ACT super score of 33 - retake or good enough?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DH's cousin used to work in college admissions at two highly selective schools:

"We divide up by scores. So let's say ACT - 35/36 go into a pile, then 34, then 33. Blah blah."

OP, as you can see, that puts your DC in the third pile before even read.

This isn’t relevant at most selective schools who don’t get many applicants with 36/35 scores. At the tippy top, sure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Sorry, forgot to mention. Reach schools would be along the lines of UVA, VA Tech, USC, Tulane. Maybe UNC Chapel Hill. Mostly A student, some interesting extra curriculars but no sports, music, etc.

FWIW, a 33 is just a median for last year's entering class at UVA (and the accepted test scores are higher because some applicants decide to go Ivy or to a top SLAC). If you really want to get in and are unhooked, a 34+ will help a lot. My DC got a 34 on the first try and decided (his own decision) to retest and got a 36. At that point unsolicited scholarships started being offered for full tuition. He chose UVA as an Echols Scholar.

Congrats on Echols! The community is great and the flexibility in terms of classes is amazing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DH's cousin used to work in college admissions at two highly selective schools:

"We divide up by scores. So let's say ACT - 35/36 go into a pile, then 34, then 33. Blah blah."

OP, as you can see, that puts your DC in the third pile before even read.

This isn’t relevant at most selective schools who don’t get many applicants with 36/35 scores. At the tippy top, sure.

OP here again. Seems like there's a big difference between a 33 and 34. The 33 is a super score. Both actual tests were 32s. Doesn't seem probable a 3rd time would generate a 34 either on the test itself or by super score. But maybe it's worth a 3rd try?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DH's cousin used to work in college admissions at two highly selective schools:

"We divide up by scores. So let's say ACT - 35/36 go into a pile, then 34, then 33. Blah blah."

OP, as you can see, that puts your DC in the third pile before even read.

This isn’t relevant at most selective schools who don’t get many applicants with 36/35 scores. At the tippy top, sure.

OP here again. Seems like there's a big difference between a 33 and 34. The 33 is a super score. Both actual tests were 32s. Doesn't seem probable a 3rd time would generate a 34 either on the test itself or by super score. But maybe it's worth a 3rd try?

If it were me I would do the research on the CDS for each school applying, add in another two “likely” schools where a 33 is already well above the 75th percentile and then leave it up to my kid as to if they want to retake it in Feb. If there is one subset that is lower than the rest then it makes a stronger case to retake, as opposed to if they would have to try and raise multiple subsets a lot to get to a composite of 34. A 33 is 98th percentile so I do think things are getting a bit crazy when it is akin to a 1500 on SAT and everyone is crying “retake” for the schools you listed. Many students applying are not even submitting scores so if your child has scores solidly in the 75th percentile of those that do and are attending I say stop the madness. This is very school specific so you need to research on each school Common data set.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here - doing IB so that's the coursework. Interesting about putting applicants in piles with a 33 landing in the bottom third. Yikes! Are there that many students scoring in the 98th percentile+ group?

Well, there are more piles after 33. Cousin's point was that all the 30s just don't go into a pile but they are divvied up accordingly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DH's cousin used to work in college admissions at two highly selective schools:

"We divide up by scores. So let's say ACT - 35/36 go into a pile, then 34, then 33. Blah blah."

OP, as you can see, that puts your DC in the third pile before even read.

This isn’t relevant at most selective schools who don’t get many applicants with 36/35 scores. At the tippy top, sure.

OP here again. Seems like there's a big difference between a 33 and 34. The 33 is a super score. Both actual tests were 32s. Doesn't seem probable a 3rd time would generate a 34 either on the test itself or by super score. But maybe it's worth a 3rd try?

If it were me I would do the research on the CDS for each school applying, add in another two “likely” schools where a 33 is already well above the 75th percentile and then leave it up to my kid as to if they want to retake it in Feb. If there is one subset that is lower than the rest then it makes a stronger case to retake, as opposed to if they would have to try and raise multiple subsets a lot to get to a composite of 34. A 33 is 98th percentile so I do think things are getting a bit crazy when it is akin to a 1500 on SAT and everyone is crying “retake” for the schools you listed. Many students applying are not even submitting scores so if your child has scores solidly in the 75th percentile of those that do and are attending I say stop the madness. This is very school specific so you need to research on each school Common data set.

Really appreciate this info. Super helpful. Super scores are 36 in reading, 34 in English, 34 in science and 29 in math. Math score went from 27 to 29 across two tests. I don't see getting to 34+ in math on a third attempt. Maybe that's being negative but I think two attempts is enough. So stressful on these kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DH's cousin used to work in college admissions at two highly selective schools:

"We divide up by scores. So let's say ACT - 35/36 go into a pile, then 34, then 33. Blah blah."

