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

[sookie]

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.

Good test taker. I am a weird person who thinks that taking tests are fun... I like to read the question, the stems - I like the task of finding out which answer is different than the others. It isn't always knowing the answer but finding out which is different. I have always been better at taking tests than doing other day to day tasks when it gets tedious sometimes. That is good, because when I have been fed up with studying, I have been able to tell myself to just go to bed - because I do better being well rested and just enjoying the task of "taking the test" and getting lost in it rather than stressing out about cramming for it. Those are the people who end up blowing the ACT out of the water sometimes. LOL

Some of those people are just good test takers. It isn't the knowledge in the test, it is the knowledge of the practice of taking the test.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

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'.

True - I had forgotten that. Let's say 700 out of 800 means pretty much the same

 

[allison443]

We are on the east coast, growing up the ACT was something we heard of being taken in the midwest. We only had the SAT.
My first child went through the college admissions process about seven years ago, we didn't know anyone here who took the ACT.

Three years ago, with my second child, it was common for students to take both the SAT and the ACT (more than once) and then submit whichever score is better. There is a conversion chart to convert your scores. So my dd scored a 30 on the ACT and that was the equivalent of a much higher SAT score than she got on the actual SAT.
Since all schools now accept either test, she made the decision to only submit the ACT score to her schools-all large east coast schools. She got her acceptances.

From what I understand, the SAT and ACT are different types of tests, so some kids do better on one than on the other.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Good test taker.

Some of those people are just good test takers. It isn't the knowledge in the test, it is the knowledge of the practice of taking the test.

Lot of truth in that. Really helped in his case to do so well outside Math & Science. I scored 99th percentile in both, but stumbled quite a bit on the rest which was where he really kicked booty.

 

[allison443]

Also regarding whether scores are higher now, it does seem that there are more perfect scores than there used to be.

However, back in the 1990s, the scoring of the SAT was "re-centered" so for example, what was a 1200 back in the day would now be a 1270.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

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.

Since all schools now accept either test, she made the decision to only submit the ACT score to her schools-all large east coast schools. She got her acceptances.

^^^I stand corrected. Was not aware ACT was accepted universally nowadays.

 

[allison443]

^^^I stand corrected. Was not aware ACT was accepted universally nowadays.

Officially they all accept both, but I was concerned because I thought the east coast schools might prefer the SAT since it was/is more common. It worked out for my dd but I wouldn't be surprised if some schools prefer one or the other depending on their location, kwim?

 

[ohiopugmom]

However, back in the 1990s, the scoring of the SAT was "re-centered" so for example, what was a 1200 back in the day would now be a 1270.

I remember that. Somewhere around 93-95 ish. I remember I took it before recentering, but it was one of the last years.

My memories of ACT vs. SAT was that they seemed very different. Content to me seemed a little more challenging on the SAT vs. the ACT rewarded working quicker? I got a high ACT score and I remember being the only one to finish some sections. There were probably about 1% of my class that got >32ish. Not sure how things may have changed in the last 15-20 years.

 

[ctinct]

The University of Alabama awards full tuition scholarships (guaranteed), even for out of state students, for a 32. I think you had to have a certain gpa, too, but it was not ridiculously high. Their housing looked really nice, too, and it was way cheaper than housing at our state U. They also give smaller awards for lower scores. The application deadline is pretty early. I think it was Dec. 1.

I also just saw a banner ad for the University of Miami in ohio that said something like "check how much you can get for your ACT score", so it sounds as if it is guaranteed. I haven't checked it out.

My daughter used Bama as her financial safety. Interestingly, it would have been cheaper than our state U, even considering the cost of flights down there. She got full tuition at our state school, too, although that was based on class rank rather than ACT scores. However, our room and board is much higher than Bama's, and there are about $2000 in fees at UCONN that were outside of room/board /tuition.

One thing to consider, OP, is that I haven't heard of any school that superscores the ACT, but some schools superscore the SAT.

 

[jrmasm]

Also regarding whether scores are higher now, it does seem that there are more perfect scores than there used to be.

However, back in the 1990s, the scoring of the SAT was "re-centered" so for example, what was a 1200 back in the day would now be a 1270.

Exactly. It's easier to get a higher score than it used to be.

