Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Oh, honey, i wish that were true, but you are in a seller's market. Admissions doesn't give a damn about your kid unless your child possesses something they want - an athelete, a URM statistic, a famous name, a super wealthy parent, a legacy that matters, extraordinary feats of strength, amazing musician, or already published in some field - your child is just a bunch of numbers to them. That's why there are no interviews for most schools. It's all about GPA/rigor/ACT score/SAT II subject matter test scores/and rank in class. That's why after the EA classes are announced you see schools bragging that the EA class, alone, like this: "The average ACT score of the admitted pool is 33. For SAT, the average score of those admitted is 1453 out of 1600 (2166 out of 2400). The admitted students have taken an average of more than 10 college-level courses and 96 percent have taken an Advanced Placement calculus course." Every school now does this because they are ALL fighting to climb a rank on the U.S. News & World Report rankings. And if you think your kid with middling scores will get in to a selective university, think again because there are now millions of extremely talented international students, mostly from China and India, who will kill to get a slot at an American college or University. Until it stops being a seller's market (and I don't see any end in sight - the system is broken but I can't tell you how to fix it unless the rankings stops), an American student with blah stats and grades is going to have to throw a lot of applications out there

Overly simplistic and cynical interpretation. The fact of the matter is that there are more white, middle class, public school kids at Harvard today than there were 20 years ago and far more than 50 years ago. Yes, at a school like Harvard the test scores skew very high, but there are plenty of extremely strong colleges with a 31 ACT as the midpoint of the range (UCLA Bucknell, Lehigh, Hamilton, Colgate, SUNY Binghamton, and the list goes on).

'


Not true. And I went to Harvard. Middle class can no longer afford it. There are no merit scholarships. So it's either the rich or the financial aid kids and they don't want white, they want diversity and international studients.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Oh, honey, i wish that were true, but you are in a seller's market. Admissions doesn't give a damn about your kid unless your child possesses something they want - an athelete, a URM statistic, a famous name, a super wealthy parent, a legacy that matters, extraordinary feats of strength, amazing musician, or already published in some field - your child is just a bunch of numbers to them. That's why there are no interviews for most schools. It's all about GPA/rigor/ACT score/SAT II subject matter test scores/and rank in class. That's why after the EA classes are announced you see schools bragging that the EA class, alone, like this: "The average ACT score of the admitted pool is 33. For SAT, the average score of those admitted is 1453 out of 1600 (2166 out of 2400). The admitted students have taken an average of more than 10 college-level courses and 96 percent have taken an Advanced Placement calculus course." Every school now does this because they are ALL fighting to climb a rank on the U.S. News & World Report rankings. And if you think your kid with middling scores will get in to a selective university, think again because there are now millions of extremely talented international students, mostly from China and India, who will kill to get a slot at an American college or University. Until it stops being a seller's market (and I don't see any end in sight - the system is broken but I can't tell you how to fix it unless the rankings stops), an American student with blah stats and grades is going to have to throw a lot of applications out there

Overly simplistic and cynical interpretation. The fact of the matter is that there are more white, middle class, public school kids at Harvard today than there were 20 years ago and far more than 50 years ago. Yes, at a school like Harvard the test scores skew very high, but there are plenty of extremely strong colleges with a 31 ACT as the midpoint of the range (UCLA Bucknell, Lehigh, Hamilton, Colgate, SUNY Binghamton, and the list goes on).

'


Not true. And I went to Harvard. Middle class can no longer afford it. There are no merit scholarships. So it's either the rich or the financial aid kids and they don't want white, they want diversity and international studients.

What?! We make $170K, which is hardly middle class, and Harvard was cheaper than state schools for us. For 90% of the country, Harvard, and most other top 20 schools, is cheaper than state schools.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Oh, honey, i wish that were true, but you are in a seller's market. Admissions doesn't give a damn about your kid unless your child possesses something they want - an athelete, a URM statistic, a famous name, a super wealthy parent, a legacy that matters, extraordinary feats of strength, amazing musician, or already published in some field - your child is just a bunch of numbers to them. That's why there are no interviews for most schools. It's all about GPA/rigor/ACT score/SAT II subject matter test scores/and rank in class. That's why after the EA classes are announced you see schools bragging that the EA class, alone, like this: "The average ACT score of the admitted pool is 33. For SAT, the average score of those admitted is 1453 out of 1600 (2166 out of 2400). The admitted students have taken an average of more than 10 college-level courses and 96 percent have taken an Advanced Placement calculus course." Every school now does this because they are ALL fighting to climb a rank on the U.S. News & World Report rankings. And if you think your kid with middling scores will get in to a selective university, think again because there are now millions of extremely talented international students, mostly from China and India, who will kill to get a slot at an American college or University. Until it stops being a seller's market (and I don't see any end in sight - the system is broken but I can't tell you how to fix it unless the rankings stops), an American student with blah stats and grades is going to have to throw a lot of applications out there

Overly simplistic and cynical interpretation. The fact of the matter is that there are more white, middle class, public school kids at Harvard today than there were 20 years ago and far more than 50 years ago. Yes, at a school like Harvard the test scores skew very high, but there are plenty of extremely strong colleges with a 31 ACT as the midpoint of the range (UCLA Bucknell, Lehigh, Hamilton, Colgate, SUNY Binghamton, and the list goes on).

