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College applications are done senior year. Most universities begin accepting them early in the fall semester. When I was in high school, students took the ACT starting in the fall or spring of Junior year. It is offered several times a year so that students can re-take it if they want to try for a higher score. Prep classes are available, and our high school always put one together in the Spring that was hundreds of dollars cheaper than Kaplan, etc. As a sophomore, he should focus on challenging himself with a rigorous academic schedule and getting involved in things he's passionate about.
The simplest approach for applications is to work backwards--figure out which school has the earliest application deadline, then work backwards from there to figure out when your son needs to take the test. UW-Madison's deadline is Feb 1. UM-Twin Cities' is Dec. 15th of the preceding year.
ACT tests are offered approx. every 6 weeks year-round, and scores can take up to eight weeks to be sent to requested school recipients. So your son would want to apply to take the ACT by at least late October of 2011, possibly an earlier test date just to be safe.
As for 'using the best score'--it doesn't really work that way. When your son fills out the application to take the ACT, along with all of his personal info (name, address, DOB, etc), he will choose which schools to mail the results to. After that point, the fate is sealed. The schools he indicated will get the results, good or bad. He will see his results at the same time the school sees them.
Many students choose to take the test twice. Often this is done once as a junior as a 'practice' and again as a senior. Half of all retakers do not achieve higher scores on their retake, in fact 25% do worse! Those that do improve rarely score more than two or three points higher than their original score. It is unlikely that such a slim improvement will make the difference between an acceptance and a rejection letter.
But even if a retake does make that important difference, remember this: ACT scores are used by colleges to predict academic performance. If an applicant's scores are low enough that on first try they didn't meet the bar and on retake they just barely edged over that acceptance threshold, what are the chances that they are up to the rigors of four years of academics in that program? If an applicant is only able to gain admission by a retake, perhaps they should consider a program that is less rigorous.
This assumes, of course, that the original low score was not the result of some disturbance or other factor that adversely affected the test takers performance. If the test taker was sick or the testing room was in some way not conducive to a strong performance, a retake could result in a significantly higher score and that higher score might more accurately predict their future college performance.
You should check on the PSAT too. I believe it is given in the spring only once a year. The junior year score is used for possible scholarships. You can take the ACT and SAT more than once. It's probably not a bad idea to do it twice if you are not happy with the first score.
I agree; the PSAT is definitely worth considering. It's good practice, and if you do well enough you can also qualify to be a National Merit Scholar or other scholarships. I think I took the PSAT in my sophomore year.
He might also want to try taking the SAT. I know the ACT is still popular in the Midwest, but most schools will accept both scores, and it could be that he finds that he likes the SAT better than the ACT.
Does his school offer any college advising or assistance? If so, take full advantage.
I haven't looked at college applications for a long time, admittedly, but I went to the U of MN and I believe that some of the colleges might different entrance requirements than others, so beyond looking at just the broad school he should make sure that he knows exactly what the specific colleges within the school require as far as high school courses to take, etc.
The PSAT is given in October. In our area most kids take it in their sophomore year for practice and just about everyone takes it in their Junior year, but I live in SAT country so that's why it's the norm.
IMHO, Billken's post pretty much sums up what a sophomore should be doing. Get the best grades in the most rigorous classes, take the ACT or SAT (or both) in the spring of Junior year. If the scores aren't great try again in June.
Senior year, applications are usually available on-line in August but realistically are hard to get in before school starts and teachers and guidance counselors are back.
If your child has had or is currently enrolled in Algebra II (hopefully with some trigonometry), then he might as well take the ACT this year. At least to get himself familiar with it. Generally speaking, that's why a lot of students wait until their junior year, for the Algebra II, otherwise, they take it as sophomores.
I think pretty much every single one of my friends and I took the ACT and SAT as sophomores and we didn't have to bother with them again.
If you don't want a college to see your score, don't put them on your form. Once you receive your scores, you can always have them sent to colleges. It's going to cost you around $9.00 per school, but it keeps a school from seeing a score you don't like.
EDT: Even if you're in the Midwest, always have your child take both exams. A student may score low on one and higher on the other.
As for 'using the best score'--it doesn't really work that way. When your son fills out the application to take the ACT, along with all of his personal info (name, address, DOB, etc), he will choose which schools to mail the results to. After that point, the fate is sealed. The schools he indicated will get the results, good or bad. He will see his results at the same time the school sees them.
