<p>I heard this story on here where an applicant receives a full boat offer to go to
a choice B school at the last minute. But he never even applied there or told
College Board to send his scores. Does that sound even possible? Or does
it happen often? Perhaps colleges pay College Board to get access to certain
score levels in order buff out their SAT bragging rights?? </p>
<p>Certain ranges can be sent out if the student checked the box on the SAT. This will give access to scholarships and to schools that are interested initially off of scores. </p>
<p>No, no and no.</p>
<p>Don’t listen to stories. </p>
<p>The CB administers the SAT, they don’t have anything to brag about.</p>
<p>In theory, it’s possible to do this with ACT/SAT scores by buying the mailing list multiple times with different filters. For example, say you bought the list once for everyone scoring a 33 or over. Then you buy it for everyone scoring a 32 or over. Obviously, the names added this time scored 32. </p>
<p>The only problem with doing this is those selling the scores probably have restrictions on how you can use the data and how long you can retain it. Or maybe not - no one is talking. But clearly, scores are used in mailings, D’s classmates got mailings from schools she never heard from, and those kids scored higher. We’re all at the same school, with the same zip codes, and the same income brackets, so the one obvious difference is test scores.</p>