Would usefulness of retesting vary depending on the targeted college? The race of the applicant? Their socioeconomic background? Other application factors?
Take a case study:
Personal stats: An ACT math/science/english/reading score of 35/35/36/36; composite 35.5 → 36; Unweighted GPA 4.00 and (School) Weighted GPA 4.65. SAT 1560.
Race: Asian (Vietnamese) and White.
Goals: Premedical studies to become physician.
Target Colleges: Stanford, Harvard, UT Health Honors (looking for full ride, third gen legacy but technically OOS), UO Stamps/Honors, Northwestern HPME (OOS), UW Honors (OOS), Johns Hopkins University (OOS).
EC: Varsity swim team for 3 years and team 2nd in state, job shadowed 2 physicians, 2 surgical viewings, ~150 hours
volunteering in hospital with patient interaction and ~40 hours other volunteering, child and adult swim instructor and lifeguard for 2 years, 1 summer/school year internship with researcher at local university, co-founder and board member of UNICEF Club (2 yrs; editor and treasurer) and MDJunior club (1 yr; VP), NHS member (2 yrs).
Other: 4-HL IB Diploma Candidate, has taken 3 semesters of dual-enrollment calculus and 1 semester of dual-enrollment linear algebra @ 11th grade, teachers estimate top 1-2% of graduating class and state very well respected by faculty and students in recommendation letters.
How likely would this example be to achieve his collegiate and career goals? Should the example retest ACT? SAT?
Please please PLEASE do not retake your 36 ACT. The odds of you ending up with a 35 or lower are MUCH higher than getting straight 36s. The risk far outweighs the practically non-existant reward.
Retaking the ACT with that score is a waste of time. My son is at Stanford and wants to go to med school. Your stats are better than his but remember Harvard and Stanford rejects students with perfect scores. I would focus on your essays. Those essays will give you the opportunity to separate yourself. Good luck.
Better to spend your time volunteering in medical facilities/doing medical research if you are applying to HPME.
If your career goal was to be an ACT tutor & own your own tutoring company, then my response might be different. But for one aspiring to be a physician & to get into the most selective universities in the US, a little commonsense is more valuable than trying to perfect your ACT score of 36 with another “better” score of 36.
Waste of time and energy to retake any of those tests. Spend that time and energy on writing the essays, building relationships with teachers and parents, and being a teenager.
There has to be something you can better spend your time on.
Honestly, if I was an AO and saw that you had this score but retook it, I’d ding you just for that. Good thing I’m not an AO.
I agree with @suzy100 completely. Retaking will, IMHO, ruin your chances. There is literally no reason to do so.
MODERATOR’S NOTE:
Closing thread. There is nothing more to say, particularly since the applicant is not asking for him/herself and has disapproved since posting.