Retake ACT?

Assuming the tournament is over several days, is it possible to skip that Saturday morning so he can still take the test?  Given that he is a pitcher, he may be a "non-participant" in several games. 

Sunbelt is a pretty prestigious event. If my kid were to be offered, I'd reschedule his ACT.....ymmv

IMO, it depends...

Does your son need higher than a 25 ACT composite to be admitted and play at the schools on his vetted list?

If your son throws 86 mph and wants to play at Middlebury, then he needs to retake the ACT for sure.  And since this Summer 2017 is prime recruiting season for 2018 grads targeting D3's and some D1's, then I'd focus on the ACT in June.

If your son throws 95 mph and wants to play at OK State, then I wouldn't worry about taking the ACT in June or maybe again at all unless it impacted academic money at OK State.

What Branson said, and I'd add that you probably shouldn't expect a jump in score without a guided, focused program to correct the sorts of mistakes that were made the first time.  My son retook once working on his own, got slightly different subscores but the same composite (would have superscored 1 point higher, but none of his target schools superscored), and that was knowing where his obvious weaknesses were.  

I'm pretty sure an ACT coach could have pulled another couple points out of him if he was fully invested in it, but his college coach was pretty sure after looking at his transcript that it wasn't going to matter, and he got his ED acceptance back before he was scheduled to take the test a final time (he got a freebie thanks to his second test being in an un-air conditioned HS building in Atlanta in July).

IMO his GPA and current 25 are good enough to get in the vast majority of schools, even the ones that he might need a bump in they are good enough to keep the door open if they like him as a player. I would say go play ball and retake in September. Those higher academic schools that would be looking for an improved ACT are still going to be there in September / October of SR year.

If you are looking for a bump I would suggest that you get some summer boot camp type program for the test.

I do believe it is more important at his time line to be lining up places of interest.

Agree with Branson and JacJac above, but to what JacJac says I think the exception is that if your son was unable to finish the first time around, and can use what he learned to manage his time better, he may be able to improve a couple of points the second time around. But absolutely he's more likely to see improvement if he uses a tutor in a group or individual environment. Another option would be to take the SAT if he has not already.  Some kids do better on one or the other.

As always...thanks for the great advice. I currently have him signed up for Magoosh, an online ACT  prep program. We used something similar for my daughter for the SAT exam which resulted in a better score. To be honest and I know I will catch flack for this, we have not narrowed down schools yet. This has a lot to do with the fact that he is relatively new to the scene as a RHP and according to several people I trust, is raw and has more velocity in the tank. He pitched this past Saturday, hitting 89 multiple times while sitting 86-88. This is already better then games even 3 weeks back where he touched 87 once or twice, sitting 85-86. We are definitely going to sit down and start working on a list as soon as school gets out next week. We are also going to set up visits as he visits different states over the summer.

coachld posted:

As always...thanks for the great advice. I currently have him signed up for Magoosh, an online ACT  prep program. We used something similar for my daughter for the SAT exam which resulted in a better score. To be honest and I know I will catch flack for this, we have not narrowed down schools yet. This has a lot to do with the fact that he is relatively new to the scene as a RHP and according to several people I trust, is raw and has more velocity in the tank. He pitched this past Saturday, hitting 89 multiple times while sitting 86-88. This is already better then games even 3 weeks back where he touched 87 once or twice, sitting 85-86. We are definitely going to sit down and start working on a list as soon as school gets out next week. We are also going to set up visits as he visits different states over the summer.

Given his age and velocity, he'll likely have his pick.  Pressure will probably be on to commit early.  You aren't going to miss anything.  Good luck. 

I will disagree with "he'll likely have his pick".  If he's a rising Senior this Summer, 86-88 mph and topping at 89 mph is in D1 territory but not all D1's. 

No flack coming from me...but...it's time to get a schools list together.  It's ok to hope for a point or two on the ACT and a couple more mph on the fastball when you put the list together.  I wouldn't have every school at a 27 ACT or 91 mph, but I'd have some on my list for sure.

With his grades, a 27 ACT, and 89+ mph, then a bunch of high academic D1's are in the mix.  With a 25 ACT and 91 mph, most if not all high academics are not a possibility regardless of GPA though many D1's are still potential targets.

As a 2018, your son will need to be seen by the schools on his vetted list asap if he's targeting D1 programs.  D2's and D3's will ideally see him this Summer, though early Fall can still work.

Good luck!

