Hoping someone can give me some advice… I am a rising senior and I’ve taken the ACT twice. I’m contemplating taking it one more time in September, but I’m not sure if it would make a strong difference in my application…
Here’s a general view of my stats
ACT- 31
4.0 GPA UW
5/140 at a private competitive catholic high school
2 APs junior year
4 APs senior year
*most rigorous course load offered at my school
President NHS
President Model UN
Varsity soccer 4 years (captain MVP)
Varsity softball 4 years (captain 2 yrs. MVP 2 yrs.)
3 year anti-bullying public service campaign
1 month service trip to Haiti- built houses, ran day-camp, etc.
2 Summer internships with local law firm
Strong essays
Strong letters of Reccomendations
White female
I understand my resume is average, if not below average, for most competitive universities and Ivies… However my question is would I be a much more attractive candidate if my ACT score was 1 or 2 points higher? How much of a difference would it make for me? Is it really worth it or should I just go with what I have?
Also are they any schools you think would be a definite match for me?
An ACT 32 is often the threshold for larger merit awards. It can also put you in a better position when admissions looks to see what quartile you’re in.
As for any matches (or safeties), tell us:
how much your family will pay each year
Are you lowish income? and, do you have a non-custodial parent?
What is your major and career goal
What is your home state
Do you like big or small schools? Quiet or “rah rah” schools? rural or city schools?
A 31 is a very good score but you would be smart to have a list of test optional schools.
My other suggestion is to see if your soccer and softball skills are a match for the Division 3 schools, specifically the academic conferences like NESCAC. They typically do not proactively recruit but all the schools have full athletic programs and you should do the online recruiting questionnaires. Many NESCAC schools are test optional and virtually all are listed in the top 20 in the liberal arts college rankings. Patriot League is also another academic conference.
You probably also know you have huge advantage with catholic schools. Holy Cross would be a very safe bet, Boston College solid chance but ND and Georgetown not likely.
Where are you from? Which schools are you considering?
If you plan to study/practice a great deal for the ACTs over the summer then you can give them one more shot. If you don’t have the time/energy to work hard then I wouldn’t expect different results.
And I agree that you need to give more information (preferred size, location restrictions, price restrictions etc.) before anyone can make helpful suggestions.
Have you taken the SAT? It might be at least as beneficial as re-taking the ACT. I think you should try the SAT at least once. Even if your composite isn’t much better, you might have better results on some sections. My son’s final results, after second rounds, were a 31 ACT and 2060 SAT. Those are very similar results, but his section scores varied, showing strengths in all areas (ie. 730 Math SAT/29 Math ACT; 620 Writing SAT, but either a 33 or 35 - I confuse his English and Writing scores - on ACT).
Retake it. Strive to get the score to a 32 at least. Who knows, you might be pleasantly surprised? If 31 was your score from the second sitting, what was your score the first time? Are there odds that you will improve?
“you would be smart to have a list of test optional schools.”
I agree that this is strange advice. A 31 is high enough to help an application at every single test-optional school. Even at Middlebury, Smith, Bowdoin, etc., a 31 is respectable. There’s no reason for this student to seek out test-optional schools.
@mom2collegekids
My parents will most likely pay 40k-50k per year at most. They are 100k+ per year so I assume no financial aid will be offered… I would like to major in political science or something along those lines- as my main goal is to go to law school after undergrad. I live in New York and I really have no preference on size, I have visited many schools and could really find myself fitting in at any of them!
@woogzmama I took the SAT twice, 1900 the first time and 1940 the second time. My ACT seem much stronger as I have 35 in English 34 in Reading 29 in math and 25 in science (yikes)… With a 10 essay!
Shoot for 33 or 34, and you will be competitive everywhere. It’s just a matter of practice, working fast, and avoiding mistakes. Work on your weakest area first, you have 5 months which is plenty of time to improve. S went from 25 to 33 to 36 on by working on weak areas systematically.
With your section scores, definitely retake the ACT. Spend the summer practicing the Science section (think of it as amother Reading section but with charts, graphs and tables) and the Math section. Look at your subsection scores to find weaknesses.
First, Middlebury is not test optional. Second, a 31 would not help at Bowdoin and similar schools given the middle 50% was 30 - 33 with an average of 32.
For a student with a 4.0 gpa unweighted in the top 3.5% of her of class there is no reason to provide data points that are negative outliers when clearly she doesn’t have to. I am not saying a 31 is a bad score but it is a negative outlier compared to the rest of the stats. Submitting the score might give the impression that her GPA and class rank aren’t legitimate. She is the perfect candidate for the upper tier test optional schools.
Family income of 100k+ does not mean you don’t get financial aid. At the more selective schools you are gunning for, income cutoff is different. At Stanford for example, income of 125k still gets you full tuition, full tuition. Don’t make assumptions about financial aid. Your dad or mom should most certainly run the school specific calculators.
The data does not support that a student already with a 31 has a good chance of improving. When it does happen the improvement is a point. You have to weigh the risk of it going down compared to benefit of a 1 point improvement. I don’t think the decision in many situations hinges on a 31 vs a 32.
YMMV but I took it a 3rd time in Selptember last year. I had a 32 twice and figured one more time since I had one “low” subscore, math. I got a 34 and raised my low score to a 31 and got 35/36 on the rest. It was well worth it for me.
32 appears to be the golden ticket for an athlete’s acceptance into a top LAC. A coach said 28 if you are a freshman starter (a stud), 30 if you can contribute as freshman, and 32 for someone who will contribute in future years. I am glad S2 gave it a couple tries.
My experience at a merit aid school was similar. S1 increased his half ride to a three-quarter ride after his fourth ACT and my subsequent negotiation.
