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ACT score question


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My dd17 just got her ACT score. It was a 17.

 

She has had a severe case of mono for a couple of months. She was very sick the week before the test, and didn't feel that great the morning of the test. In fact, she's still sick. We saw the doctor a few days ago and the doctor said that a bad case of mono can last up to a year!

 

She'll take the test again in December but is worried that she'll still feel sick and might not do any better. She wanted to apply for colleges in January, but now is very disheartened. She is an artist and writer, not math or science oriented, so we didn't expect an upper 20s score.

 

Any advise? Any words of comfort or encouragement? How do I motivate her to study for ACT (or any of her school work) when she feels so bad?

 

Thanks,

Pam

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Maybe take the SAT instead? It's funny, because I've heard the ACT is more friendly to those who like to read and write--I happened to do very well on it. But maybe she'd do better on the SAT. The analogies are gone, there's a lot of comprehension and vocab, no science (even tho science on the ACT is reading based only), and includes the grammar/writing/essay component. She could take it 3 times before January.

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Myy dd took both - she was good at math and science, but her love is literature and history and the arts - she did better on the SAT, so I would definitely try that.

And having mono will definitely affect the scores - so your dd should not feel bad about how she did.

I would also suggest you do some test prep if you haven't already. My kids used Princeton and found it helpful in explaining how to go about doing the test.

Meryl

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Get the real thing....the book from College Board is available in the bookstores and it contains 10 real SATs. Don't use something from one of the prep companies for this. Try a timed practice SAT at home without the essay. Then score it and see how she does. Then use this link to compare her ACT composite score to the SAT CR + M only.

http://professionals.collegeboard.com/profdownload/act-sat-concordance-tables.pdf

 

Then if the SAT is clearly the better test for her...put all your prep efforts into it. It makes more sense, in my opinion, to prep for one test. You only wind up dividing your efforts if you try to prep for both.

 

You DON'T want to have her take the SAT until she is ready. Please don't rush out and register her for several SAT's thinking that you can practice that way. Even though practicing at home isn't the same as going in to take the test, it can be made to be as similar as possible. There is a real risk in taking the official test before you are ready. Some universities demand to see ALL test scores, so you don't want to just try it and risk having a score that is not what you expected show up.

 

For some students there is not a big difference between the SAT and the ACT, while for others there is a clear difference in which test will be best for them.

 

I think there is real value in preparing and practicing. The more you practice, the fewer the surprises and the higher the child's confidence. I guess I feel that you have nothing to loose by practice and everything to gain.

 

Best Wishes!

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