ACT scores are in-Gulp

Parents Forum
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<p>Here's our experience with the SAT versus the ACT and my views on how colleges appear to view each test.</p>

<p>We live on the East Coast, where everyone takes the SAT and few take the ACT. Our daughter took the SAT after an expensive prep course and got a 1320. This is a good score by non-College Confidential standards, but it was heavily lopsided in Math's favor -- 720 Math and 600 Verbal -- and the Verbal score was well on the low side of the admitted students profile for the schools that she was most interested in. We were particularly concerned about this because most colleges care more about the verbal than the math.</p>

<p>Her highly regarded public high school then suggested that she fit the profile for doing better on the ACT than the SAT -- she has outstanding grades in tough courses, but only because she works her butt off and not because she's a natural genius. We were also advised, and confirmed independently, of another purported advantage of the ACT: many highly selective colleges that require SAT IIs if the student takes the SAT will not require SAT IIs if the student submits the ACT instead.</p>

<p>So our daughter took the ACT and got a 32 -- and this time her English and Reading scores (both 34s) outshined her Science (31) and Math (30) scores. She then made the decision on her own not to take any more standardized tests and to submit only her one ACT score to colleges. </p>

<p>The result: a $12,000 a year merit scholarship to Grinnell and acceptances to Carleton and William and Mary -- but rejections from Brown and Wesleyan. The Brown rejection surprised none of us -- it's always a crapshoot when it somes to the Ivies -- but we were surprised that she wasn't at least waitlisted at Wesleyan, which she visited and expressed a clear interest in attending. One of her classmates and best friends, with lower grades than our daughter's and far fewer extracurriculars, was waitlisted at Wesleyan and was also waitlisted at Carleton, where again our daughter was admitted. Unlike our daughter, however, her friend submitted SATs and SAT IIs to Wesleyan. His scores were in the 1400s, about equal to what our daughter's ACT scores would convert to. </p>

<p>We'll never know, of course, what led Wesleyan to reach its decision on our daughter's application -- and we recognize that she has three fine, fine choices -- but I have a feeling that it's a reflection of the bias that east coast colleges continue to have with the ACT. Even if they say otherwise. I suspect this is especially true when the student in question is submitting ACT scores only but hails from an SAT state. </p>

<p>Just something for folks to think about. Finally, for what it's worth, several students in my daughter's class took both the ACT and the SAT, and many of them did worse on the ACT -- not better.</p>

42

<p>I spoke with the National Merit people last week. The <em>new</em> SAT I is now required for all semi-finalists who want to advance. Neither the old SAT nor the ACT will do.</p>

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<p>echosensei - Your D could take the SAT II exams in June, report those to whichever schools she likes before Sept, then take the SAT I in October or November for the NMS. That way, her colleges will see only her SAT II scores.</p>

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<p>Thanks, Ellen. I think that's exactly what she'll do. This is all so confusing. Next question, are all AP scores reported or can they be selectively suppressed?</p>

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<p>echosensei -- Each separate test can be suppressed, but you can't report just the math score from one report, the science from another, etc. But you can send a specific school a specific score report, which is different than the SAT. With the SAT, if you send a college your SAT score, they will see ALL of your SAT scores. The ACT allows you to send specific reports -- so if your D takes the ACT 2 or 3 times, she can choose which score reports to send to specific schools. This allows, for example, someone to send the ACT score report showing the highest math score (even if it has a lower composite score) to a school that cares more about math, while sending the score report with the highest composite to those schools that don't care about the subsection breakdown as much. </p>

<p>One caveat -- check with your GC as well. We found out that our school includes results for all standardized tests on transcripts (SAT, SAT-II, ACT, AP, CLEP, you name it). My opinion is that the transcript doesn't need to include such information -- but rather than fight about it, my S just didn't have the score report sent to the HS, so they don't even know he took the test.</p>

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<p>lderochi, I understand the ACT (doubt she would re-take this), but was wondering about AP.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
my S just didn't have the score report sent to the HS, so they don't even know he took the test.

