<p>I’m from India with great grades in school, intense passion for ECs and my ongoing research, and of course an Ivy(or equivalent) aspirant. Then things narrowed down to the ACT. I prepared for a month and in my first attempt I got: 27 composite ( 28 E - 32 M - 19 R - 28 S) because the proctor skimmed 5 minutes in reading. I signed up for the second got a 28 composite ( 26 E - 32 M - 26 R - 26 S), and that becomes even more disappointing. But the fact is that I haven’t got below 31 on my fully timed practice tests- all sections given at once. I used the legit Real ACT and the past tests’ PDFs from the official website for practice tests. Relative to the test, I am outstanding at Math and Science, and good at English. I have never got less than 34 Math, 28 English, 28 Reading, 32 Science on my practice tests. I cannot really understand what is going on. Would someone kindly help if possible?
P.S. SAT II : 780 Math, 770 Physics; Expecting great AP scores in a few days. </p>
<p>Maybe test anxiety? Also - have you tried the SAT?</p>
<p>Yeah, but not too intense.
I chose ACT because I don’t have a good vocabulary. Now I feel the need to try SAT diagnostic test in a few days. But if I were not doing good on ACT practice tests, I would have surely considered SAT immediately. </p>
<p>@irlandaise
Do the colleges take into account that some people cannot test well, but they are generally excelling?</p>
<p>Not usually, I believe. GPA and tests are both typically categorized as “Very Important” in common set data, and a competitive applicant is expected to have excelled in both.</p>