Improving my ACT score vs Improving my ECsAnswered
I just got my ACT back, I got a 33. (35 on English and Reading, 31 Math and 30 Science)
Should I take the ACT again this summer or focus on my extracurriculars? I’m a black female (immigrated to US when I was little, parents have doctorates) so I’m not confident I’ll get into the schools I want. My top schools I’m applying for are Emory, Rice, RIT, or Wakeforest.
The ecs I have right now are:
- Currently in the process of starting an organization to highlight POC youth with achievements in STEAM. It also will have resources to help underrepresented youth get resources for STEM related-stuff
- Will be a Hosptial Volunteer and assist physicians + nurses in patient care for over 100 hours over summer break
- Will get about 60+ hours of Physician Shadowing at my local Veterans Affairs + Virtually Shadowing a Psychiatric PA
- Volunteered as a Data Clerk at an Oncology Clinic for approx 40 hours
- Was a paid Math and English tutor to children for over two years.
- Volunteered as a childcare volunteer at my church for over 3 years.
- (Might) become a staff writer for a health website, I’m still waiting on them to reply
I plan on either majoring in cognitive science or neuroscience w/ a minor in psych or art. My math and science scores are kinda on the lower side so I’m kinda worried . What do y’all suggest??? I haven’t been in any clubs or anything and my old school didn’t offer any honors classes and only a handful of APs
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2 answers
Hi, I recommend that you retake the ACT and focus your studying on MATH and SCIENCE sections since at least 2 of your schools are STEM related. Having a high ACT score will help validate you can do the work since you don't have a lot of APs or Honors as you stated.
Here are 3 resources I used to up my 33 to a 35. I had the same problem scoring lower in Math and Science.
- College Panda series for ACT Math
https://www.amazon.com/College-Pandas-ACT-Math-Advanced/dp/0989496473/
- For the Love of Science
https://www.amazon.com/Love-ACT-Science-innovative-standardized/dp/0996832203
-And the ACT course on SuperTutorTV.com ( I think it's $249. for 6 mo.)
https://courses.supertutortv.com/sign-up
-Since you are Black female, keep in mind you have an important "hook" plus picking a STEM major is a plus as well. Therefore I would recommend that you switch up your college list a bit and apply to more schools that are not "need aware" but "need blind" that have more generous $$$ financial aid to families with higher incomes ($250,000).
This would be schools like the Ivy's, Elite colleges and Liberal Arts colleges like Swarthmore/Williams/Amherst/CMC. Princeton is very STEM Black Female friendly in my opinion. You will be a stand out as a Black STEM female with a 35 ACT at these schools so don't sell yourself short.
Also consider "diversity" at these schools. RIT is not a very diverse place and in a food desert in Rochester which is a v.cold place to be for 4 years. Rice/Emory/WF may have 7-8% Black representation however since they are in the South, there are more African Americans vs. POCs from other nationalities. Plus you have to deal with "Southern" cultural norms.
As a women in STEM, you have to also consider a school where you will get a lot of support to thrive as a STEM woman. So look into the Olin College Of Engineering in MA. It's 52% Female/48% Male which is a perfect ratio geared to supporting STEM women. RIT is like 66% male to 34% female.
Good luck.
Hi @amy45339!
It's best to think of test scores as more of a threshold you need to clear than a holistic component of your profile. Once you have the test scores and grades to be competitive at a school, admissions officers will focus more on your extracurriculars and essays when comparing you against other applicants. In other words, there's diminishing returns for high test scores; at a certain point, your extracurriculars and essays will become the deciding factors.
A 33 for the schools you listed should be enough to meet that threshold. But to be sure, I'd check out CollegeVine's Chancing Engine (link on the sidebar). It'll run your scores against students who've applied and been accepted in the past, and it'll tell you which parts of your application need improvement.
Your extracurriculars are pretty strong, but if you see clear opportunities for improvement then I'd focus on those. As for your ACT, it will probably help to boost that science score (focusing on that in particular), but I wouldn't make that a priority to the point that it limits your extracurricular work.
Hope that helps! Let me know if you have any quesitons.
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Thank you! I plan on taking AP stats and AP Bio next year along with maybe dual enrolling general chem and Calc 1 over summer as well. Do you think this could make up for my lower ACT score as well? I’ve already taken AP Lang, AP US, Dual Credit Precalc, and will take AP Psyche.