Should I retake the ACT?

[Chaos_Sorcerer]

 

I am genuinely surprised. I went in with almost no prep, and thought I completely bombed it. I was hoping for a 25...

I can't believe how well I did on my English. Holy shit. They say that's the easiest section, though.

I only got around halfway through my essay, so I'm happy with that score, tbh

My math, though...math has always been my best subject in school, but for this I kept overthinking the questions and left like 5 or 10 blank. I also hadn't learned a lot of the stuff they were testing.

 

Should I take it again? For a STEM major, I think I'll have to, just for the math score...would 35 be too ambitious?

I'd also need to improve my writing skills. 

 

I am in Canada, but it has always been my dream to go to a nice American school. I'm debating whether it's going to be worth it, though. 

[PlayStation 2]

If you want to make yourself look better, why not if you feel you can genuinely do better?

[Techicolors]

what schools are you interested in? check in with the median scores of those schools, they usually list them as incoming freshman profiles 

[Chaos_Sorcerer]

6 minutes ago, Techicolors said:

what schools are you interested in? check in with the median scores of those schools, they usually list them as incoming freshman profiles 

Well, it's always been my dream to go to an Ivy, but that isn't very realistic. Most of the schools in the states are just too expensive and/or too hard to get into, even with a good ACT score, especially since I'm an international student. 

 

I was thinking of aiming for a 35 just to be safe, but I feel like it might just be better to go to a Canadian school for undergrad and then tryhard for a good graduate program the US instead. 

[bimmerman]

Need to? No. If you think you can do better and that an improved score would help your chances, you might as well. Will they report all scores to the school or just your best one?

 

Remember that the test scores are only one part of your application-- so long as they're above some (unpublished) minimum threshold, the school won't care too much.

[Starelementpoke]

2 hours ago, Chaos_Sorcerer said:

 

 

I am in Canada, but it has always been my dream to go to a nice American school. I'm debating whether it's going to be worth it, though. 

 

You Fool! Save yourself!

[wasab]

2 hours ago, Chaos_Sorcerer said:

 

I am genuinely surprised. I went in with almost no prep, and thought I completely bombed it. I was hoping for a 25...

I can't believe how well I did on my English. Holy shit. They say that's the easiest section, though.

I only got around halfway through my essay, so I'm happy with that score, tbh

My math, though...math has always been my best subject in school, but for this I kept overthinking the questions and left like 5 or 10 blank. I also hadn't learned a lot of the stuff they were testing.

 

Should I take it again? For a STEM major, I think I'll have to, just for the math score...would 35 be too ambitious?

I'd also need to improve my writing skills. 

 

I am in Canada, but it has always been my dream to go to a nice American school. I'm debating whether it's going to be worth it, though. 

Test means squat. Get all straight A in your high school and get above average test scores and you should be fine in getting accepted into decent colleges. 

 

If you are aiming for American IV league , you need more than just good marks on exams. You need to be able to tell the college admission  officer in an interview that you built a particle accelerator as your high school science fair project or published a scientific paper, or won a Nobel peace prize for solving world hunger or something equally ridiculous in order to have a chance. 

[Speed Weed]

I hate ACT and SAT. I bombed those sh*t back in high school year. College is not for everyone. 

[wasab]

14 minutes ago, Starelementpoke said:

You Fool! Save yourself!

America still has the best and most prestigious universities in the world. The public education system sucks but private schools and universities are still top notch. 

[Speed Weed]

5 minutes ago, wasab said:

America still has the best and most prestigious universities in the world. The public education system sucks but private schools and universities are still top notch. 

But they are expensive as hell. Not everyone has a scholarship you know? You need at least $40k - $50k spare for Computer Science master degree. 

[BuckGup]

7 minutes ago, wasab said:

America still has the best and most prestigious universities in the world. The public education system sucks but private schools and universities are still top notch. 

Yeah that's why most ivy league are filled with non white americans

[wasab]

6 minutes ago, DaPhuc said:

But they are expensive as hell. Not everyone has a scholarship you know? You need at least $40k - $50k spare for Computer Science master degree. 

But prestigious public universities like UC Berkeley is affordable. They are just as good as ivy league schools. But again... Op is Canadian so he won't qualified for in state tuition and subsidies.

[Speed Weed]

1 minute ago, wasab said:

But prestigious public universities like UC Berkeley is affordable. They are just as good ivy league schools. But again... Op is Canadian so he won't qualified for in state tuition and subsidies.

Well, it depends on the school charge you per credit. USF in FL charge $400 per credit. 

[wasab]

3 minutes ago, BuckGup said:

Yeah that's why most ivy league are filled with non white americans

Half of students at Harvard is white. What are you talking about? 

[Chaos_Sorcerer]

41 minutes ago, bimmerman said:

Need to? No. If you think you can do better and that an improved score would help your chances, you might as well. Will they report all scores to the school or just your best one?

 

Remember that the test scores are only one part of your application-- so long as they're above some (unpublished) minimum threshold, the school won't care too much.

I do believe I have the option of telling them to only send my best scores. 

35 minutes ago, wasab said:

Test means squat. Get all straight A in your high school and get above average test scores and you should be fine in getting accepted into decent colleges. 

