<p>My daughter is dissatisfied with her critical reading SAT score -- her second try -- (650). Her other sections were both a 710. She got a 33 comprehensive score on the ACT first try. She is looking at some pretty competitive colleges; I am looking for merit aid at a not-so-competitive college. We, however, are both flexible in general. </p>
<p>Her gc recommended she retake them both as "three times is pretty standard." But what if she gets a lower score on any/all sections of either test? Do we really want that score 'out there?' I am somewhat skeptical that colleges will "only take the highest scores into consideration." Once they see a lower score, they have seen a lower score.</p>
<p>I think it depends on the college - I think I read last application cycle that some of the selective colleges were requiring all the SAT scores or that the SAT was sending all the scores?. With ACT you can send one sitting. Someone correct me if I’m wrong.</p>
<p>My opinion is that it is best to take them no more than 3 times. With the ACT, you only have to send in your best score. With the SAT, it depends upon the school. Some require all scores and then they super score (take the best of each section from all the tests). Some allow you to send using score choice.</p>
<p>Most schools do not superscore the ACT, only the SAT, and whereas you pay one fee to send all or as few of your SAT scores as you’d like, you must pay a fee to send each sitting of the ACT so most schools allow you to send your best single sitting ACT. If however there are 2 sittings of the ACT that better show the student it may be worth it to send both even if the school doesn’t superscore the ACT because it could have an effect. </p>
<p>Most schools though say it will not hurt a student to send in multiple test scores because the applicant’s file is updated with the best scores anytime new scores are received. However if you have all your scores sent to your HS and they are shown on the transcript then I think adcom members will see all scores but I don’t know the effect that may have.</p>
<p>The 33 is an excellent ACT score, she may want to work on using just that.</p>
<p>I agree completely. If she WANTS to do a retest, take an ACT practice test and give the ACT another try. A 33 ACT score is pretty darn good; the ACT must be a good test for her. I haven’t come across colleges that superscore the ACT and with the ACT, at all of the colleges I have come across, you only need to submit your best score, so retaking the ACT can’t hurt; it can only help. It seems like she might have a good chance of bringing it up by a point or two, especially if she does a few practices on the section that was her lowest.</p>
<p>Actually, I am a bit surprised that the GC said she should retake the ACT two more times when she already has a score of 33. </p>
<p>I think there is really no reason to retake both the ACT and the SAT.</p>
<p>^ @midwestmon. Just to clarify, GC said three times total. Which, still, would mean TWO MORE ACTs? I don’t think so. So many (all?) schools now consider the ACT that if I were her, I’d just bag the SAT entirely. Here’s the sad thing about that: We had her tutored for the SAT before she even took the ACT. We would have skipped the whole thing had she taken the ACT first. Regardless, I think I need to reconsider her taking another SAT. How much pressure does she need?</p>
<p>But if you take your best scores for each section you would have a superscore of 2070 (710/700/660).</p>
<p>The ACT works similarly but often schools will not separate out the sections and it isn’t quite as cut and dry as looking at each score and reaching the composite.</p>
<p>Score choice is an option SAT has where you can select which scores you want to send to any school - BUT many colleges do not want you do that and request you send all scores (because they will then superscore and toss out any that don’t help the applicant). Would they know if you chose score choice anyway? Not likely. But that’s something you’d have to decide was worth it.</p>
<p>Pizzagirl - I did the same thing and kept all scores off transcripts and also didn’t use any of the free score sending options because we wanted to first see the scores and decide which ones were best sent. Of course I didn’t do that for the first (and lowest) SAT my D took and we used the free score options but ironically she ended up at one of the schools that had received that decent but not top of anything 1st score (and had received the improved ones later). For my next 2 kids though when they approach the process I’ll handle it the same way and keep it off transcripts and such.</p>
<p>For starters, your D has a CR/M SAT of 1360 or a total of 2070. On the ACT she scored 33 which is considered concordant with an SAT CR/M of 1460-1500 or a total of 2190. Her ACT score is “good enough” for any college in the land. If it were me, I’d only send the ACT score and call it a day. I do not believe she needs to retake the ACT. She could retake it if she wanted to and send her best ACT score. No harm there in taking it twice. But her ACT is good enough already, just saying. </p>
<p>With the SAT Score Choice, one can choose to send their BEST sitting (not best subtest scores) to their colleges. If your D were to retake the SAT, and scores higher on all three sections than her previous sitting, she should just send the new sitting’s scores only. If she scores higher on one subtest in the second sitting but scored higher on the other two subtests in the first sitting, then you should send both sets of scores and most colleges will superscore (which means only count her best scores on each subtest). There are just a few colleges that will not permit SAT Score Choice and require all sittings to be sent…Yale is one. </p>
<p>I can’t see in a busy fall when attention must be put into applications, to have your D take all these test sittings. It is so unnecessary. Her ACT score is better than her SAT. She could stop now and send that ACT score and be done with it. Or, she could opt to take the ACT one more time to see if she does better but frankly, her current score of a 33 will in itself, not keep her out of any top school. It is already in the ballpark.</p>
<p>To be clear, you only need the SAT OR the ACT but not both for admissions. Your D should stick with sending ACT as she has done better on it.</p>
<p>Another factor is whether she took the writing section when she sat for the ACT. Many schools that accept the ACT require the student to take the writing portion. If her score of 33 was without writing, retaking the ACT with writing could be quite important.</p>
<p>I agree that her ACT is high enough to be accepted anywhere (it does not guarantee acceptance, but raising in to 35 or 36 will not guarantee it either), but if merit aid is your goal, raising it may help. So if she wants to retake it, she should (has to be with writing to replace SAT!).</p>
<p>Some schools require subject tests as well - make sure to check if she needs those.</p>
<p>Some schools do superscore ACTs (WUSTL does, for example).</p>
<p>Yes, I told my kids not to use the free score options, which meant that I just spent $480 this weekend on sending ACT’s and SAT II’s for 2 kids to 8 colleges apiece :-). But still, better than using free score options and then being disappointed with the results.</p>
<p>Mine both did well on the ACT’s (took it twice - once of their own volition, once because it is a state requirement in my state) so I saw no need to put them through paces on the SAT. Every college takes the ACT, so what’s the point.</p>
<p>There are a few colleges that superscore the ACT. We came across that with S2 last year. My oldest took the SATs four years ago as they were still needed by some of the coastal colleges, but that has changed in the past couple years and is now pretty much either ACT or SAT. The ACT is shorter and comphrehensive. If I remember a 33 composite is like 98th or 99th percentile. Can’t get much better than that. If your D is competitive about her grades/scores and wants to go again, it’s just two saturday’s mornings lost (one for ACT and one for SAT) which may not bother her in the least.</p>
<p>One thing I learned from a neighbor - who is an admissions counselor at a major state university - is that admissions reviewers will look at trends in the multiple ACT/SAT scores that the applicant has submitted. Using ShillyShally’s example in post #12 (BTW Shilly; both DW and I are UVA alums!), and doing a bit of rearranging shows:</p>
<p>You would still have a super-score of 2070 (710/700/660). However, you also show a downward trend in the cumulative scores, which may raise a red flag for admissions. This is a hidden reason why some schools require all scores. One could argue that going from 2010 to 1980 is not statistically significant. However, why supply data to the admissions reviewers that may present you in a bad light?</p>
<p>When I learned of this phenomena, we chose NOT to have the ACT scores on both DD (HS class of 2006) and DS (HS class of 2010) transcripts. Yeah, it cost a few more shekels to send the scores out separately, but we were all happy with the admissions outcomes.</p>