I keep procrastinating my studies for the act primarily due to the homework load at my high school and to have some free time. My current ACT score is 24 and I was planning to reach 30 at least. However, I'm starting to wonder what a score in the 30+ range will really get me besides admission to select colleges and some small scholarships. Other than working for a high ACT score, I don't have much to back up my 'student profile' for any other huge scholarships. I may just be negative right now but could someone help elaborate on this? Thanks.
An ACT score in the 30+ range can do a few things for you. The scholarships you become eligible for increase substantially with a 30+ ACT score. For instance, if you're an out-of-state student applying to Louisiana State University, if you have a 3.0 GPA you'd get $7,600 a year with an ACT score of 28, which isn't bad...but you'd get $15,500 a year with an ACT score of 30, and $20,500 with an ACT score of 33!
Another advantage that a 30+ ACT score can give you is an increased chance of admission at all schools, not just for highly selective colleges. This is because the higher your ACT score is compared to the score of the school's middle 50% of students, the better you'll look. Take a look at the schools that you're competitive for with an ACT score of 24 here. At Pace University, for example, you have a 64% chance of getting admitted with a 3.0 GPA and an ACT score of 24...but a 93% of getting admitted if you boost your ACT score to a 30. That's a huge difference.
A 30+ ACT score can also help compensate for a lower GPA. Looking at Pace University again, you'll have roughly the same percent chance of getting admitted with an ACT score of 24 and a 3.0 GPA as you would with an ACT score of 30...and a GPA of 2.25. That means that you could be a C-plus student and still have a solid shot at getting into some of the same schools as B students with lower ACT scores.