[/quote]
What high school? LOL. We left the name blank, just a void. They asked at the testing center . We said she homeschooled (well, she studies at home ,doesn't she?). Thanks to an old CC thread, and a memory that is barely hanging on.</p>

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<p>A student may withhold any AP grade from any college for a cost of $10 per grade per college. Let's say a student has two 5s on AP exams and one 3. The 3 is fine for credit at State U., but may make an unfavorable impression on La-Di-Da U. The student can order a full grade report sent to State U. for a cost of $15. He can then order only the 5s sent to La-Di-Dah for a cost of $25 (the initial $15 cost, plus $10 for suppressing one score).</p>

<p>Once a score has been withheld from a particular college, it will always be withheld from reports to that college unless the student writes CollegeBoard and reverses the suppression.</p>

<p>All grades are sent to a student's local school. Furthermore, all grades, except cancelled grades, are used in calculating the AP Scholar, etc. awards.</p>

<p>(As for the SAT, if a student desires to cancel a score, there is a narrow time frame from the test date for doing so. The test will not be graded, nor will the student ever know what his grade would have been.)</p>

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<p>C-Mudge, that is EXACTLY what I did as well. I knew I had read it somewhere on CC that you could just leave it blank. I felt uncomfortable with that for some reason (something about a blank space in a "required" field), so I checked "homeschooled", using the same reasoning.</p>

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<p>EllenF, so there's no way of keeping HS from receiving an AP score? <em>sigh</em> I guess I'll have to fight the battle that I was trying to avoid. HS is dead set on including all standardized test scores on transcripts. I don't see why -- if a student wants to withold any score below a 5, for example, I think that's his or her decision (unless the college itself states that it wants all of the student's AP scores). And if my S's HS puts this information on all of the transcripts, then S' will probably stick out like a sore thumb if I convince them to leave it off of just his.</p>

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<p>If your son doesn't put his school code on the test form, the school will not receive the scores. He will receive his own copy, though, so he'll know how he did and can decide whether to send the scores to a college.</p>

<p>However, if his high school teacher requires an AP test in order for him to complete the course, he'll have to put down the school code. Also, watch out for well-meaning proctors who might fill in the school code, thinking the student forgot to do so. :(</p>

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<p>Sorry what I meant was they don't want to pay the money, which I'm fine with. It justs gets me nervous to see everyone scoring so well, but I am happy to wait the extra time (maybe some lesson will come out of all of this waiting lol :))</p>

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<p>NO... JUST BUY IT!!!!!! i'll pay for it lol... sorry, i'm as anxious for others' scores as i am for my own</p>

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<p>I don't really want to pay $8 to see my scores though. I'll just have to wait it out. It almost seems like we follow each other everywhere...we always appear on the same threads, occaisonally ruining the topic at hand!</p>

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<p>I learned last night from someone "in the know" that, on average, the new SAT scores were approx a total of 100 pts lower than previous scores for students who took both tests. They advised my D (composite ACT 35) NOT to risk taking the SAT I. Any thoughts?</p>

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<p>echo- that doesn't seem to be the case for kids on this board. Not sure what the general public average would be. My S took January SAT (old) and March (new). On the 2 comparable sections he went up a total of 20 points.</p>

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<p>echo-the only problem with not taking the SAT is that she is cutting herself off from NM money. From my very middle class world I don't see that as positive. For instance I hear that Case Western offers full scholarship for all NMF's. I wouldn't want to eliminate options such as that just because she might score lower on the SAT. </p>

<p>I do agree that it has some risk but you have to weigh if the benefits outweigh the risk.</p>

<p>Congrats on the 35, she must be thrilled.</p>

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<p>True, deb22, but, since we are unlikely to be eligible for any of this anyway because of her choice of schools and our financial status, she's decided it's not worth the added headache. She'll be named a Semifinalist which is good enough for her.</p>

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<p>echo, your D is a smart girl. It sounds as if she has thought the situation out and made a decision that she is happy with. The good news is that she can apply to Michigan as a safety, a great and affordable choice.</p>

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<p>It is not true that Case Western gives full scholarships for NMF students. I received a Trustees scholarship at Case but that is not "full" and it isn't because I'm an NMF. I also am getting NMF money - 750.00 -- and their range for NMF is 500-2000. They told me the NMF money is based on need.</p>