 

If you are aiming for American IV league , you need more than just good marks on exams. You need to be able to tell the college admission  officer in an interview that you built a particle accelerator as your high school science fair project or published a scientific paper, or won a Nobel peace prize for solving world hunger or something equally ridiculous in order to have a chance. 

I'm not sure how the grade conversion works. I have gotten a few Bs, but that was all in freshman year when I didn't care about my grades. My grades this year are really good, though. 

 

I know I need more than good marks and test scores. My activities are probably the weakest part of my application. I basically just took this ACT to see how I did. I'm still not sure if I should even bother applying to American colleges. 

 

It looks like my composite score should be suitable for most public universities in the US, but those are hella expensive for people like me. Would it be worth taking the test again in hopes of a 34/35 or should I just not even bother?

[Chaos_Sorcerer]

Actually, would it be a good idea to take the SAT instead? I know they give you a lot more time per question, and time was my biggest problem on this test. Then again, I did go in with almost no practice, so I feel like I could do a lot better with time-management next time. 

[wasab]

2 minutes ago, Chaos_Sorcerer said:

I do believe I have the option of telling them to only send my best scores. 

I'm not sure how the grade conversion works. I have gotten a few Bs, but that was all in freshman year when I didn't care about my grades. My grades this year are really good, though. 

 

I know I need more than good marks and test scores. My activities are probably the weakest part of my application. I basically just took this ACT to see how I did. I'm still not sure if I should even bother applying to American colleges. 

 

It looks like my composite score should be suitable for most public universities in the US, but those are hella expensive for people like me. Would it be worth taking the test again in hopes of a 34/35 or should I just not even bother?

You need to take the American SAT. I never took the ACT. I scored a 1930 something out of 2400. Shitty for prestigious colleges but more than enough for decent state schools which are what I actually aimed for. I live in NYC but I never applied to schools like NYU, Columbia , or whatnots. I applied to SUNY and CUNY schools(which are all public schools if you don't know what they are)

 

Tuition for these public universities is just 8k+ a year.  Tuition for private schools like Colombia  is like 45k a year. Once you get a job in the field, you are gonna be working at the same things, and earning the same amount so why bother going to the more expensive schools? 

[Chaos_Sorcerer]

2 minutes ago, wasab said:

You need to take the American SAT. I never took the ACT. I scored a 1930 something out of 2400. Shitty for prestigious colleges but more than enough for decent state schools which are what I actually aimed for. I live in NYC but I never applied to schools like NYU, Columbia , or whatnots. I applied to SUNY and CUNY schools(which are all public schools if you don't know what they are)

 

Tuition for these public universities is just 8k+ a year.  Tuition for private schools like Colombia  is like 45k a year. Once you get a job in the field, you are gonna be working at the same things, and earning the same amount so why bother going to the more expensive schools? 

Public universities cost something upwards of $30 000/40 000 USD for international students, and scholarships are limited. Many of the top colleges in the US offer need-based scholarships, which is partly why I want to go to the US in the first place. They're so rich that it would actually be cheaper for me to go to say, Yale, than a lot of the public schools here. 

 

Most programs in Canada are relatively easy (at least compared to the top schools in the US) to get into, and so I do have a few backup plans in mind. I definitely plan on getting a graduate degree, so it might be better to stay here for undergrad and study abroad for a master's or doctorate. 

 

Don't most schools in the US accept both the ACT and SAT? I just took the ACT because it was the only one available in June. 

[Teddy07]

8 minutes ago, wasab said:

Tuition for these public universities is just 8k+ a year.

 

 

8k is a lot in my eyes.

[wasab]

18 minutes ago, Chaos_Sorcerer said:

Public universities cost something upwards of $30 000/40 000 USD for international students, and scholarships are limited. Many of the top colleges in the US offer need-based scholarships, which is partly why I want to go to the US in the first place. They're so rich that it would actually be cheaper for me to go to say, Yale, than a lot of the public schools here. 

 

Most programs in Canada are relatively easy (at least compared to the top schools in the US) to get into, and so I do have a few backup plans in mind. I definitely plan on getting a graduate degree, so it might be better to stay here for undergrad and study abroad for a master's or doctorate. 

 

Don't most schools in the US accept both the ACT and SAT? I just took the ACT because it was the only one available in June. 

Studying aborad is a valuable experience. I am not discouraging you. You do need to do some research into the college you wish to attend though. 

[theninja35]

1 hour ago, Starelementpoke said:

You Fool! Save yourself!

Smart enough to get a 33 but not smart enough to save himself from eternal debt.

[Guest]

Just remember that most universities offer quite similar curriculum and its often the teaching that is different. An Ivy League college looks great on your CV, but you won't be any smarter at a different college. Especially in science subjects.

[wasab]

37 minutes ago, Teddy07 said:

 

8k is a lot in my eyes.

That's a lot? ?

I can pay it off by working 3 months in the summer and still have 2,500 left over. 

[Teddy07]

3 minutes ago, wasab said:

That's a lot? ?

I can pay it off by working 3 months in the summer and still have 2,500 left over. 

Which student job is paying this much?

[wasab]

20 minutes ago, Teddy07 said:

Which student job is paying this much?

My job doesn't pay more, I simply work more.