warning: wordy post!
Did he retake the ACT to raise his scores? I believe they superscore so it's worth it. I know it made a difference with our DS, multiple ACT/SAT's.
Good luck.
Multiple test taking?! A definite UBETCHA ANSWER to that for DS!! His BGO interview last July came after a few go-rounds with both SAT and ACT (… 6 go-rounds total– yikes
), which BGO noted during the interview. BGO first commended DS and then warned him about the results at that point. BGO commended DS on his perseverance so far, BUT…even DS’s“best of” scores at that point could be more competitive. DS asked for guidance on improving scores, what kind of review courses might BGO recommend, etc. and BGO was helpful in recommending the Princeton Review course that his own DD had taken years before which had dramatically improved her scores.
Immediately following the interview last July, DS began researching such courses and settled on an interactive on-line course for ACT, picking the schedule that had the last class just 2 or 3 days before the 9/10/11 test – “so everything will still be fresh Mom!” After registering for the class and the test, along comes a wedding invitation of very dear, but not so near, friends for that same exact day (it was one of those situations where we were all pretty much obligated to attend). So DS requested – in time – that the test site be in the wedding city.
In the meantime, DS was very diligent and “attended” all classes and did all the homework and was very successful in the practice tests. Day before the test came, a Friday, of course, and after school and after DS’s cross country practice we set out on the 5 ½ hour journey to the hotel room we had reserved, 2 states west of us (while sun was still up, DS looked over practice questions). Everything worked out pretty well, DS got a good night’s sleep in the hotel, a great breakfast at the “free breakfast” nook in the lobby, time to review in the car on the way the night before – we were a bit late for the 2 pm wedding since DS had to change out of his “test” clothes and into “church wedding guest” clothes in the somewhere in between hotel room, but all in all it worked out. Even the resulting “best yet” scores. DS even parlayed the whole SAT/ACT good score quest into one of his university application essays.
It starts out …”The first time I took the ACT standardized test I had high hopes of getting a stellar score. None of my friends or older siblings ever seemed to have stressed about their score plus it was just a normal high school thing most everyone is required to do. So after a few weeks had passed, I received my ACT scores in the mail. When I first saw the envelope my heart was pounding and I was excited to see what I had gotten. I was hopeful. I tore the envelope open, pulled out the results and my heart began to sink. It sank pretty far. I looked up and down the page many times. I let out a disappointed sigh and I wondered how a test could do such a poor job on reflecting my abilities. At that point I realized that I had two options. I could either wallow in my disappointment or I could fight back with a vengeance. I picked the second option.” Further on he writes, “I remember receiving the scores to my most recent ACT test and I was more nervous than the first time I got my scores. I opened up the envelope and I was glad to see my improvements. My perseverance, goal setting, and hard work had paid off. That and my never quit attitude that I’ve had for so long that I can’t remember quitting anything even when the odds were stacked against me. Getting things handed to me on a silver platter is not what I know – what I know is working hard and persevering.” And finally, “Wallowing is never a good idea. Zeroing back in on the goal, making a plan of action, and then seeing it through- that’s what it takes.”