Bad ACT and wanting to apply to NU, Tufts, BC...

c0llegenerd
Sun, 11 Nov 2018 17:57:26 +0000

If your curriculum schedule, grades, and extracurriculars are very impressive, it is sometimes okay to have a lower ACT.

From my perspective as an ACT/SAT tutor at a tutoring center, I work with a lot of kids trying to raise ACT/SAT scores to get into selective schools-- NU, BC, and Tufts averages are around 32s. If you still have time to take one more ACT, I would recommend doing that. If not, colleges sometimes understand that standardized testing is tough for some kids even though they are very brilliant.

Specifically for these competitive schools, I think your odds of being accepted are low, BUT you never know! I have not seen your grades or extracurriculars, and sometimes colleges accept people because of an outstanding essay.

Also remember; although numbers play a big role in admissions, scores and grades aren’t everything. Keeping up with impressive extra curricular and writing AMAZING essays on the college apps will go a long way.