OP, as you can see, that puts your DC in the third pile before even read.

This isn’t relevant at most selective schools who don’t get many applicants with 36/35 scores. At the tippy top, sure.

Okay, I misused "selective" here: the cousin worked for 2 T5 LACs and 1 T15 university early in career. They know what they are talking about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DH's cousin used to work in college admissions at two highly selective schools:

"We divide up by scores. So let's say ACT - 35/36 go into a pile, then 34, then 33. Blah blah."

OP, as you can see, that puts your DC in the third pile before even read.

This isn’t relevant at most selective schools who don’t get many applicants with 36/35 scores. At the tippy top, sure.

Okay, I misused "selective" here: the cousin worked for 2 T5 LACs and 1 T15 university early in career. They know what they are talking about.

I believe that is true at Amherst or Stanford absolutely, but early in their career all students were submitting scores, yes? So things have changed and the average score now is raising higher at schools like Tulane not because the student population is changing but because only those who have scores at the top are even submitting. I think we need to help our kids but also not get crazy when they are applying to the sorts of schools OP mentioned. I don’t think Tulane has a large stack of 36 ACT scores in that pile you mention, for instance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DH's cousin used to work in college admissions at two highly selective schools:

"We divide up by scores. So let's say ACT - 35/36 go into a pile, then 34, then 33. Blah blah."

OP, as you can see, that puts your DC in the third pile before even read.

This isn’t relevant at most selective schools who don’t get many applicants with 36/35 scores. At the tippy top, sure.

OP here again. Seems like there's a big difference between a 33 and 34. The 33 is a super score. Both actual tests were 32s. Doesn't seem probable a 3rd time would generate a 34 either on the test itself or by super score. But maybe it's worth a 3rd try?

If it were me I would do the research on the CDS for each school applying, add in another two “likely” schools where a 33 is already well above the 75th percentile and then leave it up to my kid as to if they want to retake it in Feb. If there is one subset that is lower than the rest then it makes a stronger case to retake, as opposed to if they would have to try and raise multiple subsets a lot to get to a composite of 34. A 33 is 98th percentile so I do think things are getting a bit crazy when it is akin to a 1500 on SAT and everyone is crying “retake” for the schools you listed. Many students applying are not even submitting scores so if your child has scores solidly in the 75th percentile of those that do and are attending I say stop the madness. This is very school specific so you need to research on each school Common data set.

Really appreciate this info. Super helpful. Super scores are 36 in reading, 34 in English, 34 in science and 29 in math. Math score went from 27 to 29 across two tests. I don't see getting to 34+ in math on a third attempt. Maybe that's being negative but I think two attempts is enough. So stressful on these kids.

But if retaking, only focus is one section, math — so that helps. I think it depends DS if kid is motivated or too stressed out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DH's cousin used to work in college admissions at two highly selective schools:

"We divide up by scores. So let's say ACT - 35/36 go into a pile, then 34, then 33. Blah blah."

OP, as you can see, that puts your DC in the third pile before even read.

This isn’t relevant at most selective schools who don’t get many applicants with 36/35 scores. At the tippy top, sure.

OP here again. Seems like there's a big difference between a 33 and 34. The 33 is a super score. Both actual tests were 32s. Doesn't seem probable a 3rd time would generate a 34 either on the test itself or by super score. But maybe it's worth a 3rd try?

For the schools you mentioned, this is fine. Your kid isn't going to be rejected for a 33. Great score.

For a super competitive top 20 kind of college, you'll need a 35 though.

Your kid needs to decide. What are they aiming for?

Seems like a 35 is doable if you focus on the math. But it's stressful.

My kid had the same situation. He bonked on the science. Had a 33. Studied and retook. Got a 35. Presently in a top 20. Scores matter. But he was focused. And knew where he wanted to go and what it took

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DH's cousin used to work in college admissions at two highly selective schools:

"We divide up by scores. So let's say ACT - 35/36 go into a pile, then 34, then 33. Blah blah."

OP, as you can see, that puts your DC in the third pile before even read.

This isn’t relevant at most selective schools who don’t get many applicants with 36/35 scores. At the tippy top, sure.

Okay, I misused "selective" here: the cousin worked for 2 T5 LACs and 1 T15 university early in career. They know what they are talking about.

It’s a bit different today. You get a point score based on rest; and a point score for GPA; point score for ECs and point score for LOR and the points for other….

