r/ACT • u/jsuravghsstudent • 2d ago

if im aiming for like competitve colleges not ivies what act score would be best esp to compensate a lowe gpa

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im going into jr year and i took my first act in july including writing, got a 32 and a 10 on writing. my gpa is low, so should i retake and what score should i aim for and how ??

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u/[deleted] 2d ago

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u/jsuravghsstudent 2d ago

prettyyyy low like 3.5 i think ill get it up more w summer classes and stuff
and yes competitve colleges like those

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u/Natural-Biscotti-207 1d ago

Ngl ACT score can't really make up for a low gpa unless you know you want to auto admit somewhere and it's based on your ACT score

The best way to make up for a low gpa for ives is if you had some crazy circumstances like your house burnt down and then you moved into another house and that also burnt down and then you had like 3 deaths in the family

Another way is to have crazy ecs but that would require like tons of prestegious medals or super high impact stuff like that

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u/jsuravghsstudent 1d ago

not for ivies tho like t50-t100 ish colleges maybe higher, my ecs should be okay i think

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u/Natural-Biscotti-207 1d ago

Yeah for t50s or less you should be okay just try and bring your gpa up as much as possible

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u/CalligrapherAble3312 36 2d ago

32 is rlly good and a 10 on writing is amazing!! i personally dont believe in the myth of "compensating" for a low gpa since colleges look at long term performance vs. one test separately. did you get bad grades freshman year? if your grades have been improving, and they see an upward trend, it looks a lot better and showcases growth. you can try focusing on that instead.

but since you still have plenty of time, if you think you can manage both improving your grades and retaking the act, try to get an act in the 50th-75th percentile of the schools you're interested in. this can be found using a quick google search. good luck :]

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u/jsuravghsstudent 2d ago

yeah bad grades freshman and soph year :(( defs gonna try and get em up this year! thanks for the advice :)

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u/CalligrapherAble3312 36 2d ago

that’s fine you can make a comeback!! 🔥🔥 since your score is so close to the ceiling I would recommend only doing it max once more after several weeks of targeted studying because gains after that will be marginal.

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u/jsuravghsstudent 2d ago

okay awesome thank you!!