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anyone else hoping for a game changing ACT score tomorrow?


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My son has performed well, but not terrific on the PSAT and SAT this year.  His prep for the ACT seemed much more focused and intentional.  I'm hoping it will pay off.  He felt really good about the test.  If the numbers are good enough, we need to send them ASAP with some applications for camp and an honors recognition program at his first choice school.  Hard to wait.

 

Ashley

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I am waiting impatiently too.  My son is only a sophmore, but if he scores as well on the test as he did on the practice exams he won't have to take it again and we can ignore the whole SAT test changing issue and not worry about whether should he take the old SAT or new SAT.

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Yep. Ds got the max scholarship offered by his college based on his previous ACT score. However, there is a large outside scholarship he will receive if his score goes up 1 composite point. He didn't really study or prep any before retaking though, so my hopes aren't high.

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We checked, no scores. :( I hope there is still a chance that we will get them today. They are doing SAT subject exams this weekend.

 

ETA. Per website all of today's scores have been released. Next release is Friday morning.

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Anxiously waiting. We'd prefer not to take it again in June but it all depends on the score because ds is competing for some big scholarships in order to attend his first choice school and the last opportunity he will have to up the score before scholarship decisions are made is September. Score must be submitted by October 31st, and invitations to the scholarship competition go out by the end of the first week of November. So it's kind of a nail biter for us.

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So... now I have a question for y'all.

 

If the composite is GOOD... how does the written essay's score affect the overall picture? 

 

We've never done the essay. No school my kids applied to wanted it. I guess it depends a lot on the school your child is applying to. If they require it and they care, it probably matters. I don't know how often that is the case though.

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We've never done the essay. No school my kids applied to wanted it. I guess it depends a lot on the school your child is applying to. If they require it and they care, it probably matters. I don't know how often that is the case though.

Same here. All of the schools ds applied to require their own college essays and use those for English placement or their own essay placement test after admission. So it wasn't worth the extra cost and time.

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My daughter's scores were up this morning. This was her first time taking it. Her composite is a point less than her sister's was, so she's irritated. LOL She still did very, very well though, so there's no need for her to take it again.

 

She took the writing test only because a few of the schools she's looking at wanted it. My oldest didn't take it and didn't need it.

 

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So... now I have a question for y'all.

 

If the composite is GOOD... how does the written essay's score affect the overall picture? 

 

 

This is my dd's second year doing the essay.  The writing score is separate.  It shows but doesn't change the composite.  That is why they can post the composite even though the essay isn't graded yet :)  We use the ACT as our end of year test required by our state.

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My daughter's scores were up this morning. This was her first time taking it. Her composite is a point less than her sister's was, so she's irritated. LOL She still did very, very well though, so there's no need for her to take it again.

 

She took the writing test only because a few of the schools she's looking at wanted it. My oldest didn't take it and didn't need it.

 

I can't tell you how helpful knowing that the writing shows separately from the English is. Thank you!

 

More research indicates that there is a chance more scores could be released tomorrow then every Wednesday and Friday.

 

We need writing but didn't do it this time. Plan is June with writing. Wanted a clean exam with a good score (hopefully) for dd's self confidence. She is very nervous about the essay question, not about the actual writing of said essay. The samples she keeps getting are things that she knows nothing about .....she is afraid she freeze so badly that she won't have time to make something up.

 

Ds is a practice run, theoretically if high enough won't test again but he wants the same school his sister does so he will most likely take it again in the future. If all sections are high enough for admission now he will wait a year or two for writing.

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Am I correct in presuming those in early/middle high school who are not taking it again scored 36? Otherwise, I'm curious if there is some other magical cutoff for not needing to test again.

 

Signed,

WMA

(OCD, Type A, etc., etc.)

mother of

DD

(OCD, Type A, etc., etc.)

 

;)

 

It all depends upon the student and their goals.  I know several who scored in the 20s and were perfectly content with having scores high enough to get them where they wanted.

 

And I might have been a parent of a student who took it three times chasing perfection because HE wanted to even though his first score as a sophomore would have others jumping for joy and thanking fairy godmothers.  FWIW, he didn't reach perfection, but he came awfully close (including getting it on some of it).  Even with that, he thought about trying ONE. MORE. TIME.  I nixed it and we went out to celebrate what he had.  Maybe he'll need therapy later because I killed that dream.  We'll find out.

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Am I correct in presuming those in early/middle high school who are not taking it again scored 36? Otherwise, I'm curious if there is some other magical cutoff for not needing to test again.

 

Signed,

WMA

(OCD, Type A, etc., etc.)

mother of

DD

(OCD, Type A, etc., etc.)

 

;)

We are just looking at British schools. Requirements are very specific at each school. Some have a minimum score for each section, others have a composite score requirement. We are planning to stop a couple points over requirements.

