ACT what's the lowest score to qualify for scholarship $$

[Casperina]

Thanks all, we are going to retake the ACT. We just always figured she'd go to the community college and transfer to our local university her jr year. Now we've got some news from her track coach that there were some DII schools interested in her last year at regionals, he said for sure she'd be getting some letters this year. So now we're getting a little excited that maybe she'll get some ahtletic scholarship money and possibly could go away. We'll see. Plus maybe with a higher ACT score she can get some academic money too. We're going to try our best. Just keep your fingers crossed that she gets enough that would bring it in line with our instate school. We're very much against taking out tons of money in loans, plus we have 2 more to educate so I hope it works out for her. Thanks for all the insight you've all provided and the links from the one poster.

I really have to promote going to a community college. Much cheaper, some of the best teachers, usually 20 students as opposed to 400+, and a great way to get credits in before transferring elsewhere.
Seeing people take general electives at universities makes me go ...

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Thanks all, we are going to retake the ACT. We just always figured she'd go to the community college and transfer to our local university her jr year. Now we've got some news from her track coach that there were some DII schools interested in her last year at regionals, he said for sure she'd be getting some letters this year. So now we're getting a little excited that maybe she'll get some ahtletic scholarship money and possibly could go away. We'll see. Plus maybe with a higher ACT score she can get some academic money too. We're going to try our best. Just keep your fingers crossed that she gets enough that would bring it in line with our instate school. We're very much against taking out tons of money in loans, plus we have 2 more to educate so I hope it works out for her. Thanks for all the insight you've all provided and the links from the one poster.

You just never know and maybe it will be great or maybe it won't matter however it is a risk worth taking.

Anyway she will probably score higher with more classes under her belt. A little practice won't hurt.

Good Luck to your dd!

 

[amg35]

Scores have gone up because schools are teaching to them. Many schools have ACT words of the day, problems of the day, or reading of the day in their classes.

Thank you, I thought I was crazy!! I got a 26 and that was pretty good back then. We knew a girl who got a 33, she was like a walking legend!
And we only took it once I think...

 

[amg35]

I think the uptick in ACT scores is from the kids on the coasts. A few years ago when the first kids started trying it here it was like 'whoa, I'm taking that! I only got a mediocre score on the SAT but my friends took the ACT and blew it out, and everyone accepts it, so...'

It still has some stigma, I know some kids/families who won't consider it, but a lot do because it's just easier and thus, higher score if someone had been prepping for the SAT.

So, you're saying that the scores were lower before because no kids from the coasts took the ACT?

 

[cornflake]

So, you're saying that the scores were lower before because no kids from the coasts took the ACT?

I'm saying that the kids from the coasts, who were/are used to prepping for the SAT, tipped the ACT averages when they started taking it en masse a couple few years back, yeah.

It's an easier test - if you're used to working on a harder test, the easier test seems even easier.

As to the 'schools are giving ACT prep, word of the day, etc.' none I know of here do and there's no vocabulary section on the ACT regardless (the SAT has the sentence completions), so words of the day would be kind of useless.

 

[amg35]

I'm saying that the kids from the coasts, who were/are used to prepping for the SAT, tipped the ACT averages when they started taking it en masse a couple few years back, yeah.

It's an easier test - if you're used to working on a harder test, the easier test seems even easier.

As to the 'schools are giving ACT prep, word of the day, etc.' none I know of here do and there's no vocabulary section on the ACT regardless (the SAT has the sentence completions), so words of the day would be kind of useless.

That's so funny to me, prepping for it. But getting into college, I don't think it was as hard as it is now maybe?

Back when I took it (late 80's) you just showed up the day it was on, took it, and hoped for the best! And I went to a Catholic college prep (supposedly) high school.

 

[LisaR]

I'm saying that the kids from the coasts, who were/are used to prepping for the SAT, tipped the ACT averages when they started taking it en masse a couple few years back, yeah.

It's an easier test - if you're used to working on a harder test, the easier test seems even easier.

As to the 'schools are giving ACT prep, word of the day, etc.' none I know of here do and there's no vocabulary section on the ACT regardless (the SAT has the sentence completions), so words of the day would be kind of useless.

This doesn't make any sense.

Like ACT scores, SAT scores have also increased significantly over the years. Those of us that took the test in the 70's or 80's can't begin to compare our scores to the ones kids are getting now. I'm not sure what the coast has to do with any of it.

From the College Boards:
The SAT was designed as an aptitude test -- it tests your reasoning and verbal abilities, not what you've learned in school. In fact, the SAT was supposed to be a test that one could not study for -- studying does not change one's aptitude. The ACT, on the other hand, is an achievement test. It is meant to test what you have learned in school. However, this distinction between "aptitude" and "achievement" is dubious. There's concrete evidence showing that you can study for the SAT, and as the tests have evolved, they have come to look more and more like each other.

