Child Obesity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Child Obesity - Essay Example It is clear that, children not only consume a lot of snacks but also fail to do the necessary exercise. They probably spend their free time watching television, hence become vulnerable to obesity (Berger & Luckmann, 2006). There other cultural and social factors that contributes to the child obesity; some societies believe that children are not safe while playing or walking to school. They tend to compromise their children from exercising, hence contribute to obesity (Brian, 2006). Child obesity has some serious consequences to the life of the affected child as well as the society at large. It can lead to health complication due to excessive weight and postural imbalance. It also affects the psycho-social functioning and the well-being of the affected children, especially in school or social places (Cole, 2001). In other words, the social life of the child will be affected in one way or another. Weight management in children can be a good control of childhood obesity. This can be done by providing appropriate meals and enough physical exercise for the children. ephysical exercise will enhance more expenditure of calories than consumption (Dewey, 2001). In addition to that, the best known strategies should be implemented in order to overcome the problem of obesity in children.

The Sniper Analysis Essay Example for Free

The Sniper Analysis Essay The Sniper The sniper is a story about a civil war taken place in Dublin. It tells of a republican sniper sitting on a rooftop of a building near to OConnell bridge. The war is between Republicans and the free states. the sniper is one of the fellow of republican, when a free state sniper shows himself on an opposite roof. they were waiting each other to see who would end up the better. Eventually the republican sniper gains the upper hand and after taking a bullet in the arm destroys the worthy opponent. After a curious inspection to the identity of the enemy sniper he finds himself looking into the eyes of his dead brother. The author created a three dimensional and interesting essay using important setting, Diction, and simile that effectively brings the essay in to life. The opening paragraph gives a vivid description of situation as would physically been seen, and gives a brief description of the setting, Also the setting contribute by being the critical component for assisting the story. The place the â€Å"sniper† takes place is in a city called Dublin, the sniper post himself on a rooftop near to the four courts building and O’Connell bridge. By using the word looking it draws the reader’s attention to the eye of the sniper. In addition when â€Å"the sniper looked at his enemy falling and he shuddered† the word of choice on this occasion is very effective as it makes it easy for the reader to imagine the sniper feels. The reader can interpret the word â€Å"shuddered† in several ways. The most obvious way that the reader can interpret this is the sniper got a chill down his back as he watched the body falls to the ground. In addition simile also play a great roll in the effectiveness of the story, for example the author mentioned â€Å"machine guns and refiles broke the silence of the night spasmodically, like dogs barking on lone farm† these sentence makes similarity between firing of machine gun in the night with dog barking on lone farm, which makes the situation to be emphasised. Also the writer used simile after the sniper shot his right arm to emphasise his pen â€Å"his right arm was paining him like a thousand devils†. In both cases simile compare the two ideas indirectly and allow them to remain distinct in spite of their similarities. In general, the setting , choice of words and the way the writer used to point out the similarities between tow things are very effective. These elements are the most crucial devices to create an effect and they are used to help and persuade the reader to agree the view presented in the story.

Information Security Threats And Countermeasures Information Technology Essay

Information Security Threats And Countermeasures Information Technology Essay A common body of knowledge for information security is formed when information from around the globe is grouped together for the purpose of being used as a guideline on how to secure information. There are, however no universally accepted common body of knowledge for information security, though ongoing efforts are made to establish one limitation that occurs in current developments of such a body of knowledge, is that it frequently focuses primarily on professionals in industry and leaves no room or opportunity for low-level users (such as end users) who require a scaled-down version of this knowledge. The aim of the common body of knowledge that is developed as part of the basis for the Information Security Retrieval and Awareness model proposed in this paper is twofold: to focus specifically on users with little or no formal background on how to properly secure information they work with, yet also not to exclude professionals. Computer systems are vulnerable to many threats that can inflict various types of damage resulting in significant losses. This damage can range from errors harming database integrity to fires destroying entire computer centers. Losses can stem, for example, from the actions of supposedly trusted employees defrauding a system, from outside hackers, or from careless data entry clerks. Precision in estimating computer security-related losses is not possible because many losses are never discovered, and others are swept under the carpet to avoid unfavorable publicity. The effects of various threats varies considerably: some affect the confidentiality or integrity of data while others affect the availability of a system. According to threats are categorized according to the type of information system asset that is affected, the categories are: Software, hardware, data, personnel, administration, network, physical. There are roughly 15 leading information system threats, among those threats are: data processing errors, network breakdowns, software breakdowns, and viruses. Viruses are one of the most popular threats to computer systems. One can define a computer virus as a total recursive function which applies to every program and obtains its infected form such that can infect other programs Among whole lot of viruses that exist there are a number