Standardized tests are the bane of many students. Why should a few hours filling in circles with a #2 pencil carry so much weight when applying to college? Browse through the college profiles. If you discover that your ACT scores are lower than most matriculated students, don't worry. You still have several paths to an excellent college. The tips below can help.
1. Compensate with Other StrengthsIf you're applying to colleges with holistic admissions (most selective colleges do), the admissions officers are evaluating you, not reducing you to a few numbers. In an ideal situation, you'd have high test scores to go along with your other strengths. But it's important to remember that when you look at the mid 50% range of ACT scores in thecollege profiles, 25% of matriculated students scored below the bottom score. Those students in the bottom quartile compensated for their ACT scores with strengths such as these:
- A strong academic record
- A winning application essay
- Interesting extracurricular activities with depth of involvement
- Glowing letters of recommendation
- A strong college interview
- A clear demonstration of interest
The ACT is offered in September, October, December, February, April and May. Unless application deadlines are upon you, chances are you have time to retake the exam if you are unhappy with your scores. Realize that simply retaking the exam is unlikely to improve your score much. However, if you put some effort into a practice book or take an ACT prep course, there's a good chance you can bring up your score a bit. The majority of colleges will look only at your best scores, so those low scores can quickly become irrelevant.
Related Reading:
More » 3. Take the SATTaking more standardized tests may not sound like a fun solution to your scores, but if you did poorly on the ACT, you might do better on the SAT. The exams are quite different -- the SAT is designed to test your verbal and reasoning aptitude , whereas the ACT tests your achievement in core high school subject. Almost all colleges will accept either exam.
Related Reading:
More » Ads Grants for Women www.educationconnection.com Looking for Grants for Women? Free College Info with Grants for Women! Save $200 On ACT Tutoring studypoint.com/Save200 Prep for the ACT with StudyPoint and save $200. Learn more today! 4. Finds Schools Where Your Low Scores are GoodThere are thousands of four-year colleges in the United States, and the great majority of them don't look for students who got a 36 on the ACT. Don't let the hype surrounding a few elite colleges make you think that you can't go to an good college. The reality is that quite different. The United States has a great number of excellent colleges where an average score of about 21 is perfectly acceptable. Are you below 21? -- Many good colleges are happy to admit students with below-average scores. Browse through the options and identify colleges where your test scores seem to be in line with typical applicants.
More » 5. Apply to Colleges that Don't Require ScoresMany, many colleges recognize that standardized tests are not a very meaningful measure of a student's accomplishments. As a result, there are now over 800 colleges don't require test scores. Every year, more and more colleges have come to recognize that the exam privileges privileged students, and that your academic record is a better predictor of college success than ACT scores. Many excellent colleges have joined the test-optional movement.
Related Reading:
