Interesting study that supports what some are saying here; test scores are not the "holy grail". College success, and for that matter success in real life, is more based upon focus, drive, and willingness to work hard than it is on multiple-choice test taking ability. Knowledge of self, as demonstrated though a thoughtful essay, and strong teacher recommendations, often a measure of emotional intelligence, also contribute to success. Test scores, while the easiest and laziest comparison, are not the trump card and thoughtful schools know this.

http://www.thecrimson.com/admissions/article/2014/3/3/GPA-better-predictor-than-SAT/

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As others have said, it depends on the school. Not much merit $$ for a 31. More importantly, did your child prep for this test? If not, lots of prep and practice definitely can increase scores.

This is absolute bull. My child, with a 29, got merit at every single private school she applied to and one of the publics- Marquette, AU, Drexel, Loyola in Chicago, Belmont, and Miami of Ohio.

If you are fixated on the top 50 schools or whatever there's not much merit, but it is so so so so false that there is not much merit for a 31 on the ACT.

Thank you for posting this! I've heard that from many others too. People like to state things on this forum as though they are the absolute expert on the subject and they are often completely wrong. My DD has not gotten her scores back yet for the ACT and she will likely take it twice but I know that if she ends up with a 29 she will be competitive for merit money at good places. She is a very strong student at a competitive school and I know for a fact, based on common data set, that many schools "consider" test scores but say that rigor and essay (or other factors) are "very important". Not everyone is meant to take multiple choice tests, in fact for the rest of their lives they will be asked to contribute much more to their environments than filling out a bunch of bubbles on a sheet. Many great schools know that and can't wait to get these kids on their campus.

It really depends a lot on the high school. For the top high schools, a 31 may be mediocre; at my DC's school, it was considered very good. A student who has a weighted GPA of around 4.0 with a 31 ACT shouldn't have any trouble getting into many public universities. My DC's had stats such as these, and received merit aid offers from in-state and OOS public universities.

Anonymous wrote:As others have said, it depends on the school. Not much merit $$ for a 31. More importantly, did your child prep for this test? If not, lots of prep and practice definitely can increase scores.

This is absolute bull. My child, with a 29, got merit at every single private school she applied to and one of the publics- Marquette, AU, Drexel, Loyola in Chicago, Belmont, and Miami of Ohio.

If you are fixated on the top 50 schools or whatever there's not much merit, but it is so so so so false that there is not much merit for a 31 on the ACT.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:31 is bottom for the top. Probably 25th percentile or lower for top 50 schools. Middle for the next 50. Great for the next 3000. Doesn't that work out to be about 96th percentile for all colleges too? You will find many wonderful schools happy with that number. Just not an Ivy unless you can sink a jump shot.

I think this is a pretty accurate assessment, except that I'd only say it was 25th percentile or lower for the top 25 or so schools.

I make this comment on a lot of posts here, but I think the best way to figure out whether a score is generally competitive for a particular school is to google the Common Data Set for the school, and look at the info in section C, which includes the 25%-75% percentile ranges of scores for admitted freshmen. Here's UVA's: https://avillage.web.virginia.edu/iaas/cds/cds1516all.shtm A 31 is solidly in the middle.

If your school offers Naviance, that's even better since it gives you the ability to see how many kids from your school with a similar test score and GPA got in to particular schools over the last five years.

Here's a list of links for common data sets for a bunch of colleges and universities. http://collegelists.pbworks.com/w/page/30192726/Common%20Data%20Sets

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's in the 96th percentile.

Huh, really? I'm surprised it's so low. This was my score yet I had over a 99th percentile LSAT.

It's a 31 out of 36. How would you expect it to be 99th percentile? I got a 34 back in the day and I can't remember whether that was 99th percentile.

Didn't the ACT ceiling used to be 35?

Not in the early 90s or thereafter. I can't speak to any time before that.

I think it was a 36 (highest score) when I took it in 1986

As others have said, it depends on the school. Not much merit $$ for a 31. More importantly, did your child prep for this test? If not, lots of prep and practice definitely can increase scores.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:31 is bottom for the top. Probably 25th percentile or lower for top 50 schools. Middle for the next 50. Great for the next 3000. Doesn't that work out to be about 96th percentile for all colleges too? You will find many wonderful schools happy with that number. Just not an Ivy unless you can sink a jump shot.

I think this is a pretty accurate assessment, except that I'd only say it was 25th percentile or lower for the top 25 or so schools.

I make this comment on a lot of posts here, but I think the best way to figure out whether a score is generally competitive for a particular school is to google the Common Data Set for the school, and look at the info in section C, which includes the 25%-75% percentile ranges of scores for admitted freshmen. Here's UVA's: https://avillage.web.virginia.edu/iaas/cds/cds1516all.shtm A 31 is solidly in the middle.

If your school offers Naviance, that's even better since it gives you the ability to see how many kids from your school with a similar test score and GPA got in to particular schools over the last five years.

To OP, this is the only reasonable answer to the question "How good a score is X on the ACT?" It depends on the school to which your child is applying. Simply look at whether it falls below, in, or above the 25% to 75% range for the school.

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).

As discussed, it's good but not special.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's in the 96th percentile.

Huh, really? I'm surprised it's so low. This was my score yet I had over a 99th percentile LSAT.

It's a 31 out of 36. How would you expect it to be 99th percentile? I got a 34 back in the day and I can't remember whether that was 99th percentile.

Didn't the ACT ceiling used to be 35?

Not in the early 90s or thereafter. I can't speak to any time before that.

I took it in the late 80s and I seem to remember 35 as the top score (but I could be wrong).

Anonymous wrote:31 is bottom for the top. Probably 25th percentile or lower for top 50 schools. Middle for the next 50. Great for the next 3000. Doesn't that work out to be about 96th percentile for all colleges too? You will find many wonderful schools happy with that number. Just not an Ivy unless you can sink a jump shot.

I think this is a pretty accurate assessment, except that I'd only say it was 25th percentile or lower for the top 25 or so schools.

I make this comment on a lot of posts here, but I think the best way to figure out whether a score is generally competitive for a particular school is to google the Common Data Set for the school, and look at the info in section C, which includes the 25%-75% percentile ranges of scores for admitted freshmen. Here's UVA's: https://avillage.web.virginia.edu/iaas/cds/cds1516all.shtm A 31 is solidly in the middle.

If your school offers Naviance, that's even better since it gives you the ability to see how many kids from your school with a similar test score and GPA got in to particular schools over the last five years.

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).

31 is bottom for the top. Probably 25th percentile or lower for top 50 schools. Middle for the next 50. Great for the next 3000. Doesn't that work out to be about 96th percentile for all colleges too? You will find many wonderful schools happy with that number. Just not an Ivy unless you can sink a jump shot.

Anonymous wrote:OP - don't get overly confident. It's a good score but not a great score.

This. It's good but not great. A nail biter for UVA.

Anonymous wrote:Vanderbilt, Emory, Georgetown, shoe-in for your state flagship.

Unless it's Berkeley!