of viruses: Malicious Codes/programs and backdoors. Malicious codes and programs refer to virus (that reproduces by attaching to another program), worm (an independent program that reproduces by copying itself from one system to another, usually over a network) and trojan programs (an independent program that appears to perform a useful function but that hides another unauthorized program inside it). Infected on a machine and permits an attacker to control the compromised machines network. Malicious code can cause significant security breaches such as jeopardize the availability of information once it infects programs/files and corrupts them thus making them inaccessible. A trojan program installed successfully in your PC, can permit an intruder to access or modify any information available in the PC and worst still the software configuration of a computer can be changed to permit subsequent intrusions. Hard disk boot sector The virus infects the DOS boot sector of the hard drive. Extending The virus extends the size of the infected program file Boot sector The virus infects the partition table of the hard disk or even the floppy disk boot sector. Disk corruption The virus corrupts all of part of the disk. File linkage Directly or indirectly corrupts the file linkage. Resident The virus installs itself in memory. Runtime slow down The virus affects system run-time operations. Types of countermeasures IS security threats have increased significantly in recent years. We identified the gaps between manager perceptions of IS security threats and the security countermeasures adopted by firms by collecting empirical data from 109 Taiwanese enterprises. Industry type and organizational use of IT were seen as the two factors that affected the motivation of firms to adopt security countermeasures, but their implementation did not necessarily affect the threat perceptions of the managers. Analyses of responses suggested that the scope of the countermeasures adopted were not commensurate with the severity of the perceived threats. Among the threats, networks were rated as contributing the most severe threat and yet had the lowest level of protection; this was followed by threats due to personnel and administrative issues. We therefore addressed threat mitigation strategies, specifically in terms of the differences between industries There are a number of countermeasures that can be done to prevent threats from interfering with the functionality of information systems. Software User entrance logs, system recovery, multi-user system, automatic debug and test, access control to program source, verification of system modified, convert channels and Trojan code. Hardware Remote mirroring, surveillance system use, entrance limitation, Uninterruptable power supplies and periodical disk checking. Data Information backup, data access controls, user access rights, enforced path, event logging, information handling procedures, management of removal media, and disposal of media. Network Antivirus software, encryption, user authentication, instruction detection systems, firewalls, alternative circuits, digital signatures, limitation of connection time. Unsecured Windows file sharings. Anyone with File and Print sharing enabled and using share level access are exposed to this threat, a common source of security problem under Windows operating systems. The flaw in an unsecured windows shares can be exploited by intruders in an automated way to place tools on large numbers of Windows based computers attached to the Internet. An unsecured windows shares together with DOS tools can become a great opportunity for intruders to launch DOS attacks. It was discovered recently that there is a flaw in the way that Windows handles the passwords for file sharing. An attacker still can access a password protected shared driving without knowing the full password just the first character of it. A special program can be easily written to exploit the problem and in fact are already circulating around the Net, to be abused by intruders everywhere. Conclusion The emerging trends in network security threats are leading more and more towards the need for pro-active Intrusion Prevention Systems, and further away from the traditional Intrusion Detection Systems with alert only capabilities. The goal of a security program is to choose and implement cost effective countermeasures that mitigate the vulnerabilities that will most likely lead to loss.

What Is A Human Being :: essays research papers

Webster's dictionary defines human as 'human 1. Of or characteristic of man || being a person || of people as limited creatures, human failings || resembling man 2. A person'; Of course there is more to being human than that. A concise yet broad definition of human would be any man, woman, child, etc. on this earth. To be human means that you can read this paper. It means that you don't have to worry you are resting comfortable at the top of the food chain.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There are many ways that humans are different from other animals and I have picked what I believe to be the greatest differences of all. A main difference is self-awareness, or the knowledge that we exist by living and dying. Since we know that we will die sooner or later we take care of those who may not be able to take care of themselves to prolong the life if the ones that we love. Another thing that self-awareness dose for us is that it makes us search for meaning in life and get the most out of it before we leave this physical plane.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  That lead's us to religion, one of the other things that separate us from animals. All most all humans have a religion that believes in an after life. Some believe in rebirth where you never die but keep living in different states on the earth. In all most all religions there is a superior being or superior beings, that concept is similar to the way our government works.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are primitive animal concepts that show traces of government, such as the almighty wolf that appoints an alpha pair similar to a king and queen to make the best decisions for the survival of the pack. Humans appoint government to prevent chaos from killing us off. Even though our government is far far far from perfect there is still a sense of security that you have someone semi-responsible leading parts of humanity to a better future.

