32 without sudying?

[metalhead1023]

Ok so I took an ACT Diagnostic test which means you take it before studying for anything. Its meant to tell you what you need to work on.

I know 32 is good, which is what I scored. But with major studying is it likely to raise it to 35-36.

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[penguinophile]

Ok so I took an ACT Diagnostic test which means you take it before studying for anything. Its meant to tell you what you need to work on.

I know 32 is good, which is what I scored. But with major studying is it likely to raise it to 35-36.

Depends on how you define "likely" and what your individual sections were. For many people, getting all the subjects up to a 36 is difficult, and to keep it there is even more difficult. The ACT is a great test, but depending on the college you are applying to, it isn't as forgiving as the SAT. Most colleges I know of take best math and best verbal and best writing for the SAT but quite a few take the best composite for the ACT, meaning that if you aced writing, reading and math but only got a 30 in science, you can't change your study plan and just focus on science, you have to keep everything up as well. However, there are schools that do pick and choose in order to make you look great, so be sure to contact your top schools and see what their policy is on standardized tests.

With major studying, it isn't beyond consideration that your score could increase to a 35-36 as long as you really keep up with it. Just remember that you can take the ACT multiple times and many professional services recommend that you take your standardized test of choice (be it ACT or SAT or both) about 3 times. If you want any info tailored to a particular section, feel free to PM me.

 

[tennisball80]

Ok so I took an ACT Diagnostic test which means you take it before studying for anything. Its meant to tell you what you need to work on.

I know 32 is good, which is what I scored. But with major studying is it likely to raise it to 35-36.

WTF

That's a good score man ....

 

[roseglass6370]

wow...just be happy with what you got. 32 is awesome...if i were you i wouldn't worry about trying to get a 35 or 36...just focus on making sure your SAT is as awesome as your ACT is to keep things balanced.

i did significantly better on my ACT than on my SAT (still got into my number one college, but it was also in state). probably should've studied more for the SAT or retaken it, but since i'd already been accepted into my number one i didn't care, haha.

chill out. you're waaaaay overshooting if you feel the need to raise that score. unless of course you're applying to, idk harvard or something.

 

[bcat85]

32 is great. So I had the same situation as you. I took an ACT diagnostic and scored a 30 or so and then I stopped studying and ended up getting a 31, so they're pretty accurate. Just make sure you are keeping up on the material for the test.

As an aside, I know some people talked about you taking the ACT and the SAT, but if you are in the midwest and plan on staying in the midwest or the south, you can probably bypass the SAT altogether.

 

[metalhead1023]

...unless of course you're applying to, idk harvard or something.

Actually thats the kind of schools I want to apply to, I'm still not sure if medicine is right for me so I want to be great in what ever I do and being great to me starts in colleges like that.

 

[metalhead1023]

32 is great. So I had the same situation as you. I took an ACT diagnostic and scored a 30 or so and then I stopped studying and ended up getting a 31, so they're pretty accurate. Just make sure you are keeping up on the material for the test.

As an aside, I know some people talked about you taking the ACT and the SAT, but if you are in the midwest and plan on staying in the midwest or the south, you can probably bypass the SAT altogether.

I'm from the midwest. So with this I think I'm still going to take both just because my top two schools are on coasts

Cornell and Stanford.

 

[penguinophile]

I'm from the midwest. So with this I think I'm still going to take both just because my top two schools are on coasts

Cornell and Stanford.

Check out your schools' websites. The two tests are so ubiquitous that you should really only focus on your stronger one. There is no need to take both if you have figured out that the ACT is the way to go. Big name schools take both pretty equally since there is generally an accepted conversion between the two.

 

[MilkmanAl]

Actually thats the kind of schools I want to apply to, I'm still not sure if medicine is right for me so I want to be great in what ever I do and being great to me starts in colleges like that.

To be quite frank, your opinions of greatness aren't going to matter when it comes job hunting time. The opinions of your prospective employers are what you should be concerned about. What are your alternatives to medicine as you see them now? If you're thinking of doing business or law, an Ivy pedigree is probably going to make a big difference. If you want to do grad schools, particularly something in the sciences, your LOR's and GRE subject test scores are going to be far more important than your undergrad location.

 

[metalhead1023]

Check out your schools' websites. The two tests are so ubiquitous that you should really only focus on your stronger one. There is no need to take both if you have figured out that the ACT is the way to go. Big name schools take both pretty equally since there is generally an accepted conversion between the two.

