools your D’s composite for the 2 scores combined will be 35, and this might make a difference in merit scholarships, so you might want to look into that…</p>
I didnt know schools listed your ACT on your transcript.
[/quote]
Some do, some don’t. And some colleges will accept scores from the transcript, but some require the official score reports.
[QUOTE=spring162]
I also thought you could choose which ACT you wanted unlike the SAT (until recently) which you had to send all.
[/quote]
You can choose which ACT sitting to send. That’s the good news. The bad news is, if you want to send results from multiple sittings, you have to pay for each one separately. Many colleges request that you report every result so they can get a more complete understanding of the student’s background. How you handle that is up to you, but the colleges typically mean it when they say they’ll count the student’s highest scores.</p>
<p>Quite a few colleges are relatively new to the ACT, so their policies may vary on superscoring (very common with SAT scores). If you know that a college superscores ACT results, your daughter can benefit by sending both sets of scores to that college.</p>
<p>Edit: In case you’re not yet familiar with superscoring, that means they cherry-pick the best scores from each sitting. Your daughter’s ACT 1&2 superscored: E 35, M 33, R 36, S 33, W 9</p>
<p>What is it, $9 to send a score? In the grand scheme of things - especially college tuitions - that is not even chump change. Send both and let the colleges figure it out. </p>
<p>Re: science scores, we visited a college last week that told us in the Info Session that they do NOT count the ACT science score. They re-average the Writing, Math & Reading into a new composite score without the science. They feel that’s more fair because it becomes more directly relatable to the SAT. I don’t know if other schools also do this, but it’s something to consider.</p>
<p>As far as transcript scores, my school will put it on your transcript to try to save kids a few bucks. Pitzer, Union, and Smith (which are all practically test-optional anyways) will take them like that</p>
<p>Pomona and UAlabama want the ones direct from the ACT people</p>
<p>Interesting to note that we went to Kalamazoo college yesterday and asked Admission rep. that was interviewing my DD what she thought. She thought the higher science was better as they dont take the writing portion into consideration. I couldnt find any of the colleges that my DD is interested in on the “superscores” list so I am still leaning towards only submitting one. DD has an extensive list (10 schools or so) so I could be in the poor house paying for all these scores to be reported. Not sure yet what Ill do.</p>
<p>I have called some admissions offices at schools that my son is interested in. Even though they do not appear on superscore lists, many do superscore!</p>
<p>Some more things that some schools said:</p>
<p>Some said that they only care about the composite score, some qualified it further by saying that they glance at subscores but are mainly interested in the composite. Some said that they are concerned with the English score and the composite, and one said that the reading score and the composite are most important to them. Another school said that the science section is only important to them for nursing students only. Hope this helps.</p>
<p>Our school listed ACT score on the transcript but you could select which one or all of the sittings to send - so that was free - why don’t you check with the GC to see if the school does this. Otherwise send both scores to the really ‘important’ schools on the list. Some colleges D applied to did want the score sent from the testing agency so we had to pay for some. This is one of those annoying but necessary expenses.</p>
<p>If I had to choose one to send it would be #2 though (by the way - great scores - congrats to your D!).</p>
<p>Many schools superscore the SAT, very few superscore ACT (and none that son applied to or thought of applying to). Most looked primarily at the composite score and some specifically say you can submit more than one test date but that they do not superscore either subtests or composites. Also, This is the first I’ve ever heard of any school requiring submission of all test scores. Can I get an example there? And while SAT has a new situation of score choice, it is true that many schools will opt out of this and receive all scores. All of this said, most schools like to see kids at their best and don’t go looking for the worst. I suggest not trying to game the system.</p>
<p>I’d choose to send the higher reading, or the set that has the highest subscores across the board vs one really high subscore resulting in the same composite.</p>
<p>ACT science score reflects reading comprehension, not scientific knowledge. I think these are pretty much identical scores. If money is not an issue, it would not hurt a bit to send both, IMO.</p>