He might have had his pick if he had more command all year. He struggled a lot early in the season...usually not making it more then 2 innings. Had him start working with a good coach a little over a month back and he made a dramatic turnaround. However, he has fallen off the wagon the last 2 games of the season. I 100% believe it has everything to do with pitching in big games as he has never had the experience until the end of this season. The final game of the season was a must win to make playoffs.  He got the W but with 4 BB in the first inning. That was followed up by a tough game against the #5 seed in first round in which he walked 4 BB in the first inning again and was not able to recover this time. I just know that anyone who looks at his stats for the year is going to see 1+K per inning with 1+BB per inning and going to rethink. The good news for him is he will get a fresh start this summer and is feeling more confident then he did to start the spring season.

Based on the feedback here and a good coaching friend...definitely going to get him signed up to attend the Sunbelt and schedule ACT for September. Thanks and we are going to get started on schools next week!

Coach, I don't know your son at all but from all of what you've said here I think that JC may also be an option worth looking at.

I have seen several kids, especially pitchers,  who were still figuring it out in HS get a chance to do exactly that at the JC level, and then move on to Power 5 schools and/or the draft.

Branson Baseball posted:

I will disagree with "he'll likely have his pick".  If he's a rising Senior this Summer, 86-88 mph and topping at 89 mph is in D1 territory but not all D1's. 

No flack coming from me...but...it's time to get a schools list together.  It's ok to hope for a point or two on the ACT and a couple more mph on the fastball when you put the list together.  I wouldn't have every school at a 27 ACT or 91 mph, but I'd have some on my list for sure.

With his grades, a 27 ACT, and 89+ mph, then a bunch of high academic D1's are in the mix.  With a 25 ACT and 91 mph, most if not all high academics are not a possibility regardless of GPA though many D1's are still potential targets.

As a 2018, your son will need to be seen by the schools on his vetted list asap if he's targeting D1 programs.  D2's and D3's will ideally see him this Summer, though early Fall can still work.

Good luck!

Sorry.  Thought he was a 2019.  But still in a very good spot as a 2018. 

Golfman25 posted:

Assuming the tournament is over several days, is it possible to skip that Saturday morning so he can still take the test?  Given that he is a pitcher, he may be a "non-participant" in several games. 

I've seen this done before by several high level recruits who wanted to play in our state's all-state games.  Just sign him up to take the test Saturday morning at the site closest to the tournament.  If his coach has his best interests at heart, versus winning a plastic trophy, it should be no problem.  

MTH posted:

Golfman25 posted:

Assuming the tournament is over several days, is it possible to skip that Saturday morning so he can still take the test?  Given that he is a pitcher, he may be a "non-participant" in several games. 

I've seen this done before by several high level recruits who wanted to play in our state's all-state games.  Just sign him up to take the test Saturday morning at the site closest to the tournament.  If his coach has his best interests at heart, versus winning a plastic trophy, it should be no problem.  

Thanks MTH! I am going to check into this for him.

coachld posted:

MTH posted:

Golfman25 posted:

Assuming the tournament is over several days, is it possible to skip that Saturday morning so he can still take the test?  Given that he is a pitcher, he may be a "non-participant" in several games. 

I've seen this done before by several high level recruits who wanted to play in our state's all-state games.  Just sign him up to take the test Saturday morning at the site closest to the tournament.  If his coach has his best interests at heart, versus winning a plastic trophy, it should be no problem.  

Thanks MTH! I am going to check into this for him.

My son was in the same boat with an out of state tournament this summer. It was easy to to move the test site to one closer to the tournament. Look at it soon though. I think there is a deadline to move locations.

MTH posted:

Golfman25 posted:

Assuming the tournament is over several days, is it possible to skip that Saturday morning so he can still take the test?  Given that he is a pitcher, he may be a "non-participant" in several games. 

I've seen this done before by several high level recruits who wanted to play in our state's all-state games.  Just sign him up to take the test Saturday morning at the site closest to the tournament.  If his coach has his best interests at heart, versus winning a plastic trophy, it should be no problem.  

Excellent idea, I was going to say attend tournament and really focus on ACT tutoring for a Sept ACT test date.  But this is an excellent compromise!  The coach can likely accommodate the pitching rotation.   

Most high academic D1's vary with ACT scores, but they have their minimums, and really want a strong GPA (3.5ish) to display work ethic.  As a reference: Duke needs a min 26 ACT (stated directly from the HC, ND & WF more flexible, I'm not sure by how much.  Also, while these are top conference academic D1's they are trying to have their 2018 recruiting class secured by spring of the 2018's junior year (stated directly from Duke coach.  

Pretty important summer for 2018's.  Good luck. 

Many universities have a December 1 merit aid application deadline - the October ACT is the last one a senior can take to meet that deadline. Each university has its own rules and deadlines. Always check and double check the deadlines so a student does not miss out on a merit aid opportunity.