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It all depends upon the student and their goals.  I know several who scored in the 20s and were perfectly content with having scores high enough to get them where they wanted.

 

And I might have been a parent of a student who took it three times chasing perfection because HE wanted to even though his first score as a sophomore would have others jumping for joy and thanking fairy godmothers.  FWIW, he didn't reach perfection, but he came awfully close (including getting it on some of it).  Even with that, he thought about trying ONE. MORE. TIME.  I nixed it and we went out to celebrate what he had.  Maybe he'll need therapy later because I killed that dream.  We'll find out.

 

:laugh:   Thanks!

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So... now I have a question for y'all.

 

If the composite is GOOD... how does the written essay's score affect the overall picture?

This is our first ACT experience. Still waiting on the writing score, but there was a line on the score report that the writing score would not affect the composite.

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Am I correct in presuming those in early/middle high school who are not taking it again scored 36? Otherwise, I'm curious if there is some other magical cutoff for not needing to test again.

 

Signed,

WMA

(OCD, Type A, etc., etc.)

mother of

DD

(OCD, Type A, etc., etc.)

 

;)

 

 

I had an almost identical post written out and then deleted it.  So glad you asked :thumbup1:

 

Signed,

Another OCD, Type A mom ;)

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Am I correct in presuming those in early/middle high school who are not taking it again scored 36? Otherwise, I'm curious if there is some other magical cutoff for not needing to test again.

 

Signed,

WMA

(OCD, Type A, etc., etc.)

mother of

DD

(OCD, Type A, etc., etc.)

 

;)

 

For us, it was a balancing act. We wanted her to do well enough to have choices, but we also wanted to value her having more time and less stress. She's a junior, so she would have taken it again in June as needed. 

 

She got a nice high score. If she hadn't scored high enough for certain scholarships, she would have tested again. She doesn't have her heart set on any schools where that elusive last point or two might make all the difference. We do know that it conceivably might make a difference for certain honors and other specialty programs, but she has lots of other things she wants to do with the time she would spend prepping and testing. And hey, if it does make a difference, we'll never know, lol! 

 

Being able to relax and move on is worth it to her. Other kids can compartmentalize more and taking it again would be no big deal, but it would stay on her mind. Also, she has some DE classes, so we figure that will help show her as a good student as well. 

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Am I correct in presuming those in early/middle high school who are not taking it again scored 36? Otherwise, I'm curious if there is some other magical cutoff for not needing to test again.

When my oldest took the test, we half-jokingly told her that if she scored over a 32, she wouldn't have to take it again. She didn't need to take it again. So we made the same deal with #2.

 

Basically, it came down to the scholarship matrices at the schools they considered.

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Just checked my dd's scores.  She has raised her Science (29) and English (28). Her Reading has always been good, though this time she got 30 (she had 33).  But her math keeps sinking.  She got 23 the first time she took it.  Now she got 17, failed it.  She has convinced herself that she can't do math.  The first time she took the ACT was in the beginning of 10th grade.  She had only completed Alg 1.  Now she's done Alg 2 and geometry and her score has gotten worse.  This will not help her math issues.  Her problem is she can't finish that section.  I'm unsure how to help her out with this.  I had her take math at the local college, but that made her feel even worse.  She's currently doing TT at home, and does well with it.  I'm unsure what to do next.  I tried to get her to work on KhanAcademy, but she refuses. :banghead:  

 

She's convinced that if she went to a "real" school she would do better. This child is going to drive me a bit crazy.

 

On a different note, I had my ds15 (in 9th grade) take it just to see how he did.  He got an overall score of 22.  Not bad for a 9th grader.  He has no test anxiety, because, as he puts it, he doesn't care.  :tongue_smilie:  :001_rolleyes:

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Just checked my dd's scores.

 

 <snip>

 

On a different note, I had my ds15 (in 9th grade) take it just to see how he did.  He got an overall score of 22.  Not bad for a 9th grader.  He has no test anxiety, because, as he puts it, he doesn't care.  :tongue_smilie:  :001_rolleyes:

 

You know, my dd was so unexpectedly busy the few weeks before the test that she didn't get in much prep at all. I was a bit nervous, but now I think it's good that she didn't have time to get nervous! 

 

Anxiety can definitely wreak havoc on some test-takers. Given your dd's previous math score, it clearly happened to her. 

 

If she's a junior, maybe she can take a break and take it again in fall. If she's a senior, I'm not sure what the best thing to do would be. Will any of her schools super-score? That would certainly help! 

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STILL NOT POSTED! I need chocolate! Badly! None in the house so possibly I'm just going to be fruit loops by the time we do see his score. :lol:

 

Do they post more throughout the day, or just in mornings?  I'm wondering if it's worth it to keep checking back today?

