Which ACT scores to put on transcript??

[RollerSkatingMama]

First off, I have learned so much from reading this forum as I get all the documents ready for my oldest child's college applications. Thanks so much for all of the wisdom!

 

My question is in regards to which ACT scores to put on his transcript. He took the ACT three times, once as a sophomore with a good score but not as good as the other two times. That score will not be on his transcript nor sent to colleges. The second time at the end of junior year, he got an excellent composite score for the schools he's applying to, though his writing score was very low. He and I were both surprised as he is a strong writer and did excellent in a dual-enrollment college writing class too. In a conversation with him, it seems as if he had a hard time connecting with the topic and couldn't think of much to write about it, so I'm guessing the short length of it played a big role. None of the schools require the writing portion of the ACT, though one (not his first choice) "strongly recommends" it.  In hindsight, I wish he had just not taken the writing portion at all.

 

He took the ACT one more time at the beginning of senior year, though I couldn't convince him to take the writing portion again as much as I would have liked him to. He also had an obligation in the early afternoon that would have made it difficult for him to be at the testing location that long. He got the same composite; however, the composite scores were all just a little different though still strong. His math and science scores were a couple points higher, however, on the junior year test, and since he is majoring in engineering, we have only requested that that test date be sent to colleges (the one with the low writing score).

 

Do you think that, when putting his ACT score on his transcript, I need to include his writing score? I know that colleges receive it since it's sent with the composite, but because most of the schools don't require nor recommend it, I'd prefer not to make it so obvious. Is that okay or would that look strange to not have it on there?

 

Also, so far we haven't sent the second set of scores to colleges because his math/science went down a couple points. However, i'm thinking I'd like to put it on his transcript because he had a nearly perfect English score and perhaps that would help to show that he is strong in language arts even though he had such a low writing score. Can I put the scores on the transcript, though, without also having them officially sent? Or doesn't it hold any weight without the official scores also being sent? We could have them officially sent as well, just not sure if it matters. I'm also a bit afraid it will "look bad" that he didn't take the writing test again. By the way, none of the schools superscore, though one says that they will look holistically at his testing history.

 

Thank you for any suggestions you may have! I will be so incredibly glad when this season is over (as will my younger 6 kids so mom isn't sitting at a computer all the time!) 

 

 

[regentrude]

I do not think scores you don't send officially will carry any weight if you self report them; that will more likely raise red flags because it appears as a discrepancy between transcript and reported scores.

I am surprised the college did not require that all scores be sent. If they really only wanted one score, I would put this composite score on the transcript . If you do not list subscores, nobody will question the absence of the essay score.

Edited October 12, 2017 by regentrude

[catz]

I would either send both reports or just send one.  I wouldn't self report one and send the other. 

 

I wouldn't worry about the writing portion.  Especially if he is writing an essay or 2 for that application.  Less schools are taking that in to account and there are reports of scoring being poor and/or inconsistent. 

[RollerSkatingMama]

Ok, so I'm understanding that only scores that are being officially sent in should be on the transcript. Now ds and I need to decide if we should have the second set officially sent in (same composite, just slightly different subscores). 

He already sent in one application that only included his junior year test date, so I think we're going to have to leave well enough alone on that one. However, he hasn't sent in any other applications yet.

 

Regentrude, I was under the impression that we only had to submit the ACT score(s) that we wished unless a school specifically stated in their policy that they require all scores to be reported. Drats, am I assuming wrong? Now I'm concerned!

 

[RollerSkatingMama]

I should have also mention that, based on the applications, admissions requirements on the website, e-mail contacts with admissions regarding questions, etc. the various schools all have different "feels" to them that are having me consider sending just the composite with the highest math score to some and both junior and senior year test dates to others. For example, two of them are specifically engineering schools in which the applications are very cut and dried, no recommendations needed, no essays (except for scholarships), a statement that they only use the ACT scores from a single test date, and they specifically state that they look at the math subscore. For those schools, I'm leaning towards only using the junior year test date that had the highest science/math scores. 

 

However, the other schools are large universities that have a wide variety of majors. One specifically says that, while they only use the composite date from a single test date as the "official" test date, they will look holistically at scoring history. The other says that they strongly recommend students take the writing test once. Others don't say much of anything other than they require an ACT score to be considered for admission. For these, I'm considering sending in (and including on the transcript) both junior and senior year scores. 

 

I don't know if that's okay or not, though. Is it okay to include only one set of scores on the transcript for some schools but then add the other scores on there and have them sent to other schools?

 

Thanks for any input!

[Julie of KY]

Another reason to send more of the ACT scores is that some schools superscore - they'll take the best math and science from one test and then the best english and reading from another.

[Mom22ns]

I didn't put any ACT scores on the transcript, not even for my kiddo with a very high ACT. I didn't think my report would do any good; they only cared about official reports. I also sent only one score report to each school (the best). None of the schools my kids applied to wanted to see every score and none of them super-scored.

[MerryAtHope]

I only put the composite on the transcript, and I deleted any ACT scores I didn't want sent on (ACT allows you to have them delete scores by test date). In your case, I would have the Sophomore score deleted. I might save both of the others if I felt showing the range was important--but it depends on how low the writing score was. If it was low but still college-ready, I might just save that score because of his intended major. 

[RollerSkatingMama]

Thanks for all the replies! I think I'll just put the composite on his transcript or not at all. We'll still need to decide whether or not to send in one more test date to some of the schools. I was a bit confused about why he would need to delete the sophomore score, though, since he's not applying to any schools that state they require all scores to be sent in. Wouldn't that be the only circumstances in which a test would need to be deleted?

[MerryAtHope]

Wouldn't that be the only circumstances in which a test would need to be deleted?

 

Yes, in that case you probably don't need to.