How competitive is a 32 ACT score?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the competitiveness of a 32 ACT score in the context of college admissions, particularly for Washington University in St. Louis and other institutions. Participants explore the implications of this score, its relationship to other admissions factors, and personal experiences with standardized testing.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Personal experience

Main Points Raised

  • Jameson expresses satisfaction with a 32 ACT score but questions its competitiveness for his top choice school.
  • One participant suggests that while a 32 is good, retaking the test could improve the score and provide a competitive edge, citing personal experience with improved performance on a second attempt.
  • Another participant acknowledges that a 32 is a good score but emphasizes that it is not excellent and that other factors like grades and achievements will also be considered in admissions decisions.
  • A different viewpoint claims that a 32 is a fantastic score, placing the test-taker in the 98th percentile, and reassures that a score alone will not lead to rejection, but rather other application components.
  • A later reply notes the age of the thread, indicating that the original poster has since graduated from college.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express varying opinions on the quality and competitiveness of a 32 ACT score, with some viewing it as strong and others as merely decent. There is no consensus on whether retaking the test is advisable, and the discussion reflects differing perspectives on the importance of the score relative to other admissions factors.

Contextual Notes

Participants reference the percentile ranking of the score and its implications, but there are unresolved questions about how it correlates with SAT scores and the weight of other application components.

Who May Find This Useful

Students preparing for college admissions, particularly those interested in standardized testing and its impact on application outcomes.

Jameson
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I just got my score today, and I'm happy with it. It's not amazing, but decent. My top choice school is Washington University in St. Louis, but I'm applying to many schools a little less than the caliber. How do you think I'm doing just in this component?

Thanks,
Jameson
 
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A 32's pretty good, but it certainly wouldn't hurt you to take the test another time to see if you can bump it up a couple of points, to give you that extra edge. (Wash. U. is pretty competitive, after all.) In fact, there's a good chance that you'll do better without the pressure of having to do well the second time through. For example, after I took the SAT for the first time, I got a 1480, which is obviously good. However, because I got two wrong on the math portion through dumb mistakes, I decided to take it again. My second time through, I was so relaxed and calm about it that I ended up with a 1570 (this is through the old scoring system, of course).
 
32 is pretty good, not quite sure how it would correspond to the SAT score, it's certainly superior but not excellent in my opinion. It'll make an impression regarding your academic prowess, but they'll still look for your grades and other achievements to complement it.
 
I feel obligated to inform some of the opinions given here, just in case someone finds this thread using a search engine.

A score of 32 is fantastic. That score is in the 98th percentile. Because ACT scores follow a bell curve, any score from 32 to 36 (36 being perfect) puts you in the top 1-2 percent of student scores.

That being said, yes, Washington U is competitive. However, with a composite of 32, you won't be rejected because of your score; it will be because of a bad admissions essay or lack of involvement in activities or something like that.

Hopefully this will help anyone who is trying to actually get an accurate idea of where they stand with a given score.
 
This thread is 5-1/2 years old. The OP has graduated from college by now.
 

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