'


Not true. And I went to Harvard. Middle class can no longer afford it. There are no merit scholarships. So it's either the rich or the financial aid kids and they don't want white, they want diversity and international studients.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Oh, honey, i wish that were true, but you are in a seller's market. Admissions doesn't give a damn about your kid unless your child possesses something they want - an athelete, a URM statistic, a famous name, a super wealthy parent, a legacy that matters, extraordinary feats of strength, amazing musician, or already published in some field - your child is just a bunch of numbers to them. That's why there are no interviews for most schools. It's all about GPA/rigor/ACT score/SAT II subject matter test scores/and rank in class. That's why after the EA classes are announced you see schools bragging that the EA class, alone, like this: "The average ACT score of the admitted pool is 33. For SAT, the average score of those admitted is 1453 out of 1600 (2166 out of 2400). The admitted students have taken an average of more than 10 college-level courses and 96 percent have taken an Advanced Placement calculus course." Every school now does this because they are ALL fighting to climb a rank on the U.S. News & World Report rankings. And if you think your kid with middling scores will get in to a selective university, think again because there are now millions of extremely talented international students, mostly from China and India, who will kill to get a slot at an American college or University. Until it stops being a seller's market (and I don't see any end in sight - the system is broken but I can't tell you how to fix it unless the rankings stops), an American student with blah stats and grades is going to have to throw a lot of applications out there

Overly simplistic and cynical interpretation. The fact of the matter is that there are more white, middle class, public school kids at Harvard today than there were 20 years ago and far more than 50 years ago. Yes, at a school like Harvard the test scores skew very high, but there are plenty of extremely strong colleges with a 31 ACT as the midpoint of the range (UCLA Bucknell, Lehigh, Hamilton, Colgate, SUNY Binghamton, and the list goes on).

'


Not true. And I went to Harvard. Middle class can no longer afford it. There are no merit scholarships. So it's either the rich or the financial aid kids and they don't want white, they want diversity and international studients.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Oh, honey, i wish that were true, but you are in a seller's market. Admissions doesn't give a damn about your kid unless your child possesses something they want - an athelete, a URM statistic, a famous name, a super wealthy parent, a legacy that matters, extraordinary feats of strength, amazing musician, or already published in some field - your child is just a bunch of numbers to them. That's why there are no interviews for most schools. It's all about GPA/rigor/ACT score/SAT II subject matter test scores/and rank in class. That's why after the EA classes are announced you see schools bragging that the EA class, alone, like this: "The average ACT score of the admitted pool is 33. For SAT, the average score of those admitted is 1453 out of 1600 (2166 out of 2400). The admitted students have taken an average of more than 10 college-level courses and 96 percent have taken an Advanced Placement calculus course." Every school now does this because they are ALL fighting to climb a rank on the U.S. News & World Report rankings. And if you think your kid with middling scores will get in to a selective university, think again because there are now millions of extremely talented international students, mostly from China and India, who will kill to get a slot at an American college or University. Until it stops being a seller's market (and I don't see any end in sight - the system is broken but I can't tell you how to fix it unless the rankings stops), an American student with blah stats and grades is going to have to throw a lot of applications out there

Overly simplistic and cynical interpretation. The fact of the matter is that there are more white, middle class, public school kids at Harvard today than there were 20 years ago and far more than 50 years ago. Yes, at a school like Harvard the test scores skew very high, but there are plenty of extremely strong colleges with a 31 ACT as the midpoint of the range (UCLA Bucknell, Lehigh, Hamilton, Colgate, SUNY Binghamton, and the list goes on).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Oh, honey, i wish that were true, but you are in a seller's market. Admissions doesn't give a damn about your kid unless your child possesses something they want - an athelete, a URM statistic, a famous name, a super wealthy parent, a legacy that matters, extraordinary feats of strength, amazing musician, or already published in some field - your child is just a bunch of numbers to them. That's why there are no interviews for most schools. It's all about GPA/rigor/ACT score/SAT II subject matter test scores/and rank in class. That's why after the EA classes are announced you see schools bragging that the EA class, alone, like this: "The average ACT score of the admitted pool is 33. For SAT, the average score of those admitted is 1453 out of 1600 (2166 out of 2400). The admitted students have taken an average of more than 10 college-level courses and 96 percent have taken an Advanced Placement calculus course." Every school now does this because they are ALL fighting to climb a rank on the U.S. News & World Report rankings. And if you think your kid with middling scores will get in to a selective university, think again because there are now millions of extremely talented international students, mostly from China and India, who will kill to get a slot at an American college or University. Until it stops being a seller's market (and I don't see any end in sight - the system is broken but I can't tell you how to fix it unless the rankings stops), an American student with blah stats and grades is going to have to throw a lot of applications out there