I trust your opinion penguinophile but I would like more opinions on this please.

 

[MilkmanAl]

I agree, for whatever that's worth. There's not much reason to excel on both tests. Personally, I thought the SAT was far easier since it was more straightforward, but it didn't have a writing section back then. I'm not really sure how that affects things. If you're rocking the ACT, stick with that. 32 is a solid score, to be sure.

 

[Narmerguy]

I trust your opinion penguinophile but I would like more opinions on this please.

I agree, pick one test and knock it out. The SAT is accepted/required at more schools than the ACT but it's not going to be a factor at any of the colleges you're likely applying to. So just pick which one you feel most comfortable with.

On the Ivy League greatness thing, I wouldn't put too much stock into that during undergraduate. If you pursue some kind of higher education that will determine much more how well you will be received in whatever field you choose. As someone else already said too that specifically business and law are where the Ivy name will help you.

I thought for a long time of trying to go for an Ivy school but ultimately decided that as far as medicine was concerned it wouldn't be that necessary. What are some of the other alternatives that you're thinking of? Feel free to pm me as well if you like.

 

[MossPoh]

Man. Its good that you guys study for this stuff but I'm just thinking back to my day. NOBODY where I was from studied for these exams. The term "diagnostic exam" was foreign to me. I wound up with a 32 on the ACT, but I took for the novelty of taking it. I know that college competition is tougher than ever. Just study hard and see what you can get. It doesn't really matter THAT much. If you have strong extracurriculars and a letter of recommendation or two with a solid gpa that shows you tried then you'll get accepted at whatever school you want (for the most part).

 

[deleted74029]

Man. Its good that you guys study for this stuff but I'm just thinking back to my day. NOBODY where I was from studied for these exams. The term "diagnostic exam" was foreign to me. I wound up with a 32 on the ACT, but I took for the novelty of taking it. I know that college competition is tougher than ever. Just study hard and see what you can get. It doesn't really matter THAT much. If you have strong extracurriculars and a letter of recommendation or two with a solid gpa that shows you tried then you'll get accepted at whatever school you want (for the most part).

I agree, I didn't know people studied for these tests either.

 

[ylrebmik]

Yeah my teachers said that nobody would study for the ACT and everyone joked about taking it. A lot of them are shocked how much importance it holds now... and so am I... let's see how fast you can read... how well you can read a graph but not actually know science... how fast you can answer questions about a story... and the dreaded math. I got an... okay score... high 20s but that's okay for the schools I'm applying to.

 

[MilkmanAl]

I agree, I didn't know people studied for these tests either.

I was kind of shocked by that as well. I actually distinctly remember making fun of a friend of mine for studying for the SAT. I guess that makes me a sh*tty person.

 

[deleted74029]

let's see how fast you can read... how well you can read a graph but not actually know science... how fast you can answer questions about a story...

ALMOST sounds like the MCAT, except will be lets see how fast you can read AND answer questions about things that are stated in the passage, how well can you read a graph and even though you know a ****load about science we can still manipulate the graph to make you misinterpret it, and how fast can you answer questions about a story, except the questions arent about the story itself, but what the writer of the story would think about a story some other guy wrote 100 years later, and how he would respond to that story.

Nevertheless, if you can do well on standardized tests of any type, when MCAT time rolls around in a few years you should be able to do well IF YOU STUDY.

 

[EyEnStein 07]

break down where you had problems. Then go to a section or look at samples with that many types of problems like that. See how you do. If you find your getting all of them right, then you should be ok. Honestly in tests like ACT or SAT, once your in the 34+, 2250+, luck really does come into play, thats because of how the scoring works, and you might miss some here and there, that you might not have on a previous test.

32 is a good score, take more practice tests. If you stay around that score you will be fine

 

[LGMAlpha]

I got a 34 on the diagnostic test and a 30 on the actual test.

 

[CScull]

A friend of mine got a full ride to Vandy with a 35 and a 4.2 GPA (probably about the equivilant or something like getting into Stanford)... but the main reason he got a scholarship was because of his extracurriculars and his personality and such. Perfect scores aren't going to get you in somewhere by themselves, it takes a lot of work to get into those schools. If you really want it you better be prepared to bust your butt to make them like you. You have to stand out; be unique.