this is a very good point, especially for CMU/MIT / Stanford - – not sure about Stanford but pretty sure MIT 50th ptile is perfect math scores and CMU for an ECE or CS or any eng. degree is too…
I got a 36 on reading, 36 on math, and a 34 on english. Thanks for the help
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No need to worry about taking ACT Science 
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I thought I was going to retake it by my counsellor said it would only be necessary if I did not get the 36 on math, which fits with what seems to be the consensus here.
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I agree, and you go to a high rigor HS with good outcomes, so definitely would go with their judgement anyway! They know your local context.
I wouldn’t be surprised if dog_guy gets admitted to every college he applies to. The only valid rejection I can think of would be poor environmental fit or too many EE applicants. He has built up quite an impressive profile. Whether the ACT math is 34, 35, or 36 shouldn’t matter here. Mastering subjects like differential equations and linear algebra places him in a different classification for admission. Most engineering students start out with Calc I or II. And as a full-pay Hispanic male applicant, why would any college reject him?
Your counselor is right! DO NOT RETAKE THE ACT OR ATTEMPT THE SAT!
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Thanks for the kind words. What I a getting here and other places like my school college specialist is that schools with such low acceptance rates are too unpredictable for applicants without a strong hook, legacy, recruited athlete, etc. Admission rates are sub five and that is after looking at a pool of admits who are already top students. Looking forward to getting my decisions and figuring out where I get to go.
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Low acceptance rates, like ones below 5%, can be intimidating but not everyone applying has the same or similar academic and activities profile as yours. You should only be concerned with the admit rates for students with SAT math of 800 and ACT math of 36, if disclosed. Those rates aren’t anywhere close to overall admit rates. Strong hook, legacy, recruited athlete are sometimes overemphasized by counselors. Many applicants falling in these categories receive rejections each year.
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Thank you for the info and help
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MIT doesn’t take many 34 maths, nor does CMU or Stanford, MIT 25th percentile is 35 for math.. …So surprising…not impossible. And the poster has a 36 anyway!
I wouldn’t be floored if he gets into all of them, it is possible as I said, but I would be surprised by MIT. As I said, the kids I am NOT surprised by are few and far between and have had things like making a national final for a sport AND awards in STEM, things that like 2 kids won, or were doing calc in 3rd grade and were doing truly grad-level STEM work in HS. Those kids don’t surprise me. Pretty much everyone else surprises me as the competition is just that much - maybe because I come from a VERY STEM-heavy area where local competition is fierce?
That isn’t THAT rare in parts of the country. Maybe 20% of kids in my kids class will have done so, and most don’t get into MIT. (more than 3%, yes, but very few) and they all have 34+ all our equivalent math (usually perfect) and excellent ECs.
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I’m glad he did achieve the 36 in math but even with a 34 (which is also 99th percentile), it shouldn’t matter given his academic profile. Few students are able to take subjects like multivariable calculus and linear algebra during high school and assuming he has earned A’s in all of these courses. For example, he scored a 34 in English. Perhaps he just had a bad day or placed more emphasis on the math and reading that day. It wouldn’t be worth him time or money to retake, even if the math were the 34. He is not going to get a rejection from any college for failing to achieve a 36 on a math ACT instead of a 34, a superficial reason. (A different applicant with just Precalculus or Trigonometry/College Algebra might have to!) A better use of his time would be gaining exposure to differential equations, introductory analysis, and understanding mathematical proofs. An ACT math score of 36 is not required. AP Physics C, Mechanics and E&M would be nice too, if offered, if he hasn’t taken them yet.
That is really crazy where I am from. I am at a prestigious prep school and only about 1 students in every class of 250 gets out of calc bc. But it makes sense since you seem to be from new England. It is likely the second or third most competitive region outside of California and maybe New Jersey/ New York, from what I’ve heard.
Thanks for providing this info. I can almost guarantee if you were to analyze all of the college admissions of those 20% for the past five or ten years and also earning ACT 34, 35, 36; you’ll discover admitted, waitlisted, and rejected across all three scoring cohorts: 34, 35, 36. None of the 34’s and 35’s were rejected for non-36 ACT math scores.
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EE is more applied math than math proofs. Of course, an EE student who likes math proofs can choose to go further in that direction, but it is not necessary. Actual math requirements are typically calculus, multivariable calculus, linear algebra, and differential equations; upper level EE courses can include applicable applied math topics. Discrete math may be specified where EE merges into computer engineering and computer science.
Only a few colleges (Caltech, Harvey Mudd) have math courses emphasizing proofs as part of their general education requirements.
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That is weird for a “prestigious prep school.” wow. I went to an ivy a million years ago and nearly all my peers had taken AP calc (or equivalent) in HS so I would expect now would be at least a bit more most places given competition…(and this was- even almost all the non-STEM kids like me.)…. There a few from rural areas that hadn’t…(of course, this is before they went out of their way to recruit as widely!)
Anyway, I am assuming Original Poster goes to a rigorous school given stats and context they have and that stem kids would often be a year head. (though not always).
Our local PUBLIC school with almost 2K students (so not tiny) - non-magnet, just geography - over 50% take AP Calc of some sort…and cohort of top kids take AP BC as juniors….(note they do EITHER AB or BC, not a sequence) and this isn’t considered a super top public.. so maybe 10% there are out of BC as juniors? The MIT admits are doing math beyond school, though.
AOs look at local context….
My school is really weird on math sequences for some reason. You have to take both ap calc ab and bc. Also, they discouraged students from trying to get ahead in the math sequence due to the preference of the last math chair. This policy was actually changed this year and I think in the next five years it will go back to the top five or ten percent of students progressing past the ap math courses into dual enrollment because before it used to be a lot more.
That happens! Our public school was like that, actually…so most kids aren’t jumping…it is only because they have geometry in 8th at public that kids are in BC as juniors..(though some kids are doing stuff in summers anyway in parrallel)
My private school kid, they make it hard, but not impossible, and kids do it anyway.
Seems like they are trying to push back on the math acceleration race that seems to be going on, sometimes to the detriment of students who are merely good (not great) at math but are pushed into the +2 or +3 tracks “so that they won’t be behind”. But the two year sequence of AB then BC does not really make that much sense, since calculus in 11th grade (+2 track) should be for very strong students in math who should have no trouble taking all of BC in one year after precalculus.