I hate to say but PP is mostly correct. The only part I'd disagree is international kids competing with American kids for the same admission spots. They are on a different pool of applicants.

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Wow.. Real top tier schools. Let me guess, merit aid from the privates were like 10-15k?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Oh, honey, i wish that were true, but you are in a seller's market. Admissions doesn't give a damn about your kid unless your child possesses something they want - an athelete, a URM statistic, a famous name, a super wealthy parent, a legacy that matters, extraordinary feats of strength, amazing musician, or already published in some field - your child is just a bunch of numbers to them. That's why there are no interviews for most schools. It's all about GPA/rigor/ACT score/SAT II subject matter test scores/and rank in class. That's why after the EA classes are announced you see schools bragging that the EA class, alone, like this: "The average ACT score of the admitted pool is 33. For SAT, the average score of those admitted is 1453 out of 1600 (2166 out of 2400). The admitted students have taken an average of more than 10 college-level courses and 96 percent have taken an Advanced Placement calculus course." Every school now does this because they are ALL fighting to climb a rank on the U.S. News & World Report rankings. And if you think your kid with middling scores will get in to a selective university, think again because there are now millions of extremely talented international students, mostly from China and India, who will kill to get a slot at an American college or University. Until it stops being a seller's market (and I don't see any end in sight - the system is broken but I can't tell you how to fix it unless the rankings stops), an American student with blah stats and grades is going to have to throw a lot of applications out there

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Oh, honey, i wish that were true, but you are in a seller's market. Admissions doesn't give a damn about your kid unless your child possesses something they want - an athelete, a URM statistic, a famous name, a super wealthy parent, a legacy that matters, extraordinary feats of strength, amazing musician, or already published in some field - your child is just a bunch of numbers to them. That's why there are no interviews for most schools. It's all about GPA/rigor/ACT score/SAT II subject matter test scores/and rank in class. That's why after the EA classes are announced you see schools bragging that the EA class, alone, like this: "The average ACT score of the admitted pool is 33. For SAT, the average score of those admitted is 1453 out of 1600 (2166 out of 2400). The admitted students have taken an average of more than 10 college-level courses and 96 percent have taken an Advanced Placement calculus course." Every school now does this because they are ALL fighting to climb a rank on the U.S. News & World Report rankings. And if you think your kid with middling scores will get in to a selective university, think again because there are now millions of extremely talented international students, mostly from China and India, who will kill to get a slot at an American college or University. Until it stops being a seller's market (and I don't see any end in sight - the system is broken but I can't tell you how to fix it unless the rankings stops), an American student with blah stats and grades is going to have to throw a lot of applications out there

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Wow.. Real top tier schools. Let me guess, merit aid from the privates were like 10-15k?

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.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Oh, honey, i wish that were true, but you are in a seller's market. Admissions doesn't give a damn about your kid unless your child possesses something they want - an athelete, a URM statistic, a famous name, a super wealthy parent, a legacy that matters, extraordinary feats of strength, amazing musician, or already published in some field - your child is just a bunch of numbers to them. That's why there are no interviews for most schools. It's all about GPA/rigor/ACT score/SAT II subject matter test scores/and rank in class. That's why after the EA classes are announced you see schools bragging that the EA class, alone, like this: "The average ACT score of the admitted pool is 33. For SAT, the average score of those admitted is 1453 out of 1600 (2166 out of 2400). The admitted students have taken an average of more than 10 college-level courses and 96 percent have taken an Advanced Placement calculus course." Every school now does this because they are ALL fighting to climb a rank on the U.S. News & World Report rankings. And if you think your kid with middling scores will get in to a selective university, think again because there are now millions of extremely talented international students, mostly from China and India, who will kill to get a slot at an American college or University. Until it stops being a seller's market (and I don't see any end in sight - the system is broken but I can't tell you how to fix it unless the rankings stops), an American student with blah stats and grades is going to have to throw a lot of applications out there

Anonymous wrote:

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.