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No scores here either. I'm more calm than I thought I'd be. DS seems not to be bothered at all. 

This is his second time taking it.  He scored reasonably well the first time, but did not take the writing portion. He wanted to raise his score and take the writing portion because 2 of the schools to which he wants to apply require the writing portion.  Writing is his weakest area, so it makes me happy to know that the writing will not affect his composite score.  I guess DS has a number in his head that he'd like to make because he said he may take the test again in June depending on these scores. He has yet to verbalize a desired score.

Guess I'll check back in the morning.

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When my oldest took the test, we half-jokingly told her that if she scored over a 32, she wouldn't have to take it again. She didn't need to take it again. So we made the same deal with #2.

 

Basically, it came down to the scholarship matrices at the schools they considered.

 

 

 

So over 32, is that the magic cutoff? 

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You know, my dd was so unexpectedly busy the few weeks before the test that she didn't get in much prep at all. I was a bit nervous, but now I think it's good that she didn't have time to get nervous! 

 

Anxiety can definitely wreak havoc on some test-takers. Given your dd's previous math score, it clearly happened to her. 

 

If she's a junior, maybe she can take a break and take it again in fall. If she's a senior, I'm not sure what the best thing to do would be. Will any of her schools super-score? That would certainly help! 

 

 

She's a junior, so she'll take it again in the fall.  This afternoon I decided that I'm going to take her for a psych educational eval.  I think she has something going on that we haven't addressed.  She's been struggling in school, falling apart during a test.  I was thinking that she wasn't studying enough, but now I think there may be something else at play. 

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So over 32, is that the magic cutoff? 

 

That wasn't my post, but I'd say 32 was the magic number for that particular student because it qualified her for scholarships at the schools she was interested in. From that post: Basically, it came down to the scholarship matrices at the schools they considered.

 

And that's what it came down to for us as well. dd got the score she needed for certain scholarships at schools she is interested in. 

 

For her, it wasn't worth chasing another point or two, on the chance that it would potentially boost her chances a bit for other, competitive scholarships. She knows she has several good choices right now, and she's happy with her score. 

 

A different student might get the same score and decide to retake the test, because they have very specific goals in mind or just because they think they can do better.

 

And consider this: as per the ACT, 22% of people taking the test for the second time will get a lower score. The higher your initial score, the more likely that you will get either the same or lower.

 

If dd got the score she needed, did a retake in hopes of doing even better, and got a lower score? Her head would explode. And she'd have to take it a third time. We'll just move on, thanks!! 

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I wonder if that 22% consists mostly of students retesting soon after the first test, as opposed to a year or two later. These are the situations that intrigue me. Why stop as a sophomore? Surely the odds are in your favor with another year or two of study. I do understand if someone has a near perfect score already or severe test anxiety. It's just interesting to me because it never occurred to me to be done early without a 36 or close to it. I appreciate those who have shared. I learn so much from this board!

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I wonder if that 22% consists mostly of students retesting soon after the first test, as opposed to a year or two later. These are the situations that intrigue me. Why stop as a sophomore? Surely the odds are in your favor with another year or two of study. I do understand if someone has a near perfect score already or severe test anxiety. It's just interesting to me because it never occurred to me to be done early without a 36 or close to it. I appreciate those who have shared. I learn so much from this board!

 

 

Dd will have to take it at least once more for her end of year test next year.  She is only at a 31 though. We haven't hyper-prepped or anything.  She is only a sophomore so we haven't narrowed down any specific schools or scholarships.  The schools she is interested in are very competitive though.  She needs to get good scholarships because we cannot fund her education at all.  I wonder if she should take it more than once next year to try to hit that 32 or above?  I actually think, by looking last year's PSAT test, the current SAT might be her stronger test so I am not sure how much time and energy to put toward the ACT.  Gah, decisions.  I hate them. 

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I wonder if that 22% consists mostly of students retesting soon after the first test, as opposed to a year or two later. These are the situations that intrigue me. Why stop as a sophomore? Surely the odds are in your favor with another year or two of study. I do understand if someone has a near perfect score already or severe test anxiety. It's just interesting to me because it never occurred to me to be done early without a 36 or close to it. I appreciate those who have shared. I learn so much from this board!

I have read that the math section gets harder scorewise if the kids go on to take Calculus before they finish their testing. Scores drop on math because they forget the basics.

 

I haven't seen the actual scores but I did notice that ds seemed to have a bit of a lag on vocabulary compared to his sister. Not sure if time will help that one or not, but his English scores are lower than the rest. I am putting that down to age and would expect improvement in that section over time.

 

DS stopping now would depend on if his English score is high enough for all the schools on his list and his math/science sections being great. If he was going someplace where writing wasn't required we would consider not testing again. Of course if the English isn't high enough he is going back in June since his sister is already testing for the writing section.

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