They don’t start by segmenting by tests….

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DH's cousin used to work in college admissions at two highly selective schools:

"We divide up by scores. So let's say ACT - 35/36 go into a pile, then 34, then 33. Blah blah."

OP, as you can see, that puts your DC in the third pile before even read.

This isn’t relevant at most selective schools who don’t get many applicants with 36/35 scores. At the tippy top, sure.

OP here again. Seems like there's a big difference between a 33 and 34. The 33 is a super score. Both actual tests were 32s. Doesn't seem probable a 3rd time would generate a 34 either on the test itself or by super score. But maybe it's worth a 3rd try?

For the schools you mentioned, this is fine. Your kid isn't going to be rejected for a 33. Great score.

For a super competitive top 20 kind of college, you'll need a 35 though.

Your kid needs to decide. What are they aiming for?

Seems like a 35 is doable if you focus on the math. But it's stressful.

My kid had the same situation. He bonked on the science. Had a 33. Studied and retook. Got a 35. Presently in a top 20. Scores matter. But he was focused. And knew where he wanted to go and what it took

You can get into top school with 33 but need a really distinguishing story and narrative.

And uncommon major/area of study.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DH's cousin used to work in college admissions at two highly selective schools:

"We divide up by scores. So let's say ACT - 35/36 go into a pile, then 34, then 33. Blah blah."

OP, as you can see, that puts your DC in the third pile before even read.

This isn’t relevant at most selective schools who don’t get many applicants with 36/35 scores. At the tippy top, sure.

OP here again. Seems like there's a big difference between a 33 and 34. The 33 is a super score. Both actual tests were 32s. Doesn't seem probable a 3rd time would generate a 34 either on the test itself or by super score. But maybe it's worth a 3rd try?

For the schools you mentioned, this is fine. Your kid isn't going to be rejected for a 33. Great score.

For a super competitive top 20 kind of college, you'll need a 35 though.

Your kid needs to decide. What are they aiming for?

Seems like a 35 is doable if you focus on the math. But it's stressful.

My kid had the same situation. He bonked on the science. Had a 33. Studied and retook. Got a 35. Presently in a top 20. Scores matter. But he was focused. And knew where he wanted to go and what it took

You can get into top school with 33 but need a really distinguishing story and narrative.

And uncommon major/area of study.

OP here - thanks for this! I guess my concern is that if they take it a third time and the composite score for that test remains a 32 or lower, does that hurt them even if the math score goes up from a 29 to a 33 or 34 let’s say? in other words, I’d hate for it to look like their higher scores in certain sections in the previous two tests were flukes if they go down on a third attempt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DH's cousin used to work in college admissions at two highly selective schools:

"We divide up by scores. So let's say ACT - 35/36 go into a pile, then 34, then 33. Blah blah."

OP, as you can see, that puts your DC in the third pile before even read.

This isn’t relevant at most selective schools who don’t get many applicants with 36/35 scores. At the tippy top, sure.

OP here again. Seems like there's a big difference between a 33 and 34. The 33 is a super score. Both actual tests were 32s. Doesn't seem probable a 3rd time would generate a 34 either on the test itself or by super score. But maybe it's worth a 3rd try?

For the schools you mentioned, this is fine. Your kid isn't going to be rejected for a 33. Great score.

For a super competitive top 20 kind of college, you'll need a 35 though.

Your kid needs to decide. What are they aiming for?

Seems like a 35 is doable if you focus on the math. But it's stressful.

My kid had the same situation. He bonked on the science. Had a 33. Studied and retook. Got a 35. Presently in a top 20. Scores matter. But he was focused. And knew where he wanted to go and what it took

You can get into top school with 33 but need a really distinguishing story and narrative.

And uncommon major/area of study.

OP here - thanks for this! I guess my concern is that if they take it a third time and the composite score for that test remains a 32 or lower, does that hurt them even if the math score goes up from a 29 to a 33 or 34 let’s say? in other words, I’d hate for it to look like their higher scores in certain sections in the previous two tests were flukes if they go down on a third attempt.

Most schools that superscore use a system that shows them only the best scores.

[Anonymous]

3 years ago, DS got into T10 schools w 33 ACT. Even back then, he was advised to retake and shoot for 34 as 34 seemed to be the threshold for many T10&20 schools. I think DS got into those T10 schools because of the ECs witg leadership and 2 summers of paid internships (industry experience). He also had outstanding grades.

In this climate, I would suggest retake. DD ended w a 34 after 2 rounds of ACT. She is stopping even though I think she has the potential for 35. Oh well.