 

[NHdisneylover]

The University of Alabama awards full tuition scholarships (guaranteed), even for out of state students, for a 32. I think you had to have a certain gpa, too, but it was not ridiculously high. Their housing looked really nice, too, and it was way cheaper than housing at our state U. They also give smaller awards for lower scores. The application deadline is pretty early. I think it was Dec. 1.

I also just saw a banner ad for the University of Miami in ohio that said something like "check how much you can get for your ACT score", so it sounds as if it is guaranteed. I haven't checked it out.

My daughter used Bama as her financial safety. Interestingly, it would have been cheaper than our state U, even considering the cost of flights down there. She got full tuition at our state school, too, although that was based on class rank rather than ACT scores. However, our room and board is much higher than Bama's, and there are about $2000 in fees at UCONN that were outside of room/board /tuition.

One thing to consider, OP, is that I haven't heard of any school that superscores the ACT, but some schools superscore the SAT.

Can you provide a link about those Alabama scholarships? All I can find is one area that talks about 8-10 such scholarships available per year that you need at least a 32 to apply for

 

[ctinct]

Here you go.



http://scholarships.ua.edu/types/out_of_state.html

 

[Buckalew11]

The University of Alabama awards full tuition scholarships (guaranteed), even for out of state students, for a 32. I think you had to have a certain gpa, too, but it was not ridiculously high. Their housing looked really nice, too, and it was way cheaper than housing at our state U. They also give smaller awards for lower scores. The application deadline is pretty early. I think it was Dec. 1.

I also just saw a banner ad for the University of Miami in ohio that said something like "check how much you can get for your ACT score", so it sounds as if it is guaranteed. I haven't checked it out.

My daughter used Bama as her financial safety. Interestingly, it would have been cheaper than our state U, even considering the cost of flights down there. She got full tuition at our state school, too, although that was based on class rank rather than ACT scores. However, our room and board is much higher than Bama's, and there are about $2000 in fees at UCONN that were outside of room/board /tuition.

One thing to consider, OP, is that I haven't heard of any school that superscores the ACT, but some schools superscore the SAT.

Quite a few schools super score ACT scores. DD's did.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Quite a few schools super score ACT scores. DD's did.

What's "superscore" mean?

 

[jsmith]

My sons took both tests multiple times ( talent search programs, and Colorado State requirements) I think what they mean by superscoring is that if you have taken the test multiple times they take the highest score on each attempt.-most of the schools my boys applied to did that-and even used the "superscore" for scholarship consideration. South Carolina waves-or did in the past-out of state tution for students scoring i think 30 or higher-that was about 10 years ago so with shrinking state budgets they man not do it any more.
there is definately something to being a good test taker-when i took the ACT in (gulp) 1978 i got a 33 -im not a genius but i am one heck of a test taker-i actually scored perfectly in two areas-but they were basically reading comprehension -and sucked it up in math-only got a 25 there. I got a 1520 on the SAT the same year-again-im a great test taker who is crappy at math.LOL-and those great scores have mimimal impact on my life-didnt matter getting into school because my dad didnt let me choose a school he told me where i was going and i went there.

 

[Buckalew11]

What's "superscore" mean?

When a school superscores they take all your best scores. So if you take the test 3 x and make a math score of 25, 26, and 28, they'll take your 28 on math. If you take it and make a 29, 33, and 28 on science, they'll take your 33.

So, if your kid plans on taking it, say, 3 times, and has high scores already on everything but math, he/she could really study hard for test #3 for math and even if those other scores dropped down, the school would keep those and take the highest score for math.

It might be a bit "dumbing down", I dunno, but it takes the pressure off of the kid for the other tests when sending all scores to a school. If you drop down on test #2 Science you will not be penalized for it if your Math scores goes up because they're taking all your high scores.

 

[NHdisneylover]

Here you go.



http://scholarships.ua.edu/types/out_of_state.html

Thanks

 

[chager]

It all seems to matter what school and subject. My son's girlfriend had a 21 and got a small scholarship. My son took his test 3 times. 1st time a 25, 2nd a 27, and 3rd a 29. He got offered very little! However, in the end that combined with his 4.2 GPA(weighted), club/sports involvement, and the field of study, did earn him a full ride for 2 years to Columbus State Community College and a partial to Ohio State University after that. His friend had a 32 score and was offered the same scholarships he had initially. (She didn't qualify for the CSCC thing because it was field of study specific.)
I would suggest researching the colleges and see what they are looking for, apply for any scholarships you can find. The high school guidance office usually has a list of good scholarship sites. Good luck!