Another ACT versus SAT question....

Parents Forum
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<p>Sorry about that. I pushed the submit button by mistake and had to edit.</p>

<p>My son took the ACT a second time and scored a 32. Reading 33, Math 31, English 34, Science 29. We haven't got the writing scores back yet, but the first time he had a perfect 12 and we are hoping for the same.</p>

<p>He has taken the SAT once and that was not as good: Math 650 (ouch) , Reading 700, Writing 670. Math has always been his lower test score though his grades are fine. He blew the essay and his writing score by stopping in mid-sentence and not having a conclusion. He will take the SAT again in the fall. Hope it will go up, but you never know. </p>

<p>His SAT II's are pretty good: Bio E 720 (a tough curve in June), World History 770, US History 780. He wants to major in bio or history, possibly a double major. </p>

<p>My question is this. We want to send in the SAT II scores--in some places we have to send them in. That means the SAT I will automatically be sent whether we want the college to see it or not. How do the colleges handle this? Will they automatically take the higher ACT and ignore the SAT I (assuming the score doesn't go up) Will the committee even see the SAT I or do they ger a score synopsis? Just how do they decide what is "better" and can they erase the other scores mentally from their head, or do they hang over the admission process at the back of their mind.</p>

<p>It also seems that colleges are more "generous" with the ACT spread (25th to 75th percentile) rather than the SAT. Is this true, or just an illusion?</p>

<p>We are in good shape with GPA (4.0) and class ranking (1 out of 42) at a small private school. He has taken 3 APs, lots of honors, and will take 3 more APS senior year. Heavy involvement in theater. Also flute and creative writing. It's just these crazy tests. Colleges we're looking at include Brown, Emory, and U Va. (all three legacy), U Chicago (his favorite--he is there now in a four-week bio seminar), also U Rochester, Amherst, Wesleyan, Brandeis, Emory, Union College, George Washington, Wash. U, Tufts Vassar. We are an automatic admit at UT Austin.</p>

<p>Any ideas how to handle the testing situation?</p>

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<p>they will take whatever score is higher and thus use it to your advantage...by the way his scores are good!!</p>

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<p>My understanding is the same, that adcoms will count the highest of the scores for making judments regarding that part of the students qualifications. I also think that the scores are pretty good and will qualify your S for strong consideration at all of the schools considering the whole package. At most if not all of the schools you mention he will be in the 25-75% range for SAT (at least by the old math/verbal 1350). No "ouch" necessary. Your son is going to get into a great school. :)</p>

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<p>If UChicago is his favorite, his writing skills will be very important. Chicago values the essays more than most.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the vote of confidence. If we can use the ACT coupled with the SAT II's, I do think we have a better chance. Just to be suer, he will retake the SAT I in October. It never hurts to try and push it up.</p>

<p>Regarding U Chi. His greatest strength is in writing so he is looking forward to those crazy essays from U Chi. At least they don't limit you to 25 minutes! He had a good trial run applying to their summer program. Even there, they placed a lot of emphasis on thoughtful essays, more than in any of the other summer programs that he applied to this year and last.</p>