Consider Thomas Hardy’s Essay

In the dictionary the word Isolation means to be separate or a part from others. I think if someone is isolated then it would be a negative aspect because they are alone and have nothing to do with anyone else. The reason for the various isolations in the two texts differs because of the different time periods they were set in. In the two books I am comparing is the â€Å"Withered Arm† by Thomas Hardy and â€Å"Of Mice and Men† by John Steinbeck. I feel that in both texts there are a few characters with their lives or they had illegitimate children. The text â€Å"Of mice and Men† was written in the 1930’s the time period of the depression. In the most of John Steinbeck’s books he describes the life of people working on the land and that his characters are all often poor. This was because he wanted to show how real the life was during that time. Within his books men and women rarely understood each other because of the lack of communication. During the time when John Steinbeck wrote â€Å"Of Mice and Men† people would frown upon coloured people, the handicapped, the old and women. They also were prejudice about women. The text the â€Å"Withered Arm† was written in the late 19th century in England. The book is set in a place called Wessex and the expectations at the time are different compared to the ones we have in today’s society. In that time social classes were expected to marry inside their class and not below that. Otherwise this would be considered a disgrace to the family of the higher class. Thomas Hardy introduces Rhode as his First character who is isolated. He establishes her isolation as her sitting on her away from the others â€Å"Where a thin fading women of thirty milked somewhat apart from the rest. † The word fading and somewhat apart from the rest reveals that she was separated from the rest of the milkmaids. Further on in the first chapter Hardy also establishes her loneliness by where she lives â€Å"†¦ lay part from that of the others, to a lonely spot high above the water-meads†¦ † this also show her isolation. The characters who are lonely are Candy, Crooks and Curley’s wife in the text â€Å"Of Mice and Men. † They are lonely because each one of them is different from everyone else. Such as Crooks is black, Candy is disabled and Curley’s wife is a women. The reason for them being lonely is because of the society’s attitude, which they lived in. The two characters that are not lonely are George and Lennie. This is as they have each other for company whereas everybody does not. Lennie and George treat each other, as they were family because they have been together for a very long time. â€Å"Because I got you an’___ An’ I got you. We got each other, that’s what, that gives a hot in hell about us’. † That quote indicates what Lennie say to George about them having each other to look after and keeping each other company. George needed Lennie because he wanted someone who would listen to him and not say anything. Lennie need George’s because he is not able to handle himself and also George promised Lennie’s aunt that he would look after him. Thomas Hardy describes Rhodes Brooks house as it old and worn † It was built of mud walls, the surface of which had been washed by many rains†¦ left none of the original flat face visible†¦ here and there in the thatch above a rafter showed like a bone protruding through the skin. † This suggests that Rhode did not a great house and that it was old just like her. The quote also indicates that the house had been through some hard times. In the text â€Å"Of Mice and Men† John Steinbeck writes about one female character that is known as Curley’s wife. As the reader I feel sympathy for her, as she is the only woman on the ranch. She is also isolated because her husband does not like her talking to any of the other workers, and also her own husband hardly speaks to her. The author has not given her a name because during that time period women were not as important as men, furthermore she is so isolated that the author decided on not given her a name. The effect this has on the reader is that she belongs to Curley unlike her being an individual person. So therefore the reader feels a little bit of sympathy for her. Thomas Hardy writes about a little boy in his book † Withered Arm† who is also nameless like Curley’s Wife. In the book he is referred as Rhode’s son. Rhode’s son is isolated because his mother had an affair with Farmer Lodge. The main reason that he is isolated is that his mother moved further away from the farm, so therefore he does not live close by to anybody. I feel that Rhode’s son is a victim of the circumstances between Farmer Lodge and Rhode because he was a product of their affair, and then Rhode moved away so she could be away from society. As a result Rhode’s son does not have friends. John Steinbeck writes about another isolated man named Crooks. The reason Crooks is so isolated is because during the time period everyone was prejudice against coloured people, and he was black. Another reason he is isolated as that he isolates himself to have some respect in the white world. Crooks was born with a disability, therefore he feels that he need to isolate himself further. He makes friends with Candy and