Schools don't prep for the SAT in NY? Sure they do especially since their scores have dropped over the years when the national average has gone up.

http://******************/article/sat-prep-help-for-nyc-high-school-juniors

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/08/education/08tutors.html?pagewanted=all&_moc.semityn.www

And yes, there is a Word of the Day for the SAT.

 

[Buckalew11]

I do believe kids can sign up for some type of ACT question of the day or some such thing.

I'm sure class rank means something but since DD was homeschooled there was no class rank--and GPAs can be all over the place (I actually just turned in her grades and let the umbrella school figure GPA however they chose--there were so many options of how we could have tallied it. DD took dual enrollment classes at this private college last year and once she started getting grades from them, her GPA went way up, lol. I showed no mercy in my grading, lol, I really had no idea that they looked that hard at your GPA since it can vary so between schools, states, etc.

I do think it is important to really visit several campuses so your kid can see the difference in campuses and small school, large universities, etc. Once they have an idea of where they are interested in going, you can really look into costs, scholarships and what is out there for him or her.

 

[cornflake]

This doesn't make any sense.

Like ACT scores, SAT scores have also increased significantly over the years. Those of us that took the test in the 70's or 80's can't begin to compare our scores to the ones kids are getting now. I'm not sure what the coast has to do with any of it.

From the College Boards:
The SAT was designed as an aptitude test -- it tests your reasoning and verbal abilities, not what you've learned in school. In fact, the SAT was supposed to be a test that one could not study for -- studying does not change one's aptitude. The ACT, on the other hand, is an achievement test. It is meant to test what you have learned in school. However, this distinction between "aptitude" and "achievement" is dubious. There's concrete evidence showing that you can study for the SAT, and as the tests have evolved, they have come to look more and more like each other.

Schools don't prep for the SAT in NY? Sure they do especially since their scores have dropped over the years when the national average has gone up.

http://******************/article/sat-prep-help-for-nyc-high-school-juniors

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/08/education/08tutors.html?pagewanted=all&_moc.semityn.www

And yes, there is a Word of the Day for the SAT.

Sure they do, but not the ACT - no one took that here until very recently, I was only talking about the ACT. There's vocab on the SAT, lots of things have word of the day for that, but there isn't on the ACT.

Yes, both scores have shifted over decades but the ACT shifted more recently as it gained popularity outside the midwest and the kids who had been all SAT prep tried it.

I also think they look very little like each other - the SAT has gotten longer as well since they folded in the writing SAT II (which matches that there was the optional ACT essay, though the SAT essay is way different and not optional).

 

[Andtototoo]

I really have to promote going to a community college. Much cheaper, some of the best teachers, usually 20 students as opposed to 400+, and a great way to get credits in before transferring elsewhere.
Seeing people take general electives at universities makes me go ...

My dd has been attending community college. It was a great option for her. She graduated early from high school and so wasn't ready to go away to college at that time and living at home was her choice. Also it was less than 50% of the cost of the state university, small classes, lots of personal interaction with professors, etc.

HOWEVER... she's been looking at 4 year schools to transfer to and found that some won't accept ANY credits from a community college and she'd be starting over as a freshman at those schools. It was a surprise to her to find out that while the flagship campus of our state university system -- the program in which she's interested is considered in the top 10 in the US -- will accept every credit, but a much lesser school won't accept a single one. So if your child has a "dream" 4 year school s/he wants to attend as a transfer, make sure that school will accept transfer credits from a CC so there is not an unpleasant surprise 2 years down the road.

 

[Buckalew11]

My dd has been attending community college. It was a great option for her. She graduated early from high school and so wasn't ready to go away to college at that time and living at home was her choice. Also it was less than 50% of the cost of the state university, small classes, lots of personal interaction with professors, etc.

HOWEVER... she's been looking at 4 year schools to transfer to and found that some won't accept ANY credits from a community college and she'd be starting over as a freshman at those schools. It was a surprise to her to find out that while the flagship campus of our state university system -- the program in which she's interested is considered in the top 10 in the US -- will accept every credit, but a much lesser school won't accept a single one. So if your child has a "dream" 4 year school s/he wants to attend as a transfer, make sure that school will accept transfer credits from a CC so there is not an unpleasant surprise 2 years down the road.

I looked into that while DD was in HS and ready to do dual enrollment. Her college of choice would not give her credit for, say, Composition from the CC. Now, UT and state school will but the private liberal arts school won't. They'd give her a humanities credit.

So, we ended up doing private school for dual enrollment since she knew that was where she wanted to go for her 4 years. Also, dual enrollment was "free" with scholarship at this $38,000 a year school but each class through our CC would cost me $150! That was a no brainer!

Also, I think sometimes some schools do not accept AP classes. I know my nephew's school wasn;t going to accept all of his AP classes (this was a surprise for me) I think they accept some but not all?

 

[fall08CP]

My friends in Louisiana and South Carolina got full rides for 17s. My brother got $0 from U IL for a 34. depends on the school and region.

 

[amg35]

My friends in Louisiana and South Carolina got full rides for 17s. My brother got $0 from U IL for a 34. depends on the school and region.