Many students choose to take the test twice. Often this is done once as a junior as a 'practice' and again as a senior. Half of all retakers do not achieve higher scores on their retake, in fact 25% do worse! Those that do improve rarely score more than two or three points higher than their original score. It is unlikely that such a slim improvement will make the difference between an acceptance and a rejection letter.
But even if a retake does make that important difference, remember this: ACT scores are used by colleges to predict academic performance. If an applicant's scores are low enough that on first try they didn't meet the bar and on retake they just barely edged over that acceptance threshold, what are the chances that they are up to the rigors of four years of academics in that program? If an applicant is only able to gain admission by a retake, perhaps they should consider a program that is less rigorous.
Your first sentence in this quote contradicts the last paragraph, and both may be wrong. Of all the schools that I applied to (including Tier 1) or looked at all considered the highest SAT and/or ACT score that they received if more than one score (per test) were sent in. There might be colleges out there that do not do this, but I have yet to come across one. Colleges like to see students who progress. I think that they prefer them.
You are correct, these tests only measure college preparedness, but a good number (most?) of colleges recognize that these scores are not good predictors of college success. Basically, all they say is that the high school student can handle college-level reading/writing and has the skills to at least handle college algebra. If you read a variety of (different) studies on the subject, you will see that some students who scored high on the SAT or ACT ended up doing poorly in college same as there are students who scored low on these tests and went on to do well in college. There are too many factors involved. Funny thing is, the SAT was originally designed for admittance into the US Army, the ACT was supposed to replace the SAT as the ACT was supposed to do away with the biases of the SAT, and the IQ test was originally developed as the college preparedness test back in the day.
Every thing that I read about students retaking these tests all say that the majority of those who retake achieve a higher score over the first.
I didn't take the ACT, but the SAT and SAT II do not require that you choose the schools up front. You can wait until the scores come in before you select where it goes.
To the OP, I wouldn't worry about it too much, but your son should take the test when he feels ready to. U of M, Twin Cities will admit with average scores and I have a feeling that Madison will, too. I lived in Minneapolis for ten years and know many people who went to U of M, it is not that hard of a school to get into (although some majors/programs are competitive and will require a high score in a certain subject and high GPA in certain courses).
Your first sentence in this quote contradicts the last paragraph, and both may be wrong. Of all the schools that I applied to (including Tier 1) or looked at all considered the highest SAT and/or ACT score that they received if more than one score (per test) were sent in. There might be colleges out there that do not do this, but I have yet to come across one. Colleges like to see students who progress. I think that they prefer them.
You are correct, these tests only measure college preparedness, but a good number (most?) of colleges recognize that these scores are not good predictors of college success. Basically, all they say is that the high school student can handle college-level reading/writing and has the skills to at least handle college algebra. If you read a variety of (different) studies on the subject, you will see that some students who scored high on the SAT or ACT ended up doing poorly in college same as there are students who scored low on these tests and went on to do well in college. There are too many factors involved. Funny thing is, the SAT was originally designed for admittance into the US Army, the ACT was supposed to replace the SAT as the ACT was supposed to do away with the biases of the SAT, and the IQ test was originally developed as the college preparedness test back in the day.
Every thing that I read about students retaking these tests all say that the majority of those who retake achieve a higher score over the first.
I didn't take the ACT, but the SAT and SAT II do not require that you choose the schools up front. You can wait until the scores come in before you select where it goes.
To the OP, I wouldn't worry about it too much, but your son should take the test when he feels ready to. U of M, Twin Cities will admit with average scores and I have a feeling that Madison will, too. I lived in Minneapolis for ten years and know many people who went to U of M, it is not that hard of a school to get into (although some majors/programs are competitive and will require a high score in a certain subject and high GPA in certain courses).
No, Madison is one of the prestigious public schools, he's gonna have to have at least a 27 or so to be considered.
Penn State is one of the few schools that does not superscore, i.e., take the highest score from multiple sittings. They take the highest sitting scores.
Contrary to what Pennquaker is saying, I know very few sophomores that take the SAT. Most students, in my experience, take it in the Spring of their Junior year. Our HS has a SAT prep class and it's offered ONLY to juniors and seniors.
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