这是个不太好回答的问题。因为答案会随着提问学生本身的情况、回答问题的顾问所在的角度不同,波动在0~12这个区间的某一个整数。
回答“0”的人有两种可能。一种是SAT死忠培训师,立场大概是“SAT大法好,别考ACT”。另一种是推荐合作院校的顾问,“这所学校提供语言预科课程,不用标化成绩也可以入读”。在这篇文章中我们可以把这两种可能去掉了。
回答“12”的人,会是照本宣科念ACT官网的政策:一个人一辈子最多可以考12次ACT。对于高中生,这个次数足够你去挥霍了。
那么,不考虑回答者的立场问题,ACT考几次合适?
先给大家几个数据:
综合大学(National University)具体信息如下:
排名 | 学校名称 | ACT |
1 | Princeton University | 31-35 |
2 | Harvard University | 32-35 |
3 | Yale University | 31-35 |
4 | Columbia University | 32-34 |
4 | Stanford University | 31-34 |
4 | University of Chicago | 32-35 |
7 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 32-35 |
8 | Duke University | 31-34 |
8 | University of Pennsylvania | 30-34 |
10 | California Institute of Technology | 33-35 |
11 | Dartmouth College | 30-34 |
12 | Johns Hopkins University | 31-34 |
13 | Northwestern University | 31-34 |
14 | Washington University in St. Louis | 32-34 |
15 | Cornell University | 30-34 |
16 | Brown University | 29-34 |
16 | University of Notre Dame | 31-34 |
16 | Vanderbilt University | 31-34 |
19 | Rice University | 31-35 |
20 | University of California– Berkeley | 27-33 |
21 | Emory University | 29-32 |
21 | Georgetown University | 29-33 |
23 | University of California– Los Angeles | 25-32 |
23 | University of Virginia | 29-33 |
25 | Carnegie Mellon University | 30-34 |
25 | University of Southern California | 29-33 |
27 | Tufts University | 30-33 |
27 | Wake Forest University | 28-31 |
29 | University of Michigan– Ann Arbor | 28-32 |
30 | University of North Carolina– Chapel Hill | 26-31 |
31 | Boston College | 30-33 |
32 | New York University | 28-33 |
33 | College of William and Mary | 28-32 |
33 | University of Rochester | 29-32 |
35 | Brandeis University | 28-32 |
35 | Georgia Institute of Technology | 29-33 |
37 | University of California– San Diego | 23-30 |
38 | Case Western Reserve University | 29-33 |
38 | University of California– Davis | 24-30 |
40 | Lehigh University | 28-32 |
40 | University of California– Santa Barbara | 24-30 |
42 | Boston University | 27-32 |
42 | Northeastern University | 30-33 |
42 | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | 27-31 |
42 | University of California– Irvine | N/A |
42 | University of Illinois– Urbana- Champaign | 26-31 |
47 | University of Wisconsin– Madison | N/A |
48 | Penn State University– University Park | 24-29 |
48 | University of Florida | 26-31 |
48 | University of Miami | 28-32 |
48 | University of Washington | 25-30 |
48 | Yeshiva University | 23-29 |
53 | University of Texas– Austin | 25-31 |
54 | George Washington University | 27-31 |
54 | Ohio State University– Columbus | 27-31 |
54 | Pepperdine University | 26-31 |
54 | Tulane University | 29-32 |
58 | Fordham University | 26-30 |
58 | Southern Methodist University | 27-31 |
58 | Syracuse University | 23-28 |
58 | University of Connecticut | 25-30 |
62 | Brigham Young University– Provo | 26-31 |
62 | Clemson University | 26-31 |
62 | Purdue University– West Lafayette | 24-30 |
62 | University of Georgia | 26-30 |
62 | University of Maryland– College Park | N/A |
62 | University of Pittsburgh | 26-31 |
68 | Texas A&M University– College Station | 23-29 |
68 | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | 27-32 |
70 | Rutgers, SUNJ– New Brunswick | N/A |
71 | American University | 26-30 |
71 | Baylor University | 24-29 |
71 | University of Iowa | 23-28 |
71 | University of Minnesota– Twin Cities | 26-30 |
71 | Virginia Tech | N/A |
76 | Clark University | 26-30 |
76 | Indiana University– Bloomington | 24-30 |
76 | Marquette University | 25-29 |
76 | Miami University– Oxford | 25-30 |
76 | Stevens Institute of Technology | N/A |
76 | SUNY College of E.S. and Forestry | 22-26 |
76 | Texas Christian University | 25-29 |
76 | University of Delaware | 24-29 |
本次表格的排名和ACT分数为2015年数据。
1 | Williams College | 30-34 |
