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.

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?

Not at the places you listed. I think she was quoting something in line to what Ivies or MIT does. Look online at the 75th percentile of the schools you are actually considering applying to! That will tell you what you need to know.

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?

Ok if they get a lot of scores in the 36/ 35/34 but if the 75th percentile is 33 or 32 or 30, then why retest?

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.

I assumed it was USC in Los Angeles.

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.

Based on this list, a 33 probably won't cut it.

What GPA? And is he all AP across the core? He needs that for UVA and UNC and Tech engineering. I would apply ED to Tulane unless he wants Tech or South Carolina.

A 33 is 98th percentile
An sat 98th percentile is 1500 SAT

That is above the average scores for UNC, USC and Tulane(which you would need to ED to otherwise there are no spots left, right?)
I say he takes it once more IF he wants to. Otherwise add a couple more likely schools and call it a day. Good luck to him!

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.

Based on this list, a 33 probably won't cut it.

Probably also depends on how strong the GPA and rigor are.

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.

Completely depends on the school

It depends on what colleges you're applying to. Can't get any DCUM "advice" without providing more details.

Good enough for what? Which schools are top choices for your student?

DD has a 33 super score after two ACT attempts. Achieved the same actual test score of 32 but did better/worse on different sections between the two tests. Worth taking again or good enough?