3 Things To Do If Your ACT Score Goes Down

Most students will end up taking the ACT twice. But what if you do worse on your second try?

Although over half of all students see an increase in their composite score after a retake, it’s still possible to see that number go down by a point or two. If this happens to you, don’t worry. Your hard work did not go to waste!

Here are three things to help put your scores in perspective: 

1. You can take the ACT up to twelve times.

While we don’t recommend you take the ACT all twelve times, it leaves plenty of room for you to take the test as many times as you need.

If you get a lower score on your second attempt at the test, don’t panic.

• Take some time to study and sign up to take it again.

• Think of ways to improve your next test. Did you struggle with time? Try practicing with a timer.

• Take some practice tests and focus on the areas where you struggle.

Improving in these areas will help you reach the goal you set for your score. 

2. Getting a lower score on a retake won’t affect college admission.

Luckily, some schools do not require you to send all of your scores if you don’t want to.

Your chances of getting into you dream school aren’t ruined just because of a score decrease.

Wait until you have the best score you can get, and make sure that’s the only one you send. They never have to know you did worse the second time you took the ACT!

3. Some colleges will use a superscore.

Even though your overall score went down, you could have seen an increase in individual sections like Math or English.

Although it’s more common for colleges and universities to superscore for the SAT, there are some that will do the same for the ACT.

The following schools will combine your best section scores from each time you tested, even if your composite score decreased on a retake:

• Boston University

• Columbia University

• Fordham University

• Harvey Mudd College

• Johns Hopkins University

• University of Rochester

If you’re looking to retest, click here to to see if the schools you’re applying to superscore on the ACT. Then, look over your score (or scores) to see which areas you most need to improve in before signing up to take it again. 

It can cause a lot of stress to find out that your score went down the second time you took the ACT, but it doesn’t have to negatively impact your college applications.

If you find yourself in this situation, think about taking the test again and only sending your best scores; your school of choice might even superscore and give you that extra boost. 

Feeling overwhelmed?

Our experts can help draft a test prep strategy to maximize your prep time and make sure you achieve the highest score possible.

Contact us to work together for your best chance at high scores and college acceptances.