The ACT, SAT, and Junior Year

Both the SAT and ACT released their multiple choice scores this week, and many juniors are wondering if your scores are “good enough” or how much farther you have to go. Before we get too in depth, I want to talk about what you shouldn’t do.

Don’t compare yourselves to your friends. Even if you plan on applying to the same schools, you’re not really in competition with them; you’re just trying to fill two seats out of thousands.

Don’t change where you plan on applying based on your score. It’s early. The Spring is when you’ll want to make your big push. Never take a school off your list because of your test scores, but down the road, you may want to change or add a safety school or two.

Don’t decide you can’t pursue certain majors or careers because of your score. I’ve had several students get perfect SAT/ACT scores over the years, and it’s great. It’s fun, it’s exciting, and I love it. It’s funny though, Harvard Medical didn’t call a single one of them and say “Hey, as soon as you finish college come right on over. Shoot just skip the first year.” A good test score is a good test score. A bad test score is a bad test score. That’s all they are. Here’s what you should do:

Plan out your Spring testing schedule. Figure out will you test (early and often). Will you take both the ACT/SAT or just one? Try not and miss test dates, you may regret it later.

Figure out a prep plan. How are you going to prepare, what’s a general schedule of tutoring/classes/self-prep look like for you. What are you going to target? What sections, skills, timing, strategies need help?

Decide what’s working and isn’t working. How’s your approach, your effort level, your strategy? What seems great on paper but falls apart on test day?

How to evaluate your scores:

Where are you applying? Make a comprehensive list of schools that you may apply to. You don’t have to apply to every school on that list; these are the schools that you’re interested in. Be wary of shutting the door on anything as being too expensive, beneath your talents, above your abilities, too far, or too close. Later on, you can decide not to apply or, even if you do apply, you don’t have to go there. The idea is to have a good idea of what kind of test score you’ll need. I recommend having three score goals:

A fall back goal at or around the 25th percentile of your top choice schools.

A goal at or around the 50th percentile of your top choice schools.

A stretch goal of at or above the 75th percentile of your top choice schools.

Let’s talk for a second about the difference between top choice and reach schools. A reach school is, by definition, a reach. Harvard is a reach for almost everyone (unless you’re famous). So are the rest of the ivy leagues and similar institutions (Duke, Stanford, etc.).

A highly selective top choice school may be universities like Georgetown or the University of Michigan. If that’s the case, the numbers for your top-choice schools will be close to what makes students competitive for the Ivies and other top reach schools. If you’re serious about applying to extremely selective schools, contact us. Admission to those institutions is complicated and multi-factorial. We can help you wade through what you need to do to stand out.

What are your scores? As a junior, your scores probably have some natural upside, particularly if you are just now taking Algebra II. But if you’re more than 50 points away from your goal, it’s unlikely you’ll get there without prep. You can self-prep, take a class, or—even better—work with us one-on-one, but it’s probably time to get started. It almost always takes longer to reach your score goals than you expect. You also want to make a big push this spring; above all, try and avoid having to test senior year. Taking the SAT or ACT as a senior is stressful and tough to balance with completing your applications.

Combine your application list with your scores. Look at the current year’s admissions stats for your colleges. You’ll want to be above the 25th percentile. It’s much better to be above the 50th percentile.

Be wary of online admissions estimators. The high school transcript service Parchment and others (examples here) will take your unweighted GPA and your test scores and convert them into a probability that you’ll be admitted to certain institutions. For schools with low or moderate selectivity, these can be fairly accurate, but they are problematic for highly selective colleges.

Highly selective colleges are holistic in their admissions process. They’ll look harder at extracurriculars, essays, and recommendations. Highly selective public colleges also have lower in-state standards than out of state standards, and that’s not usually considered.

Overall, I think these are fine tools for a rough estimate but don’t don’t rely on them.

Don’t rely solely on the numbers. If you’re at the 25-percentile for a college, that doesn’t mean you won’t get in. In fact, 25% of the people admitted had numbers at or below where you’re at. Make sure you get killer recommendations, write excellent essays, and knock out the best grades you can.

Extensive extracurricular involvement, major achievements, great GPA with tough courses, minority status, or a compelling personal story can overcome poor test scores. Admissions to highly selective schools are holistic, and colleges genuinely consider multiple factors. In this situation, the right application becomes even more important—particularly the essays.