Test OptionalAnswered
Hi! I am a Senior applying to colleges this year and I am worried about test-optional versus submitting. I am in the top 10% of my grade, an uw GPA of 3.8657, a list of 9 AP, 2 Nearby college courses passed, a list full of extracurriculars and awards and scholarships, my struggle is that I have a weaker ACT Score for the colleges I wish to apply to (Northwestern University, Michigan, etc). Would it be better for me to apply test-optional or submit my score regardless?
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3 answers
I highly recommend not submitting your ACT score if it is less than 31 to UMich and less than 33 for NorthWestern. Unless of course you are a recruited athlete or legacy to those schools.
Lower ACT scores than these would put you in the bottom quartile of admitted students.
THERE IS NO GOOD REASON TO DRAW ATTENTION TO A LOW ACT or SAT test score.
Good luck.
Test optional just means that you don’t have to submit your test. It won’t be held against you, and they won’t consider you any differently.
However, to make up for the lack of scores, they will pay more attention to all of the other factors, such as your GPA, extracurricular, and everything else you did. You seem to have a very nice resume, so if you are doubting your ACT score, just apply without it.
I think you should still submit your scores. A college representative once told me "If you are choosing to not submit your scores you are basically telling the college you know they're not good enough". If you've tried your best that's all you can do, not everyone is a good test taker- but you still have time.. I would try taking the ACT again, that one was easier for me compared to the SAT but you should try and see which one youre better at. The ACT workbook and SAT workbook are also EXTREMELY helpful, you know exactly what to expect with each as its the same set up just different passages.
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I completely disagree with this assessment and advice. This is not a very productive answer and response. First of all, many high-achieving students get accepted into top universities without submitting a test score. If you have excellent grades, course rigor, ECs, recommendations, essays, supplemental answers, community service, and leadership then having a super high SAT or ACT is the cherry on top of the banana split. But you are still the banana split without the cherry on top.