2 | Amherst College | 30-34 |
3 | Swarthmore College | 31-34 |
4 | Wellesley College | 29-33 |
5 | Bowdoin College | 30-33 |
5 | Pomona College | 31-34 |
7 | Middlebury College | 29-33 |
8 | Carleton College | 29-33 |
8 | Claremont McKenna College | 29-33 |
8 | Haverford College | N/A |
11 | Davidson College | 29-33 |
11 | Vassar College | 30-33 |
13 | United States Naval Academy | N/A |
14 | Washington and Lee University | 30-33 |
15 | Colby College | 28-32 |
15 | Hamilton College | 29-33 |
15 | Harvey Mudd College | 32-35 |
15 | Wesleyan University | 30-33 |
19 | Bates College | 29-33 |
19 | Grinnell College | 28-32 |
19 | Smith College | 28-31 |
22 | Colgate University | 30-32 |
23 | Oberlin College | 28-32 |
24 | Macalester College | 29-32 |
24 | Scripps College | 29-32 |
24 | United States Military Academy | 27-32 |
27 | Bryn Mawr College | 27-33 |
27 | Colorado College | 27-32 |
27 | United States Air Force Academy | 29-32 |
30 | Kenyon College | 28-32 |
30 | University of Richmond | 28-31 |
32 | Barnard College | 28-32 |
32 | Bucknell University | 27-32 |
34 | College of the Holy Cross | 28-31 |
35 | Lafayette College | 27-31 |
35 | Pitzer College | N/A |
37 | Dickinson College | 27-31 |
37 | Franklin and Marshall College | 28-31 |
37 | Skidmore College | 26-30 |
37 | Whitman College | 28-32 |
41 | Mount Holyoke College | 27-31 |
41 | Soka University of America | 25-29 |
41 | Union College | 28-31 |
44 | Occidental College | 27-31 |
45 | Bard College | N/A |
45 | Centre College | 26-31 |
45 | Connecticut College | 29-31 |
45 | Sewanee: University of the South | 26-30 |
45 | Trinity College | 25-29 |
50 | Gettysburg College | N/A |
51 | Denison University | 27-31 |
51 | DePauw University | 25-29 |
51 | Furman University | 25-30 |
54 | Rhodes College | 27-31 |
54 | St. Olaf College | 26-31 |
56 | St. John's College | 27-30 |
56 | St. Lawrence University | 25-30 |
56 | Wheaton College | 27-32 |
59 | Lawrence University | 26-31 |
59 | Sarah Lawrence College | 27-30 |
61 | Beloit College | 24-30 |
61 | Hobart and William Smith Colleges | 26-29 |
61 | Wabash College | 22-28 |
64 | Gustavus Adolphus College | 24-30 |
64 | Kalamazoo College | 25-30 |
64 | Muhlenberg College | 25-30 |
64 | Virginia Military Institute | 22-27 |
64 | Willamette University | 24-29 |
69 | Berea College | 22-26 |
69 | College of Wooster | 25-30 |
69 | Hillsdale College | 27-31 |
69 | Wheaton College | 25-30 |
73 | Agnes Scott College | 22-28 |
73 | Earlham College | 26-31 |
73 | Illinois Wesleyan University | 25-30 |
73 | St. John's University | 23-28 |
77 | Lewis & Clark College | 26-31 |
77 | Reed College | 28-33 |
77 | Thomas Aquinas College | 23-31 |
77 | Wofford College | 24-29 |
本次表格的排名和ACT分数为2015年数据。
以上三个数据都来自于ACT官网。
如果学生第一次ACT考试就达到34~36,他肯定就没有必要再考了。33分对于申请顶尖学校也基本都够用,除非学生想把标化成绩刷得更完美些。这些学生约占总人数的1%。
如果学生第一次ACT考试成绩在32分及以下,即便是达到自己的目标分数,只要时间允许也可以再尝试一次,毕竟人的目标也会水涨船高。而按照ACT官方给出的数据,成绩越低,第二次考试提分的概率越高。所以,绝大多数的中国学生,都会参加至少2次的ACT考试。
至于是否参加更多的ACT考试,有几个因素可能会影响着考生:
1,目前的ACT和目标成绩还有差距
这是唯一让学生继续参加ACT考试的原因。革命尚未成功,同志仍需努力。每提高1分,意味着你又前进了数万名。标化考试对于名校申请虽然不是全部,却是敲门砖。没有30+,申请TOP30就像是阿汤哥的不可能任务。
2,是不是考多了不利于大学申请?
这个命题在坊间有相当高的支持度,但是目前尚未有名校招生官网、考试公司对这个命题做出肯定。这个命题同样也不可能被完全的证明对错。支持者可以举出“我认识的张三,参加了N次标化考试,总算考出高分,在申请名校时全军覆没”。反对者同样可以举出反例:“李四参加了N+1考试,但收获了多个名校Offer”。
ACT谜对于这个命题的态度是:可能有道理,但尽量忽视。毕竟分数是硬道理,达不到目标成绩还得拼啊。
3,累觉不爱
残酷的现实告诉我们,可能这才是决定你考几次ACT的最重要原因。古人所说的“一鼓作气,再而衰,三而竭”,用在ACT考试非常适用。我们认为大部分学生对ACT备考周期在6~12个月。有些学生甚至在6个月的时候就会厌倦。这种现象在12年级尤为明显,在连续参加了9、10月的考试后,有些学生虽然成绩还未达到自己的预期,但已经放弃12月的考试了。从接触的学生看,大部分人对ACT考试忍耐的次数是4。
所以对于学生来说,备考时间短比长好。认真对待每次ACT考试,考前做足复习和模考。拼在当下,别等待下一次机会。
4,没有考试机会了
每年都有重度拖延症的学生在这一点上中招,直到升入12年级/高三才考虑标化考试。也可能是因为之前的托福成绩实在惨不忍睹,学习ACT太吃力。据说现在诞生了一个新的名校申请系统CAAS,申请人从9年级开始就可以在系统上建立自己的申请档案并在之后不断完善。所以打算申请名校的学生,别把自己的ACT考试拖得太晚。时间永远都是稀缺资源。
所以关于“ACT考几次合适?”这个题目,我们的建议是2~4次。而且准备的时间短比长好、早比晚好。
本文转载整理自网络,版权属于原作者。