Lennie as they isolated on the farm. When Crooks first meets Candy and Lennie it says † †¦ he kept is his distance and demanded that other people keep theirs. † This indicates that Crooks does not want anyone to be close to him. Though as the story goes on he makes friends with Candy and Lennie. I feel sorry for Crooks for being coloured and handicapped as he is very friendly person. In both the texts that I read there are two more handicapped people, named Gertrude from the † Withered Arm† and Candy from † Of Mice and Men†. Candy is isolated as he is old and has only got one arm since it was cut off when he was working on the farm. Gertrude isolated because one night Rhode cast a spell on her arm. In both texts Gertrude and Candy are alike because of their arms. They are not as isolated as Crooks or Rhode, since they only have a small isolation problem, unlike the rest. In the beginning of the text † Withered Arm† Farmer Lodge is presented as being bold and proud. He is proud as he has a new wife Gertrude, who is a lot younger than him and plus she is very beautiful. Gertrude starts to get a problem in one of her arms, as time passes her arm gets worse, therefore Farmer Lodge feels as she is not as pretty as before. This makes Farmer Lodge change. He also feels depressed since his son is hung and this changes him. The reason for him to isolate himself is that all these problems are occurring around him and he feels that it is his fault. So he moves away from his farm. In conclusion I consider that isolation is a negative aspect in someone’s life. I think that when people are isolated dreaming keeps them from getting trough. Like for instance Lennie and George’s dream to open up a farm or their own and Rhode’s dream to get back with Farmer Lodge. Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE John Steinbeck section.

What is the Minimum ACT Score for College

What is the Minimum ACT Score for College SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips There are a lot of numbers and scores associated with your college applications: GPA. Class rank. Maybe some AP Tests. Standardized test scores. It can be a lot to take in. If you’re taking the ACT, you might be worried about how you’ll do. What’s the worst score you could get? What’s the worst score you could get and still have a shot at your dream program? In this article, I’ll break down the lowest possible ACT score, and why you’re not likely to get it. Then I’ll discuss the minimum ACTscore for college admissions, how to choose colleges based on your score (whatever it may be), how to set a score goal based on your colleges of choice, and finally what you can do if you feel like your ACT score is too low for any of your desired schools. What's the Lowest ACT Score You Can Get? The ACT is scored from 1-36 on a composite scale. This means the minimum ACT score you could possibly receive- for example, if you showed up to the testing center and filled in every bubble on your entire scantron sheet- is a 1.The composite score is obtained from taking the average of your 4 section scores and rounding; .5 is rounded up. So to get a composite score of 1, you would have to get either 1 on each section score or three 1s and a 2. The average ACT score is a 21. The 25th percentile score is 16, and the 75th percentile score is a 24. This means that if you got a 16, you would have scored better than 25% of all test-takers. In the 75th percentile, you’ve scored better than 75% of test-takers, and so one. To give you an idea of how rare a score of 1 is, a composite score ranging anywhere from 1 to 11 would put you in the 1st percentile- meaning 99% of test-takers scored higher than 11. For individual sections, 99% of test-takers scored higher than 7 in English, 99% scored higher than 12 in Math, 99% scored higher than 9 in Reading, and 99% scored higher than 11 in Science.Even if you guessed on every question, you’d get a composite score around 11-13.Thus, it is very unlikely that you will get the lowest possible score- or even a score lower than 11- on the ACT. Even this guy got an 11! What’s the Lowest ACT Score You Can Have and Still Get Into College? Since it’s pretty unlikely that you would get the minimum ACT score, you might be more interested in knowing what is the lowest possible score you could have and still have a shot at getting into college. The answer to that question is that it depends- primarily on what colleges you are applying to, but also to a certain extent on your other qualifications. For more selective schools, you’ll need a much higher ACT score to have a shot than for less selective ones. If you’re aiming for an elite institution like University of Chicago or Princeton, you’ll need to score at least 30, and that would be on the low end for one of those schools. By contrast, you might still have a shot at a selective public school like University of Illinois with a 25 or 26. Smaller state schoolslocal to you often accept scores in the 18-22 range. In fact, public universities often have special admissions criteria for residents that allow or compensate for lower standardized test scores. For example, publicly funded Texas universities generally guarantee admission to those in the top 10% of any graduating high school