Is February too late for a senior to take the ACT to qualify for financial aid

[Only me]

My dd is a senior at a private school. She took the ACT test last summer. She did ok but was sick at the time so didn't score as high as I think she could have (especially on the math portion). She got a 25, which seems to be high enough for admission for any of the colleges that she is applying too. We signed her to take the ACT again in October but she ended up getting sick again so we thought it would be best to reschedule it. We have it rescheduled for December but now something else has come up and she won't be able to make it. Should I try to reschedule it for February or just forget about it at this point?

 

I know that she is eligible for some scholarships with that score and her GPA, which is 4.01 weighed or a little less unweighted. (She has all A's except for 2 B's). I doubt she will be able to get a much higher ACT score. She did great on the reading portion, above average on the writing portion but not so well on the math. Math is not her strongest subject. I really doubt that she'll be able to bring it up more than 1 or 2 points. Would getting a 27 make that much difference? Also it seems like a lot of financial aid deadlines are in March but I'm still wondering if the early February ACT would be too late.

[Susie-Knits]

check with the colleges that she is interested in. They may have different cutoff dates.

[JFSinIL]

Some colleges have merit scholarships and one or two points can make the difference between a good award and a great one. My ds had a 28 and got good awards - one more point and it could have been thousands more. If at all possible try to get her to that Dec. test - what is more important than possibly getting $10,000+ more for college???? Check with colleges she is interested in - if they have merit awards they should have a chart on-line that spells out how much merit money goes for the ACT/SAT score.

Edited November 16, 2009 by JFSinIL

[Anna]

Some colleges have merit scholarships and one or two points can make the difference between a good award and a great one. My ds had a 28 and got good awards - one more point and it could have been thousands more. If at all possible try to get her to that Dec. test - what is more important than possibly getting $10,000+ more for college????

 

Good advice. I'm curious too. What is more important than her taking ACT in December? If you truly think she can do much better I'd clear the schedule for that Dec testing date. My dd did a 29 first time which would have given her decent scholarship but then her second time she scored a 30 and ended up with 3/4 scholarship at a private school. Every point can make a difference although I do know that a 25 is still above the national average.

[Sharon in MD]

I would first and foremost check with the schools to which you are applying....what is their deadline for SCORES for scholarship consideration. Often times they will increase the package offered even though the scores are submitted from a later test.

 

If the schools will accept the Feb test scores for merit consideration, WITHOUT there being the risk that you may not qualify for some of the funds (IE, the pot is empty because it has already been depleted) due to the date of the scores, I'd go for Feb.

 

If they need to go in sooner, I'd clear the calender and work on prep for the Dec test. Seriously....can you really clear the way for her to PREP PREP PREP? It could make a huge difference if you are applying to schools where they have merits that are score based. My goodness, the difference between a 10,000 a year merit and a 15,000 a year merit is 20,000 over 4 years.....I'd be clearing a path if it was me. You have nothing to loose and everything to gain.