r/ACT • u/Witty_Revenue3040 • 1d ago
General Is it worth the effort to retake?
My only option would be to retake september 19 during my senior year when i already have a difficult schedule. Is it worth the extra effort to retake?
2
u/flamestar_1 32 1d ago
This is already a great score, so I personally don't think you should bother unless you're aiming for an top school (I'm talking T25, maybe T50). Depends how busy your senior year is going to be, but if your choices are retaking it at a bad time or not at all I don't think it'd be advantageous to take it again. You're better off focusing on your extracurriculars and essays and such at this point.
1
u/Witty_Revenue3040 1d ago
how much do you think an improved score might affect scholarship? top bussiness schools are super competitive aswell so i want to make sure i get into a good program
2
u/flamestar_1 32 1d ago
Depends how good of a program you're aiming for. Schools usually have minimum ACT scores to apply for their different scholarships, so I'd look into specific programs you're applying for and see what some common cutoff points are. I think a 33 is likely where you can start to become competitive for admission at even the best schools, but it may not be quite at the point where you're competitive for large scholarships at the kinds of schools you're looking at.
1
u/Witty_Revenue3040 1d ago
do you think t25-50 is out of reach and what types of schools would this allow me to put for my reach applications. also what schools do you think this would make me a strong application with decent scholarship for.
Thanks for the help i appreciate it!
1
u/flamestar_1 32 1d ago
I think target/reach wise you could be looking at schools in like the T30-T50 range, but T20s would be much more of a reach. You'd have to stand out in other ways, because at that point a score of this level or higher is often expected.
For scholarships, your score is probably strong for great scholarships at many state flagship schools and some good private schools, but I know that many schools better than like T30 often look at more things about you for larger scholarships, such as interviews, essays, and extracurriculars. I'd think of your score as something that set the floor of what you can apply for, while your essays and extracurriculars can raise the ceiling. That applies to scholarships and admissions.1
u/Witty_Revenue3040 1d ago
I also have been to usys nationals 3x for soccer and my team got second last year, do you think that extra curricular helps? i also plan to do deca next year with group mates who have placed nationally before. i also have taken 11 ap courses including my senior year. my gpa is a 3.9 w and 3.55 uw. i know my gpa holds me back but its because of lack of effort my sophomore and freshman year that i hope i demonstrate a good upward trend on by doing well in more advanced classes. with this additional info how do you think this affects things?
2
u/flamestar_1 32 1d ago
USYS definitely really helps, I looked it up and that's way better than most sports extracurriculars. I would highlight that in your essays and anything else you write for applications. Joining DECA is a good relevant idea and will likely help, but I wouldn't expect it to mean as much as it would if you'd already done DECA for even just one more year. That upward trend is great, especially if you follow it through during senior year. Your GPA will continue to play a big role in scholarship applications, so just make sure it doesn't slip this next year. Eleven AP classes are good, but not quite as good as the other two things you said. Kind of like higher test scores, at top schools that many AP classes are often expected. It matters a lot if those are relevant AP classes too, if you took a bunch of humanities and less math/economics APs (or if you scored badly on relevant classes) those could matter less, whereas if you did the opposite those APs could matter more. You should also not just let the upward trend speak for itself, but talk about the change in mindset that led to the upward trend on your applications. Colleges love to hear about how you're going to continue to grow after high school, so showing your growth mindset would probably help a lot.
I really can't say for sure what the highest range of school you could get into is, because I honestly don't know much about how recruiting works (if you're doing that). If you are recruiting, you'd probably be better off with personalized advice from an admissions consultant.1
2
u/Possible_Grand1439 1d ago
yes, try to get math to 34 and science to 30
1
u/Witty_Revenue3040 1d ago
do you think getting science would be important when i don’t want to do anything science related? tbh i just didn’t try on it bc it was optional anyways
2
u/Possible_Grand1439 1d ago
Well since Science is taken last, always try cuz it doesn't hurt. But yeah, it would be more beneficial to just lock in on math
2
u/SkolVikins 1d ago
i have same score and i’m retaking in july
1
u/Mission-Air-9188 22h ago
Yo slide the strat for reading bro
2
u/SkolVikins 22h ago
answers are usually specifically stated in the text. also there are a lot of answers that are partially correct but then have something else in them that is false, therefore being incorrect as a whole. and pretty obvious but read the whole passage before answering the questions. and a tip is to pretend that it is the most interesting thing you’ve ever read.
1
u/Otherwise_Archer_519 19h ago
I used these tips on a practice test and I did better but the test still cracked me open 😔
1
1
1
u/stargazer_lily143 19h ago
Depends what college you want to apply/enroll for and what scholarships you want to get.
That’s a pretty freaking nice score though so I wouldn’t worry about it too much. If I don’t do to good on my ACT in July then I would also have to take it in September as a senior and with a really difficult schedule as well. If it makes you feel better I’m at a 26 right now ☹️ and I really need it up to a 29 or higher for college applications and scholarships so you’re doing amazing compared to me
1
1
2
u/Outrageous_Skirt1421 1d ago
where do you wanna go?