class in Texas, although some have lowered the cap to the top 7 or 8% in recent years due to space concerns. You may still need to submit test scores for these schools, but they won’t keep you from being admitted. Specialized schools like art schools and music conservatories also often have lower standardized test requirements of their students, as a student’s creative work is the primary criteria for admission. Mime school only accepts your test scores if you can silently act them out. The truth is that it’s difficult to give a hard-and-fast rule as to the absolute minimum ACT score for college. Colleges and universities admit candidates along a range of test scores, although the band is narrower at more selective universities. However, you can get a general idea of what is the lowest score you could get and still have even a realistic chance at admission based on a great statistic called â€Å"the middle 50%.† The middle 50% is a statistic that most schools provide on their admissions websites that gives the test score range of the 25th to the 75th percentiles of their own admitted student pool (i.e. 25% of admits had test scores below this range, 50% had test scores in this range, and 25% had test scores above this range). This is a reliable way to figure out the scoring threshold necessary to be a viable candidate for admission. As to the lowest score you can get and still have a shot, I would say to place that mark a little (think around 1 point) below the bottom number of the middle 50%. Of course, if you pick a score that’s just a little below the 25th percentile, that does mean that people with a lower score than your â€Å"low score threshold† probably got in. There are always outliers and exceptions in the college admissions process- people who had other specific qualifications or strengths that the institution thought would be valuable. No doubt you also have unique strengths and talents that you should emphasize in college applications! But you should never assume that you are going to be one of the outliers who gets in with an ACT score at the lowest conceivable end of the admit range. That doesn’t mean don’t apply if your dream school’s middle 50% is 28-32 and you got a 26. Just be realistic that it’s quite areach school for you, and you’ll really need to differentiate yourself in other ways if you want to have a chance.By contrast, if your score is a decent cut above the 75th percentile mark (think 2+ points), you’re in a great position. Here’s a sample chart of some low and high marks as compared to some middle 50% score ranges. Sample Middle 50% Ranges and Low/High Scores Low Score Middle 50% High Score 12 13-16 18 14 15-20 22 20 21-26 28 21 22-28 30 25 26-30 32 27 28-32 34 29 30-34 36 31 32-35 36 So how is this information- about situating your own score relative to a school’s middle 50% of admits- useful? Well, it will help you choose which scores to apply to based on your own ACT score, by aiding you in identifying safety, match, and reach schools. Choosing a college is just like choosing a pumpkin, except completely different. Choosing Schools to Apply to Based on Your ACT Score If you already got your ACT score, you may be wondering how to pick which schools to apply to. In general, you’ll want to apply to some safety schools, some match schools, and some reach schools. A safety school is one where you are more qualified than the typical admitted student, a match school is one where you are as qualified as the typical student, and a reach school is one where you areless qualified than the typical student. This means that in terms of ACT scores, a safety school is one where your score well exceeds the middle 50% range (think 2+ points), a match school is one where you fall in within or just above the middle 50%, and a reach school is one where you fall in the bottom end of or just below the middle 50%. Very selective schools (think the Ivies, MIT, Stanford, University of Chicago, etc.) are a reach for everyone because they are so competitive. Let’s say Jared got a 24 on his ACT. How should we classify the following schools he is interested in: as safety, match, or reach? Northeastern Illinois University – middle 50% range: 16-21 With a score 3 points about NIU’s middle 50%, we can consider this one a safety school. Jared’s scores would put him the top quarter of applicants by a wide margin. Illinois State University – middle 50% range: 21-26 With a score right above the midpoint of ISU’s middle 50%, ISU would be a match school for Jared. Bard College – middle 50% range: 24-30 Because he is at the very bottom of the middle 50% range for Bard, we would consider Bard a reach school. Not a huge or unreasonable reach, but still a reach, as around 75% of applicants had better scores than Jared. He’ll really need for the rest of his application to be stellar. Depaul University – middle 50% range: 23-28 Jared is within the middle 50% at Depaul, but on the lower end (only one point about the bottom of the margin). This is one of those schools that sits right on the border between being a match and a reach. Just so long as you are applying to a variety of schools relative to your own test scores, it’s completely fine if an individual school’s classification seems a little