<p>In a nutshell: D is a rising senior with a well-chosen (we think!) list of 5-7 urban universities in which she is interested. Most are safeties and matches, and she really likes them all.</p>
<p>She scored a 29 on her ACT (and did not do as well on the SAT, so she won’t be submitting that score.) While maybe not up to CC standards, that 29 puts her in the top 25% of almost all of “her” schools. Given that this score is “good enough”, should she retake the ACT in the fall? Sometimes she says “yes, I want to break 30” (which she could - but she may not), and sometimes she says “that’s it, I’m done.”</p>
<p>If she suddenly decides to add a real reach to that list, I’d definitely say sure, go ahead and take it again. Otherwise - is it worthwhile to retake? Thanks!</p>
<p>Will she be trying to get merit aid? If so, then retake for sure. If not, then being in the top 25% of the range and if she has solid other stats then it’s up to her.</p>
<p>The only downsides to retaking the ACT are personal, whereas potential upsides are both personal AND professional. So logic suggests “Yes.” Still, she’s not in a bad place right now.</p>
<p>Remember that the ACT, unlike the SAT, gives her the option of not reporting her score results from any given test administration(s). As such, she has nothing to lose by retaking. If she retakes the ACT and doesn’t do as well as her current composite score of 29, she can elect not to have that score reported and the colleges will never know. If she does better, she’ll obviously benefit from the submission of that higher composite score.</p>
<p>Scout59, The first time that DD took the ACT, she got a 29. The last time, in October or November (don’t remember exactly) of senior year, she got a 32. Don’t forget that many kids do better the second time that they take the test because they are more familiar with the test. I agree with the other posters who indicated that a higher score may qualify your DD for merit aid.</p>
<p>absolutely yes. retake, and hope for better score. By all means do not have scores automatically forwarded to schools. Wait for result, then choose what to do.</p>
<p>D went from a 31 to a 34 on retake at start of senior year. It’s worth retaking from the standpoint of merit aid. And it’s true that she can choose not to report the score (just leave the “where to send” area blank) … then if the score is better, she can have it sent. If not, it’s just money & a Saturday. If it might net $10k or so, it would be worth it!</p>
<p>With the disclaimer that, though I would rather be sleeping, I actually don’t really mind taking standardized tests, I would definitely say retake. There is very little downside, assuming that the cost of the test is not a burden–after all, your D can always take a nap to make up for lost rest :). </p>
<p>Speaking as a lazy girl who never had the self-discipline to study for standardized tests, I am still pretty impressed by how much my SAT score went up by simply waiting and retaking a couple of times–120 points, from a 2170 to a 2290 (a statistically significant increase, no less). Plus, there is a certain amount of chance involved–whether or not the tester is having a good day, or whether or not the test plays into their hands, so to speak–that makes retaking at least once seem desirable to me. Add to that the fact that the very nice people behind the ACT will only report the score you want them to report, and the downside becomes quite tiny. </p>
<p>I also have to echo the merit aid comments. With my 2170 (1460 M+CR) SAT score, I would have still be admitted to my safety and probably would have received some merit aid as well, and <em>probably</em> have been admitted to my two safe match schools, but likely without any extra perks or $. With my final 2290 (1580 M+CR) SAT score, I all but guaranteed admission to my two safe matches (the rest of my app was good as well, of course), as well as receiving maximum merit aid at my safety, Honor’s Program perks at both of my safe matches, and the maximum merit aid that I personally was entitled to for one of the safe matches. I didn’t end up going to these schools, but that’s not bad for a couple mornings of work, right? Had I needed to go to my safety school, for example, I would have saved my parents about $108,000 over 4 years of tuition, and it would have cost less ($8000 less) than the sticker price of our state school, and I much preferred it to that option in the first place.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies. Basically, you’ve reinforced my initial strategy - retake it, don’t have the scores sent anywhere automatically (she didn’t do that the first time, either), and once she sees the scores from the retest she can decide what to do.</p>
<p>She did a modest amount of prep the first ACT but is willing to do more for a retest… what’s she got to to lose? (except some sleep, as you pointed out, advantagious!) Merit money isn’t critical but would be very nice.</p>
<p>My daughter scored 32 on her first take of the ACT. She wanted to retake because her school of choice looks for 33ACT for honors programs. She retook the ACT, scored 33, got into honors AND was awarded $88,000 in merit scholarships. This will pay for her whole 4 year.
Retake, definitely Retake.</p>
<p>Retake, but wait until early fall senior year - guess you would have to now - but for anyone else listening. It also helps to have a financial goal to shoot for, so look at her schools and try to give her an idea of how much money it will get her.</p>
<p>It’s funny, my son has struggled with standardized tests - he will be a junior this year - after a dismal showing on the PLAN this spring (the PLAN is the ACT equivalent of the PSAT), we made him take the ACT as a soph. He did much better on the real test, although we would so backflips if he made a 29, but when we visited his favorite uni and he heard what score was needed to get in-state tuition, he instantly calculated how much he would need to study to get that score.</p>
<p>The ACT is heavily timed. My son, who is an excellent tester, didn’t even finish the science section. His scores were good enough anyway that he didn’t need to retake, but I’m quite sure he’d have done better on the science a second time. Doing timed practice tests in the most difficult areas for your son might be helpful.</p>
<p>Retake unless your daughter would have to give up something important to do it. For example, if she’s on the varsity field hockey team and that’s very important to her, having to skip a game to take the ACT might be an issue worth considering.</p>
<p>When I was a senior in high school, I did not retake the SAT because I had a part-time job that required me to work every Saturday. If I asked for a Saturday morning off to take the test, I might have lost the job. For me, that was reason enough to avoid the retake.</p>
<p>If she’s game to retake, I’d let her. In my S’s case an increase could have equaled about $500 - $1000 additional merit dollars each year. If that’s important to you or your D and “in play” at her list of colleges then go for it. My S refused to retake the ACT one more time as he had taken three or four times since 7th grade for a specific program he was in. S was just burned out on ACTs, PSATs, SATs, and all that by senior year and I figured if I insisted he would just sluff off and not put any effort into it. Also in my S’s case it wasn’t going to change his changes for admission (a one or two point increase in score) and retaking would solely have potentially impacted his merit $ and his class rank (which at S’s school is formulaic and includes the ACT score). S didn’t care at this point about his class rank and I was willing to forgo the potential bump in merit $.</p>