Hi, I’m scheduled to take my first SAT next Saturday. I honestly haven’t really studied at all, I bought the online course and just finished taking a full practice test. So math is my weak point, I skipped a bunch of problems and have no clue about the geometry, and my score in math was 460 which is below the average. But my critical reading score was 640 which is above the average. I’m wondering if schools, specifically California State Universities, look at your critical reading + math as a whole or if they want to see specific numbers in both, no matter what the total score is.
Thanks!
it depends from school to school; check the websites of the universities you’re looking at. some will look at your composite, others will look at the sum of your scores from only two sections, and others ask for specific scores in each portion.
CSU’s only use Math and Critical reading in calculating your Eligibility Index (EI). They use the EI to rank applicants for each major and then accept applicants from the highest EI down until all the spots are filled.
EI= (CSU GPA x800) + (SAT Math + CR)
If you take the ACT, the CSU’s use the ACT composite in the EI calculation.
(CSU GPA x200) + (ACT Composite x10).
I would try the ACT so see if you can score better. Both my son’s did much better on the ACT vs SAT. Colleges accept either one.
SJSU is the only CSU that publishes their EI threshold each year for each major. It will give you a ball park on what you need to aim for in your testing.
http://info.sjsu.edu/web-dbgen/narr/admission/rec-10079.12651.html