@Kayak24 - it’s likely that NMSC received the score at the same time your daughter did. However, I’ve read that they take the highest score from a single sitting if more than one result is submitted. That should be confirmed with them, of course, but if true there is no harm in that earlier test having been sent.
Still a good idea to get a rescore as that can be done before the Dec. test date.
Retaking is obviously a pain but there is a silver lining or two around that cloud, since the 210 is about as high as you can get in the “non-guaranteed” category. First of all, you and she know which section she accidentally tanked so she’ll be able to focus her prep on that subject area and improve it or at least go into a retest confident that she’s nailed the material. Second, even if for some bizarre reason she can’t actually score higher than a 210, that SI is likely going to be OK. So both scenarios point to an NMF outcome (all else equal). A bit of a sideways jag in the road but the destination appears to be the same.
Upon closer analysis (I pulled up her PSAT report on the CB website to compare), it seems as though the Reading section was the one that is really off, comparatively.
SAT Reading: 9 incorrect
PSAT Reading: 1 incorrect
The Writing section was also worse (5 wrong versus 2 wrong, but that’s not as shocking).
The rescore costs $55 and they caution you that your score could go down if rescored. I highly doubt it would go down, but I’m not sure it will go up either. CB will automatically send new score reports to all recipients (which means NMSC) whether you like it or not.
I did confirm what you had said about NMSC taking the highest score sent.
If you have a good handle on Reading as the culprit, then perhaps don’t rescore in order to preserve that 210. BTW, my son about flipped out after doing one of the SAT practice tests because after scoring near perfect reading throughout his prep, he missed a whole bunch on one test. This might be why colleges are still accepting SAT superscores, even with the new test. And reading in particular is problematic as several questions as a time pertain to a single passage so if you are off on a couple of those then you can tank your reading score as a result.
is a 1460 (670 R/W 790 M) okay? I really didn’t do well on this test… How do you calculate SI for SAT? wouldn’t it be different since SAT is out of 240 and PSAT is out of 228…
@rewindthetime I THINK each section maxes out at 76, so the 790 = 76 and 670 = 67.
So, 76+67+67 = 210 which is on the edge. (They’ll only conform that the cutoff will be below 211). I would call to double check that thats how SI is calculated.
@rewindthetime - you should call NMSC tomorrow and ask them whether that 790 on Math causes any adjustment downward to a 760. Never heard that there was last year but the highest score my kid got was a 760 so maybe it wasn’t relevant to her situation. NMSC can walk you through the calculation exactly using your scores, and if they have your SAT already they should be able to confirm whether or not you are “safe”. Asking NMSC directly is way better than relying on CC for answers with something this critical. BTW, they are very helpful on the phone.
Good luck, @rewindthetime . Oh what I wouldn’t do to have NMSC confirm that a 210 is okay so D18 wouldn’t have to retest. With four AP classes and about 10 supplemental essays/apps still to finish, the timing is terrible.
Their answer to me was very confusing saying the confirming score would be “below 211” but that they can only guarantee that 211 is safe. :-S If anyone else hears differently please share. Thank you!
@Kayak24 they were kind of evasive last year as well, saying the confirming score would be no greater than 209 - and others reported they said BELOW 209 so who knows what they were thinking - it probably depended on who answered the phone. But both were correct because it turned out to be 206. While no guarantees that will happen this year - last year still had a whole bunch of old tests that had to be concorded to the new system - it’s likelier that the number will be lower than 211 than actually AT 211. My own gut says NO WAY are they going to increase the confirming score 5 points unless there’s a history of doing that. Unfortunately, it does make sense to retest, as annoying and ill-timed as that is.
But yeah - “below 211” means 210 or lower for those who are proficient in math and realize that the score will be an integer LOL.
Lol, @JBStillFlying , I was venting about this to my daughter saying, “Don’t they understand the difference between less than or equal to, equal to, less than, etc.” You are so right re: the score being an integer. Frustrating!
We are canceling a trip out of state where she was going to see two colleges that weekend now to retest. (Sigh) I was half-tempted to try for a new NMSC rep to see if that would sway him/her into giving me more info. (I know it won’t, but desperate times call for desperate measures). Lol
Also, your post just now gave me some comfort that D is still in a good position even if she can’t score higher despite trying. At this point, her confidence is completely shot and she has no idea how the next test will turn out.
@Kayak24 be sure to re-iterate that she’s in a good spot and she probably needn’t worry about prepping except for maybe that one section (reading). Her score has a good shot of increasing and a 10 point score increase means a two-point SI bump doesn’t it? Now I’m not sure about MY math but that sounds correct. She only needs one point to be “safe”.
hello I am back in here to say that I did call NMSC. The way to calculate your index score is to add up all the subscores for reading, english, and math and then multiply by 2. So I think my 1460 is safe because I had a
32 R 35 E and 39.5 M . Add these then multiply by 2 and that results in 213. They said that the cutoff will be 211 or lower or something like that.
Closing the loop on an earlier post – my D took the SAT earlier this month b/c she’d only taken it once around the same time as the PSAT (she’s using ACT for college admissions), and her SI at that time was just 209. This is obviously very bubble – on the phone NMFSC told me that last year the cutoff ended up being 206 but this year all they could say was no lower than 211, the commended score. She didn’t want to fret the next few months so retook and got her scores – now has SI of 218! That plus her 4.0 unweighted GPA and good standing in her HS means she’s going to be a NMF! Wohoo!! Unfort., the colleges she’s applying to offer no or little NMF money, but hopefully it’ll help with admissions. As you can tell, I’m very proud! Congrats to all!
@JBStillFlying@Kayak24 Chiming in to say that according to a college counselor here in our (admittedly) affluent area, the new SAT scores are being pulled down by the math section based on what she’s seen and her national network for fellow counselors. She predicts the SAT is going to have to “fix” this at some point b/c they’re losing market share to ACT because students are doing better. Crazy game and world, eh? Anyway, this is all anecdotal, obviously, but just to say that I agree that it’s unlikely the SI cutoff will go up 5 points in one years given how SAT scores reportedly are playing out. When my D re-tested b/c of her 209 I told her I thought it was good chance she’d make it to Finalist with that SI, but this was insurance/piece of mind. Downplaying to reduce anxiety – and she did great!