ambiguous. Of course, there are other factors than test scores in choosing safety, match, and reach schools. Schools also usually provide information about the GPA and class ranks of their admitted students, so you’ll want to consider those as a factor as well. If you’re on the low end of the middle 50% in test scores, but way on the high end for GPA and class rank, it could be a match school.Unique talents or other interesting qualifications can also go a long way towards mitigating a test score that’s a little on the low end for a particular school. But what if you already have schools in mind, and you haven’t taken the SAT yet? How should you determine what score to aim for? Want to build the best possible college application? We can help. PrepScholar Admissions is the world's best admissions consulting service. We combine world-class admissions counselors with our data-driven, proprietary admissions strategies. We've overseen thousands of students get into their top choice schools, from state colleges to the Ivy League. We know what kinds of students colleges want to admit. We want to get you admitted to your dream schools. Learn more about PrepScholar Admissions to maximize your chance of getting in. He should probably get an arrow if he wants to hit that target. Choosing a Goal ACT Score Based on Your Dream Schools You may already have some schools in mind before you take the ACT. In this case, you can use the middle 50% for those schools to set a target score for the ACT.An ideal target score would be the highest 75th percentile mark of the middle 50% among the schools you are interested in. That way, even if you fall a little short, you’ll still be well-positioned for the other schools on your list. First, make a list of all of the schools you are considering.When you have a complete list, look up the middle 50% range for each school. Then, you’ll note down the top number of the middle 50% - the 75th percentile- for each school. You can do this for total score, by section, or both- whatever is most useful for you. Note that some schools only report composite ACT scores and not section subscores. When you have all the necessary info noted down, find the highest score in the 75th percentile list.That's your target ACT score! Let’s work through an example. Here’s Alicia’s initial list of schools she’s interested in: University of Virginia Emory University Princeton University of Connecticut Syracuse University University of Maryland Johns Hopkins Now we’ll fill out our middle 50% table. An â€Å"n/a† means the school didn’t report the subscore. Sample Target Score Chart - Alicia Name of College/ University ACT English 75th ACT Reading 75th ACT Math 75th ACT Science 75th ACT Composite 25th ACT Composite 75th University of Virginia (n/a) (n/a) (n/a) (n/a) 28 33 Syracuse University (n/a) (n/a) (n/a) (n/a) 24 29 University of Connecticut (n/a) (n/a) (n/a) (n/a) 26 30 Emory University (n/a) (n/a) (n/a) (n/a) 30 34 Princeton (n/a) (n/a) (n/a) (n/a) 32 35 University of Maryland (n/a) (n/a) (n/a) (n/a) 29 33 Johns Hopkins (n/a) (n/a) (n/a) (n/a) 32 34 Target Score: 35 So given the schools she wants to attend, Alicia should be aiming for a 35 on her ACT. She’s got her work cut out for her! You can use the following table to do your own list: Target Score Chart Name of College/ University ACT English 75th ACT Reading 75th ACT Math 75th ACT Science 75th ACT Composite 25th ACT Composite 75th Target Score: By listing your match and reach schools and averaging their 75th percentile admit test scores, you can get a goal ACT score for yourself.But what if once you get your ACT scores back, it looks like every school is a reach? Are you out of luck? Did your four-leaf clover wilt? Based on My ACT Score, Every School I’m Interested in Is a Reach Let’s say you get your scores back. You open your scores. You look at your list of middle 50% ranges for the schools you are interested in. Your stomach drops- your score is at the 25th percentile or below for all of these schools! If your score is low enough that you are concerned about being accepted at any college you’re interested in, there are severalstrategies you might consider to address the issue: Prep for the ACT and Take It Again If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again! If you prepare for your test strategically, you actually can improve your score quite a lot. See our guide to the pros and cons of all prep methods. You might try atargeted, personalized test-prep program like ours, using the best ACT prep books, or tutoring. If you still have a few months left before your deadlines, taking the ACT again is probably your best option. Take the SAT Instead The SAT and the ACT used to be very different animals- enough that students would perform dramatically differently on them. This is less true now that the SAT has been revised, because it's now very similar to the ACT. If you are particularly weak in the Science test on the ACT, the SAT may be better for you; instead of having a dedicated science section it has some chart- and data-interpretation questions throughout. This could help you if you are just hoping for a little boost. Evaluate if You Need Testing Accommodations If you have a medical condition, learning disability, or