My junior just got her ACT results. Composite of 35, 36 in all but math, which was 30.
She plans to go stem and does science research with Cornell profs.
I think the ACT score is fantastic; she questions whether the 30 in math will hurt her if she decides to apply to Cornell, where she does her research.
Thoughts?
Thanks!
Could go either way. 35 is excellent and a 36 composite won’t necessarily help significantly. If taking the test is awful for her (my kids felt this way) then don’t bother re-taking. If it doesn’t cause too much stress for her, then raising the math score isn’t a bad idea given her desired major. But if she has strong math grades and AP scores it may not matter much.
Thanks, she didn’t exactly love it.
Overall her GPA is 102.
This (junior year), unweighted, so far after 2 MPs:
AP language: 100
Pre-Calc H: 98
AP Bio: 94
Science Research: 100
AP research: 100
AP US Hist: 95
Band: 100
Jazz ensemble: 100
Phys Ed: 100
Heavy science research and working to get published this year.
track/field XC: managing this year due to injury
member of a cover band for several years
Head of 2 clubs for 3 years.
Is there a reason she chose the ACT? Perhaps her score would be more balanced on the SAT? (I do not have any statistics to support this. Just wondering).
She did a test exam of each, and just felt more comfortable on the ACT. No reason beyond that.
I would study just for the math and try taking it one more time. If she doesn’t get higher than the 30 on math I would still submit, but she might as well try to bring that up a bit.
A 35 is fabulous and normally I would not retake. However, given that she is interested in a STEM major and is eyeing a highly competitive college, I’d encourage her to study for the math section and give it one more try.
I would suggest in the strongest possible terms that, if her goals is to be a STEM major at a highly selective university, she tries some different elements of preparation for the math segment and tests again.
For Cornell - 100% absolutely.
A 30 for math in a STEM student may not cut it.
As they superscore, even if other sections fall, those 36s are still protected.
Good luck.
Does your daughter think that she can do better on the math section of the ACT ?
Ask her to take a couple of practice tests to see if she can raise her math score. If she fails to score significantly higher, then she might want to consider sitting for the SAT after taking a few practice tests.
We haven’t discussed that aspect yet, but I’d suspect yes given how she was unaccustomed to the ACT.
Agree with the others that say she should prep specifically for the math section and retake.
Make sure you’re very consistent with the timing for practice tests. I recall one of my kids thinking they’d like the ACT when they did an informal practice test and really didn’t appreciate the time pressure until they did an actual practice test with real time pressure. Ended up much preferring the SAT.
I’m pretty sure she didn’t finish the math section, so you might be on to something. I wasn’t aware of decreased pressure on SAT.
Iirc, the math on the SAT is a bit harder but it’s less of a race against the clock. The ACT is more “trainable” in that with the right practice/drills, you can learn to go faster.
That’s a generalization, but worth considering. For some kids, the time element is really stressful and no amount of drilling will help. You really need to figure out what bothers you more - difficulty or time – and how you’re going to address the challenge of each test.
As for your original question, I think she should prep for the math and try again to improve that subscore.
Our private counselor told us that for STEM or engineering majors that regardless of composite, most schools will want to see a 34 on Math.
Define most schools - because I would say it’s not most schools - but most schools of Cornell’s ilk.
We forget there are hundreds and hundreds of schools and a great STEM education can be had at most every.
I think we should focus on the OPs question which is specifically about the value of retaking the ACT looking towards Cornell. (Of course many outstanding less selective schools have great STEM offerings.)
I did in the first question.
I was simply commenting to the previous poster’s statement. Sorry to get off track.
Great scores but I agree with others that for the most academically rigorous schools a prospective STEM major should look to score a 33 or greater in math. With that in mind I would strongly consider retaking it.
I base this both on my kids experience and the advice given from his private school’s GCs.