Raise Your ACT Score
by Carol Braun
December 10, 2009
John Baylor Test Prep is often the 'best paying job a high
school student will ever have.'
In-state colleges and universities: most students can get in
without ACT Preparation, but increasing that score can mean
thousands of dollars saved.
UNL, UNK, UNO: students need a 20 or higher to get in (average
score in Nebraska is a 22.1). But students typically need at least
a 27 to be considered for the NU Honors College-- worth $500 per
year plus the Honors Dorm and Honors Courses, meaning fewer and
more capable students perclass. A Regents Scholarship usually
requires at least a 30 for consideration-- a Regents means free
tuition for all 4 years or about $32,000 saved by the family. So 30
is usually the magic number (depending on GPA and class rank) for
big scholarship money within the University of Nebraska's 3
campuses.
Peru, Wayne, Chadron: students need at least a 17 to get in
typically. A 25-26 (or higher) usually means 4 years of free
tuition or about $24,000 saved. So 25 or 26 is often the magic
number (depending on GPA and class rank) for big money within the
state colleges.
Nebraska's private colleges are now about $28,000 total a year,
with Creighton charging about $38,000 annually. You're in usually
with a 20 or higher, but each point typically is worth about $500 a
year in financial aid. So a student is admitted with a 22, but if
she jumps her score to a 25, that's about $1500 more in aid a year
times 4 years or $6000 in savings. The exact scholarship formula
for Dana, Doane, Wesleyan, Midland Lutheran, Concordia, Hastings,
St. Mary's, etc... differs slightly for each school, but the $500
per year per ACT point is typical (below is the exact formula used
by Wesleyan for scholarships based solely on ACT scores-- these
amounts are the dollars saved each year for 4 years). The $500 per
point per year is a rough estimate for Nebraska's private colleges
and actually can understate the impact of score increases. For
example, just a 1-point jump from a 28 to a 29 for Wesleyan means
an increase in annual aid from $7500 to $9000.
| ACT Composite Score |
Class Rank | Scholarship | Award | |
| 32 and up | or | NA | Board of Governors Scholar Award | $11,500 |
| 29-31 | or | NA | Wesleyan Scholar Award | $10,000 |
| 27-28 | or | Top 10% | Fredstrom Scholarship | $8,500 |
| 24-26 | or | Top 25% | President's Scholarship | $7,000 |
| 22-23 | or | Top 33% | Recognition Scholarship | $5,500 |
Merit-based aid at Nebraska's private and public colleges usually is only earned in high school. Once enrolled in college, a student typically cannot qualify for or increase her merit based aid based on college grades or performance.
Out-of-state colleges desperately seek small town Nebraska
students-- a rare commodity in the nation's pool of potential
college applicants. Thus, small town Nebraska students enjoy
geographic affirmative action in the high stakes, out-of-state,
selective college admissions process. This advantage over students
from Omaha-- not to mention Connecticut, Illinois, and California--
is significant. The further away a college is, the more it wants
rural Nebraska students for diversity's sake. However, because of
distance, out-of-state schools may not fully appreciate the other
elements of the application-- GPA and extra-curricular achievement.
Thus, the ACT score weighs heavily in both admissions and financial
aid decisions at out-of-state schools.
Simply put, for Nebraska colleges and universities, most students
can get admitted with a 20, but raising that ACT score is
absolutely the best paying job a high school student will ever
have. For out-of-state colleges and universities, it's critical for
both financial aid and admissions.
