<p>So my daughter took the SAT and her math score was significantly lower (100 points) than her excellent reading score.</p>
<p>Now she has her ACT results and her math score is in line with her reading score (the good news) but the science subscore is even more out of line than the math on the SAT (ie, the SAT equivalent of the ACT science score is over 100 points lower than her reading or math score).</p>
<p>I would think that she should submit both ACT and SAT as part of her college applications, but I am wondering if adcoms will now have questions about her science chops that otherwise would not be raised (she has been a strong science student although she has not taken AP science courses).</p>
<p>She will not take either test again.</p>
<p>How many points do you think she will lose with adcoms for her less stellar science ACT score?</p>
<p>I’d seriously reconsider taking the ACT again and only sending it. The science section has zero to do with science and can be mastered with a couple of weeks of tutoring.</p>
<p>It does depend on the school. More selective schools will look at sub-scores. Some schools will use ACT sub-scores as substitutes for SATII’s. But most schools just use whatever overall score is the best.</p>
<p>I think most colleges look at the top scores submitted, not the bottom – but it could depend on how weak the lower end scores are. Maybe you could share some info about the actual scores – I don’t mean to pry, but on CC there have been people who think an ACT subscore of 31 is “low”. </p>
<p>If an “excellent” reading score on the SAT means something above 700 – then the math score that is 100 points lower would have to be over 600 – and if your daughter has the profile of a potential liberal arts major… then there isn’t a school in the country that would have a problem with a 600 range math score. They see that sort of dichotomy all the time – literary types who are stronger in CR and writing than math, and math nerd types who post 800 math scores but are much weaker on the CR and writing part.</p>
<p>I agree with calmom, my younger son’s math scores were 100 points less than his CR scores. He didn’t get into the two Ivy league schools he applied to, but he did get into U of Chicago, Tufts and Vassar.</p>
<p>Another possibility to consider would be trying some SAT Subject Tests? I didn’t do fabulously well on the SAT math section (690), especially compared to CR/W (800/790), but I did much better on the SAT Math II and the SAT Physics, which I think helped back up my strong science/math grades. FWIW, I was applying to math/science oriented majors, so I can only imagine it would be easier if one is not interested in such areas, though many top schools have plenty of applicants with great scores in all areas, of course.</p>
<p>Even though the OP said taking the tests again is not a option, that should not be ruled out too quickly. Because superscoring (combining the best scores from sections taken on different dates) is becoming more common, it would be quite feasible to have those weak section scores go up, particularily if some targeted self study of those sections occurs. S1 got pretty solid scores on his first test settings back in 2007-08 (2250 SAT and 32 ACT.) I let him off without taking them again. But if I had known about superscoring back then, I would have pushed harder for a re-take. S2 is in the heart of the process now, and will certainly be taking the tests multiple times, even though early indications are that he may do better than his older bro.</p>
<p>fendrock, our second son quit testing on the SAT when he had prepared as much as his personality could stand and made the exact same score twice although categories shifted. His ACT was best and he got it on the first sitting. He sent all of his test scores. He was the last year that you had to reveal “all” from the SAT company if you sent anything…so we were like…total exposure and just count on people to make decent conclusions overall.</p>
<p>First son apparently had either A. PET scan revealed incredible brain development the summer he was 18 (?)…or B. Maturity in intention and purpose the summer he was 18. His SAT went up 200 points fall of his senior year. </p>
<p>Sounds like your daughter is not interested in testing fall of senior year, which would be nice but might not be the best long term plan. She can still for instance, send in her current SAT and ACT, and send in a supplemental test on one science and be “done with it.” The SATIIs are not that tough and the books are clear and the exams take on hour. Also if she feels that effort didn’t do anything for her, she only lost one Sunday afternoon of doing the practice exam and one hour and she doesn’t have to send the SATII in science anyplace.</p>
<p>Second son took his Math SATII in October of senior year, exhausted, over extended and cranky…didn’t like the score and retook it in January when life was quiet and anti-climactic (applications were done)…and all but one of his schools accepted the January score which was much higher…he sent it out to all his colleges…they hadn’t even sat down yet in committee. </p>
<p>You know your own kid and her ability to tolerate standardized testing. But she still has time to do a June SATII or to take one or two in the fall or as late as January and have a possible way to fill in a bit. </p>
<p>Lastly, my son had one good AP score in Sciences and one belated good SATII in math…and extensive math and science coursework completed…and he also fumbled the science section on the ACT…but since it was his highest performance overall in every other respect…he sent it on…I think adcoms are good at looking at overall pictures unless you are aiming for engineering or a top ten college where everyone has all sorts of perfection in testing on the table.</p>
<p>It finally occurred to me that because of the way colleges report testing data, that a student who has a score pattern of 710-710-610 might be advantaged in admissions over a student who has a pattern of 690-690-690. That’s because college report score ranges for each subtest on the CDS, and not cumulative scores. So essentially, for reporting purposes, the examples above become 7-7-6 vs. 6-6-6 – that is, the colleges are reporting medians, not averages, and the first pattern in the example would count for two 700-800 range scores, while the second example is worth 0-- even though the first example clearly has a disparity in scores.</p>
<p>The College Board itself reports a margin of error of +/- 30 points for each score – so unless there is a high likelihood of a score going up by 60 or more points, it might not mean much in the college’s eyes. There might be more significance if the increase is enough to bump up into the next 100-point range level for reporting purposes. That is, the student who can turn a 590 math score into a 600 may end up getting a bigger admissions boost than the student who turns a 610 to a 690. </p>
<p>Again, this is all speculative, but I wouldn’t stress too much about it. My daughter had a 590 math score on the SAT. When she retook, the math score went down to 580. She did better overall on the ACT, but not in the math section, where her best score was 23. She still ended up being accepted at several reach colleges, and obviously she didn’t plan to major in math.</p>
<p>I also am an advocate for full disclosure. I think you want to have your child get in where they FIT and adcoms need data to see where she will fit best. </p>
<p>College is a long term relationship, so they need to see you in your jeans, as well as in the interview clothes. And just presenting one set of data means you just show up once in interview clothes.</p>
<p>Also … each score is just ONE number. Do not stress anyone over just ONE number. What your daughter shows in her essays, grades, interests … etc etc is more than just one number.</p>
<p>Send all the test results is what I would do. And I also would not have her take either test again. With two different tests with similar results, I think she presents a very good picture of herself.</p>