How Good is A Score of 31 on the ACT?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DC got a 31 ACT and got into Oberlin with merit money. It wasn't their top award but we were happy.

What was her GPA? And what kind of high school - public, private, etc.?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think a 31 is fantastic. Still, I'm struck how many prior posters respond that such a score (and even a 30) gets you merit aid and a lot of schools. At my kid's private school, a 30 would be considered to be on the lower end. Still good. But definitely on the average side. Is this a private school v public school difference?

http://www.act.org/content/dam/act/unsecured/documents/Multiple_Choice_STEM_Ranks2016.pdf

A composite score of 30 is at the 94th percentile of test takers nationwide. A 31 is at the 96th percentile.

Not in this area. UMD's mid 50% is 29-33 which means 33 is 75%tile. 25% of kids got higher than 33.

Not in this *area?* I think what you mean is that 31 is not the 96th percentile at *UMD.* But enrolled students at one of the top schools in the area are not representative of the entire area.

No, DMV area is full of high stat kids - 33 and up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think a 31 is fantastic. Still, I'm struck how many prior posters respond that such a score (and even a 30) gets you merit aid and a lot of schools. At my kid's private school, a 30 would be considered to be on the lower end. Still good. But definitely on the average side. Is this a private school v public school difference?

http://www.act.org/content/dam/act/unsecured/documents/Multiple_Choice_STEM_Ranks2016.pdf

A composite score of 30 is at the 94th percentile of test takers nationwide. A 31 is at the 96th percentile.

Not in this area. UMD's mid 50% is 29-33 which means 33 is 75%tile. 25% of kids got higher than 33.

Not in this *area?* I think what you mean is that 31 is not the 96th percentile at *UMD.* But enrolled students at one of the top schools in the area are not representative of the entire area.

No, DMV area is full of high stat kids - 33 and up.

Evidence?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think a 31 is fantastic. Still, I'm struck how many prior posters respond that such a score (and even a 30) gets you merit aid and a lot of schools. At my kid's private school, a 30 would be considered to be on the lower end. Still good. But definitely on the average side. Is this a private school v public school difference?

http://www.act.org/content/dam/act/unsecured/documents/Multiple_Choice_STEM_Ranks2016.pdf

A composite score of 30 is at the 94th percentile of test takers nationwide. A 31 is at the 96th percentile.

Not in this area. UMD's mid 50% is 29-33 which means 33 is 75%tile. 25% of kids got higher than 33.

Not in this *area?* I think what you mean is that 31 is not the 96th percentile at *UMD.* But enrolled students at one of the top schools in the area are not representative of the entire area.

No, DMV area is full of high stat kids - 33 and up.

Evidence?

The evidence doesn't support the notion that the DMV is "full" of high-state kids, nor that 31 is an average ACT score for this area.

Not that many kids in DC, MD, and VA take the ACT--44% of DC seniors, 27% of Maryland seniors, and 31% of VA seniors took it in 2016. Average composite scores for these students: DC--22.2; MD--23.0; VA--23.3.

https://magoosh.com/hs/act/2016/average-act-score-by-state/

The SAT may be a better measure, since more students take it--more than 90% of seniors in DC and 70%-80% of seniors in MD and VA in 2015. Average combined scores for these students (using the "old" SAT score with reading, math, writing): DC--1313; MD--1462; VA--1533. These SAT scores roughly equate to ACT scores of: DC--19; MD--21; VA--22. (Across all states, and for both the SAT and the ACT, the greater the percentage of students taking the test, the lower the scores.)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/apps/g/page/local/sat-scores-2015/1812/

http://blog.prepscholar.com/act-to-sat-conversion

[Anonymous]

Lot of great info here: ACT score of 31 is a B+. Not stellar not bad. At selective colleges that is a base.
As for FA, Agree! UVA turned out to be by far the most expensive college and the privates were cheaper.

[Anonymous]

ACT 33, GPA 4.2. Did not make it in to UVA. Very tough around nova.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:ACT 33, GPA 4.2. Did not make it in to UVA. Very tough around nova.

Thanks for sharing stats. My DD w/ 4.4 and 35 ACT did make it. My friend's DS w/ 36 ACT did not. Agree very tough here in nova.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:ACT 33, GPA 4.2. Did not make it in to UVA. Very tough around nova.

Thanks for sharing stats. My DD w/ 4.4 and 35 ACT did make it. My friend's DS w/ 36 ACT did not. Agree very tough here in nova.

Like I said, DMV is full of high stat kids. It really makes it tough.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:ACT 33, GPA 4.2. Did not make it in to UVA. Very tough around nova.

Thanks for sharing stats. My DD w/ 4.4 and 35 ACT did make it. My friend's DS w/ 36 ACT did not. Agree very tough here in nova.

What was the gpa?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One of my kids had a 31. It's pretty middling to low for competitive schools. DC got into SLACs ranked in the 25-50 range, which were good fits for DC.

Funny...my DC got a 31 and currently sits in a top 25 university (without a hook).

+1....same for us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One of my kids had a 31. It's pretty middling to low for competitive schools. DC got into SLACs ranked in the 25-50 range, which were good fits for DC.

Funny...my DC got a 31 and currently sits in a top 25 university (without a hook).

+1....same for us.

Just means the uni is not top 25

[Anonymous]

Wow I am feeling pretty optimistic because DS got 31 as a rising sophomore in the summer during a mock test.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC got a 31 ACT and got into Oberlin with merit money. It wasn't their top award but we were happy.

What was her GPA? And what kind of high school - public, private, etc.?

Private, known for being very strong. GPA was around 3.7 weighted with some APs and honors but regular classes at her school are very challenging and they don't even offer honors for some classes like English. She really connected to the local admissions person (Jill Medina) and they struck up an email correspondence even though they never met in person until accepted students day. When they initially offered her lower merit Jill helped her push back - so if your child is interested in Oberlin I would make sure they know how much you think it's a great fit because that makes a difference IMO.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One of my kids had a 31. It's pretty middling to low for competitive schools. DC got into SLACs ranked in the 25-50 range, which were good fits for DC.

Funny...my DC got a 31 and currently sits in a top 25 university (without a hook).

+1....same for us.

Just means the uni is not top 25

say what? dumb post.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One of my kids had a 31. It's pretty middling to low for competitive schools. DC got into SLACs ranked in the 25-50 range, which were good fits for DC.

Funny...my DC got a 31 and currently sits in a top 25 university (without a hook).

+1....same for us.

+2. Nephew got 32 ACT, A- gpa. Will be atrending UPenn. Music hook.