ACT Timing?

girliesmom said:

I would be very careful with that statement, myself. There are some schools that that want you to report EVERY single ACT score you've written and some of the top schools actually say that they'd prefer that you take it no more than 3 times. Yes, a student could probably hide their poor scores from these schools, but why chance having them find out and recind their acceptance? I personally wouldn't take that chance.

I guess it depends on the type of school your dd is looking to attend. If she's looking to attend a school that's ranked academically in the top 50, then I'd say, hold off until she's ready. No need to rush. This after is after all a marathon and not a sprint. It's a very loooong journey with many ups and downs (as I'm finding out myself). Schools do not expect freshmans and sophomores to have scores. If you have them, great. But many do not expect them. Coaches at top academic schools will tell kids to take the ACT no later than the Spring of their junior year for the purpose of seeing if this kid is within their academic parameters and if needed, the kid could retake for a higher score.

But to answer your question, it's better to take it when the student is prepared and will do well rather than to take it simply for a number to stick in the box. A great score will get their attention because they'll know that the kid will be admitted when the time comes. Having any ol' score in the box is NOT going to get the kid any more attention than having a blank box.

Just my 2 bits.

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There are a few exceptions to this. One of my nieces needed to take the SAT while in middle school for some sort of summer program for gifted children.

Coaches are not expecting an ACT or SAT score from an 8th grader. However, if you think she'll do well (for an 8th grader) then it doesn't hurt to give it a try.

Colleges don't require you to report scores from tests taken prior to 9th grade. The College Board wipes out SAT scores every summer from accounts of students below 9th grade unless you specifically request to keep the scores. If you are really concerned about the ACT score which remains on the account, you can have it deleted (holds true for tests taken during high school too).

I participated in the CTY (Johns Hopkins) talent search in 7th grade, and so did my older two girls. It is interesting to see the scores and it gives them a no risk chance to take the test which they will take again in a few years. The talent searches were started to look at the top 5% or so of middle school students to see which ones are bright vs off-the-charts bright. My eldest scored around average for 7th graders in the talent search, while middle kid scored around 90th percentile for a 7th grader (not off-the-charts, but a step above my eldest). However, if a kid isn't a top 5% type, I think taking the ACT or SAT before high school would be a very frustrating experience.

Good scores didn't really help my kids get into the schools they wanted to attend (academic DIIIs). However, neither really had their heart set on playing in college, and tried to use it as a tool to help them get in (which resulted in waitlists and later, rejection). If they were better softball players, it might have helped, but some DIIIs have very little pull with admissions. They did have interest from some academic DIIIs, but not the schools they wanted to attend. Just for reference, eldest took SAT twice, ACT once (2090/32) and middle kid took SAT three times, ACT once (2270/34) and she was NMF. Eldest is a senior and got a merit award of about half tuition and middle kid is a freshman attending school on a full tuition scholarship. Their merit awards were not automatic ones, but there are certainly automatic scholarships for kids with those sorts of scores. Good luck.

OlatheDad said:

Arrange for her to take it. She can take it as many times as she wants and you can eventually report a composite ACT. I found the magic number is around 25 when colleges start offering some serious academic money. 30 and you basically can get most if not all of your tuition paid for. That could be the defining fact between your DD and another DD. Also, if she is looking at a major D1 program, IVY, NIAI and some religious based colleges she will need to take the written portion also, but that can be done in October of her senior year.

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what schools are you talking to? My kids scored 30 and 31 and both missed out on a lot of money. 32 seems to be the number around here.

Do what ya want, but as an eighth grader I see 2 scenarios: 1. The girl is a great pitcher and is dominating 16/18u gold level ball. Coaches are fighting for her. 2. She doesn't already have D1s coming after her...so she needs mom and dad to chill and let her enjoy the game.

If a player is being considered by D1's and does not get a full ride, then the college coaches will want to have a test score no later than fall of sophomore year. One, they want to know if a kid has any shot at getting in. Coaches don't want to waste time on someone who realistically can't get admitted.

Two, they want to know if they will qualify for academic money, which makes the player more valuable since less athletic money has to be spent.

For the parents and athletes, taking it early gives them an idea what type of schools they can look at and what type of academic money they can expect to receive. Also, the earlier the athlete takes it, the more time they have to improve. It's good to get a baseline score early. I took the SAT my 8th grade year and that was 30 years ago!!!

Absolutely do NOT listen to guidance counselors. They are absolutely clueless to what is going on with early recruiting. They are encouraging kids to take the test after their junior year is completed.

chinamigarden said:

what schools are you talking to? My kids scored 30 and 31 and both missed out on a lot of money. 32 seems to be the number around here.

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Here is an example of couple of scholarships that DD1 was eligible for based on her ACT scores:

University of Kansas - https://admissions.ku.edu/cs - Chancellor's Scholarship
Kansas State - Scholarships | Paying for College | Admissions | Kansas State University - Putnam Scholarship
Washburn University - Scholarship Information | Washburn University
There are a lot more if you search the colleges scholarship pages.

Also, my DD1 has committed to Washburn University. No she did not get a Softball Scholarship, but she is eligible for quite a bit of academic scholarship money from various sources and this is the college she wants to get her education from.

She was being courted at by quite a few DII, DII and NIA softball programs on the east coast and in SEC country, but she did not want to travel that far away to attend college and most of them were very expensive with scholarship money that would barely make a dent in cost or did not have the degree program that she wanted

She will continue to try to make Washburn's team if they have a walk on tryout, but if they do not she will try and find a way to be involved with their softball program. If that does not work out she will be one of the teams biggest fans. Her goal is to be a high school teacher and high school softball coach. Considering all of the goals that she has accomplished to date I do not see that being a problem.

JAD said:

I would just put TBD as the ACT score. Given how early coaches are recruiting now, they cannot expect 8th and 9th graders to have an ACT score available.

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This is what we advise.