A scholarship for a 17? Wow.

 

[allison443]

My friends in Louisiana and South Carolina got full rides for 17s. My brother got $0 from U IL for a 34. depends on the school and region.

Was the "full ride" merit-based? With a 17 ACT?

I looked up the average ACT for those states-both are 20. So what school gives full rides for below average test scores? I am honestly curious!

 

[Buckalew11]

My friends in Louisiana and South Carolina got full rides for 17s. My brother got $0 from U IL for a 34. depends on the school and region.

A full ride to where for a 17? I know a girl who took the ACT 3x and scores a 17 and could not go anywhere but to a CC. She was an A/B student in school and a smart cookie, actually, but she could not pass the ACT with anything but a 17. She's about 26 now and owns her own business. But that 17 really caused her trouble getting into college.

My sister's kids live in SC and Presbyterian, Wofferd, etc. sure weren't taking a 17s. Let alone giving a full ride for one.

It is hard for me to believe he did not get anything for a 34---that's just terrible. High scores for the kids I know have truly paid off money wise. I have a nephew from here who scored a 33 or 34 and he got very good money from Furman in SC but not a full ride.

 

[sookie]

Man, the scores have really zinged up over the years. In my day, 30 was almost unheard of. 27 + good grades could mean a full ride back then

I know! Back in my day - like you said - anything over a 30 was crazy. I got a 27 and that was wonderful! I had multiple attempts and I think my "adjusted" was higher... but I can't even remember right now what that was. My husband got a 32 or 33 on a single attempt and that was the highest for his high school - he got a plaque. LOL

Anything over 24 was really good back when I was school, at least for the Midwest. I guess that was a long time ago now. If you had anything over a 3.5 plus a 24+ on the ACT, you could count on great funding with a state school. I'm not sure about now. SAT was not needed in the Midwest but I think it is encouraged now. By the time I got to college, I had several things going on - a year of volunteer work, a high GPA, etc. We did not have adjusted or weighted GPAs. You want your ACT to just be an aspect of your file. Hope that helps.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

I'm saying that the kids from the coasts, who were/are used to prepping for the SAT, tipped the ACT averages when they started taking it en masse a couple few years back, yeah.

It's an easier test - if you're used to working on a harder test, the easier test seems even easier.

As to the 'schools are giving ACT prep, word of the day, etc.' none I know of here do and there's no vocabulary section on the ACT regardless (the SAT has the sentence completions), so words of the day would be kind of useless.

Part of what you say makes a lot of sense, and part of it not so much. First, the point of taking the ACT isn't because it's easier - it's because it matters to the schools you want. Some schools don't give two flips about the SAT's while others don't give two flips about the ACT's.

Also, the notion of it being an easier test is somewhat false. Perfect scores on the ACT are pretty much unheard of where they're not on the SAT (uncommon yes, unheard of no).

But, the notion that kids who are 2nd or 3rd generation of prepping for the test having a leg up on those who haven't does have some merit. A 1400 on the SAT pretty much means the same thing it did 30 years ago. The same is not true of the ACT where a great score 30 years ago is very so-so today. The potential for a truly phenomenal score is probably the same for both tests. The potential to score higher relative to everyone else's score may have been easier for the ACT, although any advantage the East Coasters had is probably long gone given (A) the rest of the country is now prepping and (B) even if the East Coasters were "ahead" of the rest, having more & more of them taking the ACT pretty much negates any advantage over their peers.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

I know! Back in my day - like you said - anything over a 30 was crazy. I got a 27 and that was wonderful! I had multiple attempts and I think my "adjusted" was higher... but I can't even remember right now what that was. My husband got a 32 or 33 on a single attempt and that was the highest for his high school - he got a plaque. LOL

I knew one kid who scored in the 30's. Oddly enough, he wasn't really that great of a student. I don't think he was even in the top 50 of our class (IIRC, he did score 35 or something like that on English whereas that was my lowest score). There were 3 27's in the top 10 of our class & none that were higher.

 

[sookie]

There are soooooooooooo many other factors than just ACT scores involved in scholarship awards-just an ACT -even of 26 or 27 many not net you any $$$$ in some places and a full ride in others-in a music or theater program if your student has a great back ground you will do well. In a top teir engineer school not only will that not get you any money it wont get you admited. It sounds like lots of folks here are doing good in that range tho so you can probably feel pretty good about her chances espeically if she is an athelete-there are tons of dollars for female athletes.
Just a note on the person who said her husband got good money with a 19 for sports-the NCAA clearinghouse now does not allow DI or DII schools to award money to students scoring under 21.

I think the year I got a 27 was in 2000; I want to say I was in the 97% percentile. I still don't think that was that long ago!!!

 

[Sadie22]

A previous poster stated a 1400 on the SAT pretty much means the same thing it did 30 years ago. That cannot be true since the SAT now has three parts, rather than the two it used to have. Assuming the writing section is 800 points just like verbal and math, 1400 out of 2400 is not the same as 1400 out of 1600. Just sayin'.