How will low ACT score effect admissions?

[Anonymous]

DD hasn't done well on her testing. She has a 3.9 GPA and has taken plenty of AP and honors classes, so schoolwork is good.
She got a 1180 on her SAT and a 25 on her ACT. DD just went to retake the ACT last weekend and her calculator malfunctioned so she couldn't use it in the math portion. My guess is that her score will go down. Plenty of stress in our household right now.
She wants to go to a large school and probably major in marketing. Looking at several of the schools it looks like she is above average acceptance on GPA but a few points below the ACT avg.
Would you advise her to take the next ACT in October? Or just go with what she has. Any advice on schools to consider?

[Anonymous]

I'd recommend retake. 25 is really low. Also, look into test optional schools. You can easily google the list.

[Anonymous]

have you looked at the test optional schools? sounds like they might be ideal for your DD. Otherwise, for selective schools and if she has no other hooks, the ACT will matter, in some cases a lot.

[Anonymous]

Agree re test optional schools.

Did she taken a test prep class for either test? I wouldn't retake without doing one given her previous scores. She should also focus on just one test, not SAT and ACT.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agree re test optional schools.

Did she taken a test prep class for either test? I wouldn't retake without doing one given her previous scores. She should also focus on just one test, not SAT and ACT.

The new SAT and the ACT have many similarities. As for the science section, there's a lot of graph and data analysis.

[Anonymous]

Cancel the last test score and retake it. Make sure your daughter takes tons of practice tests. If she does thousands of practice questions, her score should improve significantly. My guess is that she did not do enough practice tests before taking the real thing.m with a 3.9 GPA with mostly honors and AP classes, I am surprised she didn't do better on the test. To me, that means that she didn't study enough for the test.

[Anonymous]

If our act comes back low, we are going to try SAT. I think there are differences in the math section, so I'd have her do a practice sat to compare. And, I'd reassure her that there is a college for everyone, including test optional, to help reduce the stress.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD hasn't done well on her testing. She has a 3.9 GPA and has taken plenty of AP and honors classes, so schoolwork is good.
She got a 1180 on her SAT and a 25 on her ACT. DD just went to retake the ACT last weekend and her calculator malfunctioned so she couldn't use it in the math portion. My guess is that her score will go down. Plenty of stress in our household right now.
She wants to go to a large school and probably major in marketing. Looking at several of the schools it looks like she is above average acceptance on GPA but a few points below the ACT avg.
Would you advise her to take the next ACT in October? Or just go with what she has. Any advice on schools to consider?

Had the same situation with my child. Very strong GPA, great extracurriculars, good references and strong essays. Got into some great schools. Go for schools that take a holistic approach to admissions. Not everyone is a great test taker and the score my child received on the ACT was not indicative of ability or potential. The school chosen was a perfect fit and all is well. You might also want to look at test optional schools which are increasing each year.

[Anonymous]

What about the opposite?
ACT is 35, but overall GPA is really low (junior year in a new school 3.97 GPA, which boosted the overall GPA to 3.14.
It was too late when we finally realized that grades were being slashed at our former charter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What about the opposite?
ACT is 35, but overall GPA is really low (junior year in a new school 3.97 GPA, which boosted the overall GPA to 3.14.
It was too late when we finally realized that grades were being slashed at our former charter.

You should aggressively engage your current school in the college process on behalf of your child. These types of anomalous situations can be handled. I have seen bad years explained in the context of a family death or divorce, leaving the student undamaged in the process.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd recommend retake. 25 is really low. Also, look into test optional schools. You can easily google the list.

ACT score of 25 is the 79th percentile rank.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about the opposite?
ACT is 35, but overall GPA is really low (junior year in a new school 3.97 GPA, which boosted the overall GPA to 3.14.
It was too late when we finally realized that grades were being slashed at our former charter.

You should aggressively engage your current school in the college process on behalf of your child. These types of anomalous situations can be handled. I have seen bad years explained in the context of a family death or divorce, leaving the student undamaged in the process.

I transferred mid junior year. Grades converted horribly. My mom went up to school and got them to only count my grades at that school. I was very successful with admissions. Also, there is a place to write a essay about extenuating circumstances. Help your kid write that essay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd recommend retake. 25 is really low. Also, look into test optional schools. You can easily google the list.

ACT score of 25 is the 79th percentile rank.

Of ALL students, though. Many states require every single student to take the ACT regardless of whether they are going to attend Harvard, trade school, or work at Mickey d's for the rest of their life, so comparing percentiles is not really a good measure of where your

(Not that I disagree with the premise, 25 is not so low as to shut your kid out from college completely. My kid had a 26 and got into respectable schools.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd recommend retake. 25 is really low. Also, look into test optional schools. You can easily google the list.

ACT score of 25 is the 79th percentile rank.

Certainly not in this area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd recommend retake. 25 is really low. Also, look into test optional schools. You can easily google the list.

ACT score of 25 is the 79th percentile rank.

Certainly not in this area.

The average ACT in MoCo is 23.9, FCPS is 24.9.