Hi, I’m a junior interested in cs and today I got the result of my 3rd act. Last time I got a 36 on reading and during the test I was burned out and decided it would be better to focus on superscore (since i knew i didnt get a perfect math), so I guessed on the reading section saving my energy for science.
It did work but idk if it was worth it. Also i didnt know writing was pointless first time i took it.
Honestly, it probably wasn’t the ideal choice - some schools will ask for the full scores from each test, and so you have something that looks weird - but you are certainly not the only student to have this idea, schools have seen this before, and anyway it’s already done. (A friend of mine’s kid did this exact thing and he’s at his #1 choice.) It’s certainly not worth taking a whole bunch more tests to make it seem less important or disappear from the composite. Congrats on the 36, move on to other things!
If you take them at your word, you’d be ok.
But I would not send a 9,11.
The 9 is in writing. That is not a bad score. Further, virtually no school will look at or care about the writing score (a few do, like, I believe, Georgetown).
For the reasons stated above, the 11 may raise questions. But, if OP were my kid, my advice would be like that of the above responses: great scores and move on from testing.
OK - the 11 - same thing - it stands out as - I was lazy (sorry but that’s what it shows after a 36.
All that said, if someone truly superscores, then it doesn’t matter.
And I believe on common app, they ask only for your highest sub scores so if it’s a self report school, they’ll never know about the 11 until you enroll.
At Georgetown, it might be eliminating as you need to report all.
Thanks for bringing this up, I wanted to ask this actually. On the common app it only asks for my highest composite (34) and each induvidual highest sub score (35,36,36,36 in my case).
I’m curious how schools that don’t superscore (for ex: cmu which still uses common app) consider this since from my understanding they can only see the full scores after I send them the official score report, by then it wouldn’t matter since I would know I was accepted or not. Could this score affect anything after that stage? Attaching their policy for clarification
They may ask on their school specific app. You’ll find out when you make it that far or can look at their app now.
Nonetheless if you plan to apply, this is not a reason not to.
If you don’t get in, you’ll never know why.
CMU will see what you report in the common app and because they don’t superscore the highest composite you report will be the score they primarily use, although I expect they eyeball the section scores too. No need to send them an official score report unless you are accepted and enroll.
I don’t think the low reading score will actually hurt you if you end up having to send it. It’s obvious something went wrong there and that you are capable of much higher (and have scored much higher). I think the AO may be curious though.
Send scores and move on. It’s hard to unsee a 34-36. Not all high test kids do great in the English anyway and usually don’t count much.
So what is your highest single score?
You can see OP’s score report in the first post that shows a 36 in reading.
That’s in his superscore. I wonder what his other ACT looked like…all the subtests and composite.
There is a screenshot of both test results upthread.
I was merely answering a posters question asking what OPs highest reading score was.
Not many schools care about all test scores.
The screen shot is the composite score from three tests and then one of those sittings. We don’t know what the other two test sittings look like.
OP, my interpretation of the CMU policy is that you need to send them your highest score from a single sitting. IMO, they are clear they don’t superscore.
There are plenty of schools though that allow superscoring so I’d personally focus on those and then take your shot at CMU with the highest sitting you have.
CMU allows self-reporting of test scores. That means they accept, via common app, the highest composite score (ETA: from a single sitting). Whether they look at the highest section scores, also reported in common app, we don’t really know. But I expect they do. OP does not have to send an official score report to CMU (which is the only way CMU would see section scores associated with the highest composite score.)
How is that not a superscore then, which CMU says they don’t accept for the ACT?
(I’m not trying to be difficult, just trying to understand).
OP reports their highest composite ACT score from a single sitting in the common app, that’s not a super score. (They also report their highest section scores in common app but common app does not calculate a super score, like ACT’s official report does).
This is what I’m saying.
