Worth the Retake?

Test Preparation
1

<p>Since I live in North Carolina, we get to take the ACT for free through school. I took it without any preparation (other than taking the Plan the year before) & my score were as follows:
English- 30
Math- 28
Reading- 36
Science- 28
Writing- 6/26
Composite- 31</p>

<p>I am trying to go to UNC Chapel Hill. I know a 31 is a good overall composite score for them, however my math & science scores are in the lower 25th percentile for Chapel Hill & my writing score could also be better. I think if I looked through some stuff I could probably increase them, but to be honest my reading score was very unexpected. I thought the reading section was incredibly easy, but I don't know if I could get a 36 again. Do colleges really care about the specific section breakdowns or is it just the composite they are concerned with? Also, is it worth the risk to retake just to increase some of the sections even with the possibility that my reading could go down? Thanks for any input.</p>

2

<p>Not sure. I know that engineer schools will probably care about your math and maybe science. However, math isn’t really a hard subject to improve (especially the ACT), and same with English. But yeah, I would retake it. Even if you have 4.0 GPA, a 31 score is a maybe to get into top tier school like UNC Chapel Hill. Now, you definitely have a good chance, but without more information, I can’t give an accurate prediction. You should ask the school if 31 is enough, because i went to UIUC, and they said I need at least 32. </p>

<p>EDIT:
I also heard some colleges take the best score for each section of the test. Like if you improve your math but not reading, it will take the reading score from this test and math score from next. I’m not very sure tho. I would treat it like it doesn’t.</p>

3

<p>Ya definitely retake it. Most people take it at least twice. You can get a higher score by using the REAL ACT Prep Guide. It comes with tips , what the ACT has, and 5 practice tests. The best way to prepare is to practice taking tests. Hope you do well! My first time is this Saturday, wish me Luck!</p>

4

<p>Most schools DO NOT superscore the ACT. However, you should try to get all your scores above 30. If you took it without any prep, you most definitely should take it again and study for it this time.</p>

5

<p>@guineagirl96 do you have any suggestions for studying for it?</p>

6

<p><a href=“http://www.freetestprep.com/blog/resources/list-of-colleges-and-universities-that-superscore-the-act-test/”>http://www.freetestprep.com/blog/resources/list-of-colleges-and-universities-that-superscore-the-act-test/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>UNC (all of them apparently) superscore the ACT. There’s no reason not to take it to begin with, and this gives you an even better shot. Good luck with the ACT, if you get a 30 on both of those you can definitely get a very respectable superscore for UNC :slight_smile: </p>