Should my child retake it? Science was the lowest. Should she wait until after April ?
Our college counselor (private) said anything 34 or above he would leave. What were the scores from the other sections?
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Previously didnāt you say your child is at a rigorous private boarding school and had a 34 ACT score?
Again, I would defer to the guidance counselors at the boarding school for advice. They will know the student, the colleges being considered, how a 33 fits in with the studentās overall academic profile, etc.
The issue of whether to retake will be dependent on many factors including (but not limited to): the colleges the student is aiming for, if the student feels improvement is possible, the studentās area of interest, if colleges of interest are test optional, etc.
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I agree with the above but 33/34 is like the holy grail for most schools. If the student studies their weakness and refreshes their strengths you might be able to move the needle to 34. Itās harder to move up higher when your score is already high. Unless there is a much lower section and obvious reason for it to be low and your student can fix that. Or a section your student is strong in and you raise that one by correcting what went wrong.
Check out the 5lb Act book. Tons of problems. Some say harder then the actual test. See how your student does. But either use it as a review or really set up practice days that can mimic the actual test. Wake up, shower, eat breakfast and maybe take them to a library to do the test kinda thing
This link was for title of the book. I wouldnāt buy a used one since students write on these pages.
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The 34 my child opted for a writing section that has a 6. So we are considering using the 33 without the writing section
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It absolutely seems crazy, as a 33 is an amazing score BUT our kids HS (independent) recommended only to submit if the score is a 34 or higher - this was several years ago and still the case.
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Since no college cares about the writing score anymore, your real question is if the student should retake a 34. And my general answer is no, unless as above there are schools on the list where a 35 would be more competitive - basically MIT-level.
But none of us know your kid or their target colleges. So really, Iād defer to the GC at this highly competitive private HS. To
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My kid had a 34 and didnāt report it b/c his SAT was higher.
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Thatās crazyā¦perhaps a few schools that would be true, but even so, they will then assume it is much lower. A 33 is 98th percentile!
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All depends on schools your kid is applying to and your kidās Major. Check CDS of each school for test ranges.
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Is there a downside to taking it again? Besides the cost? If your student wants to try for an extra point or 2, why not go for it?
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Opportunity cost. Assuming prep time is involved, is the time better spent on other aspects that have a better ROI?
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What schools are they looking ?
Retake, 34 is the safe level for the best schools. Plus the science section is the easiest to improve with extra practice tests. A higher test score is the most important variable for admission.
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What other aspects do you think have a better ROI than improving oneās test score?
Citation? Because I donāt think this is true. I am willing to be persuaded, though, if you can show me some proof that your assertion is correct.
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Iām replying to the OPās question
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Without knowing the universities in question, which the OP has deigned not to share, and without seeing the application, itās pointless to speculate whether spending time to retake a 34 makes sense from an ROI perspective.
But IME, the vast majority of schools considering a 34+ important, also consider their specific essays important. And Iāve read a lot of crappy, repurposed essays from students with a 36 who are surprised that they werenāt accepted.
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Ok so I wasnāt missing anything when I asked - because the answer is different if it were a UC, Alabama, Miami of Ohio vs a Brown or Columbia.
The question cannot be answered other than with āit dependsā without specifics.
If OP were fair to the group and mentioned specific schools such as Brown, then itās highly likely it would matter with perhaps a 34 not being enough.
At the UCs (test blind) or Alabama (32 gets you the highest merit), it wouldnāt.
So itās an unfair question or rather asked in an incomplete way.
The OP is not being āunfair.ā The OP is free to share as much or as little information as he/she chooses. In return, responders are free to give an opinion based on what is provided, not answer, or (as I did above) say it depends on factors not shared including the colleges being considered.
Additionally, the OPās child is a student at a rigorous private boarding school and is likely to get the best advice from the guidance counselor.
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