psychiatric disorder, you may qualify for special testing accommodations for the ACT. If you are on an IEP or a 504 plan at your school, it is especially likely that you are both eligible for and would benefit from test accommodations. Bear in mind that the request process is time-consuming process so you need to start early- months before you are going to take the ACT again! Adjust Your Expectations If you score is too low for all the colleges on your list, look at some less selective colleges. A 26 is too low for Northwestern, but it’s a great score for Ohio State or the University of Iowa. It's likely that you'll be able to find less selective colleges that have the same qualities you are looking for. Some collegiate ivy, outside of the Ivy League. Apply to Schools That Accept Alternate Scores Some schools will accept AP Exam Scores or SAT Subject Test Scores in lieu of more traditional SAT or ACT exam scores. If you’ve already performed well on AP exams or you feel you could do well on particular SAT Subject Tests, this could be a good strategy for you.Examples of schools that accept alternate tests include: Colorado College - Accepts various combinations of AP, IB, and SAT Subject Test scores in lieu of the ACT/SAT. Colby College - Accepts 3 SAT Subject Tests in lieu of ACT/SAT. Middlebury College - Accepts 3 SAT Subject Tests in lieu of ACT/SAT. Hamilton College - Accepts various combinations of AP, IB, and SAT Subject Test scores in lieu of the ACT/SAT. New York University - Accepts various combinations of AP, IB, and SAT Subject Test scores in lieu of the ACT/SAT. See a more comprehensive list of test-optional and test-deemphazised colleges at Fairtest.org. Apply to Test-Optional Schools Still other colleges have implemented test-optional admissions. This means that, while you can send standardized test scores as a bonus or qualification with your application, they are not required. In this case, your GPA, course records, essay, recommendation letters, and other application materials will be the determining factors in your admission- not your test scores. Though a fairly newfangled notion in college admissions, several high-quality schools have implemented test-optional policies. This seems eminently reasonable in light of the fact that there are some courses of study where you may not take hardly any tests, and certainly not many long, grueling, marathon-style standardized ones.Test-optional schools are a particularly good strategy for applicants who are good students but poor standardized test takers. Schools that are test-optional include: Wake-Forest University, NC Bates College, Maine Wesleyan University, CT Bowdoin College, Maine American University, Washington DC Mt. Holyoke College, MA (women’s college) Sarah Lawrence College, NY (women’s college) Bryn Mawr College, Pennsylvania (women’s college) Smith College, MA (women’s college) See a more comprehensive list of test-optional and test-deemphazised colleges at Fairtest.org. Go to Community College If your score is low enough that you are worried about getting accepted to any college, you might consider starting out at community college. Most local community colleges are open to anyone in the area with a high school diploma or GED. You can start taking classes at a community college and then transfer to a 4-year university upon completion of your associate’s degree; your most recent transcripts in this case will be much more important than your standardized test scores. The august facade of Bronx Community College. With these strategies, you’ll be sure to find a college solution that works for you, no matter your ACT score. Key Takeaways The minimumACT score you could receive is a 1, although this is very unlikely to happen.You may be more worried about getting a score high enough to get into college. While it’s difficult to set any specific threshold that is too low for college, the more selective the school, the higher you’ll need to score. You can use a statistic called the middle 50%- the test score range of the 25th-75th percentiles of admitted students for a given school- to choose safety, match, and reach schools for yourself based on your score, or to choose a target ACT score based on schools you are interested in. If you find yourself with a low enough score that you are concerned about getting into colleges you are interested in, you have several options: Prep for the ACT and take it again Take the SAT instead Figure out if you need testing accommodations Adjust your expectations and apply to less selective schools Apply to test-alternate or test-optional schools If your scores are low enough that you are worried about getting into any college, period, you might go to community college. Ultimately, if you want to pursue higher education, there are strategies to make that happen in a way that works for you regardless of your ACT score. You'll find the right rainbow for you! What's Next? Check out our complete, free guides to ACT prep, all gathered in one place.Or maybe you'd like to know how important the ACT is as part of your application, anyways. Need help figuring out your college application timeline? We've got you covered. We'll also help you identify target schools, and figure out how many schools to apply to.