It’s a random Tuesday in January. You go to school and hear murmuring throughout your classes that ACT scores from the test you took last month were released. You open your account just to see that you dropped four points since the summer.
You hear a classmate of yours shout across the room: “I got a 31!” Now you are left feeling even worse about yourself and even more worried for the future.
As a second semester junior, these situations might feel more frequent than ever as you hear more conversations like, “Is your ACT score out?” or “Are you taking the ACT or the SAT?” and most importantly, “Where do you want to go to college?” While these topics are relevant and worthy of asking, it leaves everyone in a state of panic and stress.
“It just stresses me out. I don’t like when people are constantly comparing their scores because then you get in your head about yourself, and it doesn’t feel good,” said junior Maddy Stell. “But then again, I know it’s important to get figured out.”
Most students start taking either the ACT or SAT during their junior year of high school. For some, they are able to achieve a high enough score on their first time around. In that case, they are done with testing and are now left to continue on with the application process. For many others, though, it takes multiple attempts to reach a designated score. This is when superscoring becomes an advantage to showcase the best of your abilities. After lots of studying and preparation , the next step becomes more difficult: Whether or not a student is even going to submit these scores to a school.
As of now (fall 2025-2026), many schools are test optional, meaning that a student’s test will be reviewed fairly regardless of their test score. This aspect being optional can provide a sense of ease for students to know that their other strengths will go into consideration when their applications are being reviewed. However, some schools have not adopted this strategy, and do require a score submission. Some of these schools include Georgetown, Georgia Tech, Purdue, Yale, and Dartmouth.
Making the decision on your own can be hard, and it’s important to use the resources available for guidance throughout the process. College Counselor Susan Morris explained that it’s a great start for students to create a balanced list of schools that include: target, likely, low reach, and high reach schools.
Once students have an overall idea of a list, they can start finding out which percentile range their score is in. This helps determine the requirements needed for different majors.
“With college applications on my mind junior year, I knew I would have to find ways to get my score up. No matter how many or few schools ‘require’ scores, I felt stressed knowing that I was going to have to match my scores to what my colleges wanted,” said senior Brooke Spencer.
For those contemplating whether or not to submit, here’s some advice from Morris: “Start studying seriously early on, and plan on taking the test more than once. If you are in the middle 50th percentile or over for your school, it wouldn’t hurt to submit.”
Another key component of this process is to prioritize your personal wants and needs. It’s so easy to get caught up in trying to meet the expectations of others and following the trends of peers.
“Peer comparisons are everywhere and cause unnecessary stress,” Morris added.
While it’s great to find similarities that you have with others, it’s also okay to want something different. English teacher Mrs. Cook explained that she thinks it’s important for students to remember the whole picture.
“It’s very easy for students to be consumed by a number; however, you are not just a number,” said Cook.
For more help, there are tons of college counseling resources available in our community. ThriveUEducation is a great local program, as well as LFHS counselors and staff.
