I was wondering if Universities that require all SAT scores ALWAYS just look at your highest score in one sitting or do some of them still only consider the highest individual components. Most Universities make it clear if they implement score choice or not, but its not as clear what they do if we send all scores as per the requirement for say, UPenn. Thanks!
Not sure it’s worth worrying about, but I would guess they’d rather have someone with a 2350 in a single sitting than someone who took the test 4 times.
I’m asking mainly because I’m focusing heavily on CR and Writing for the upcoming November test. I have a 760 in Math from October so I’m not doing much practice there but I’m worried if that will just come back and bite me if I get some 700+s on CR and Writing but say, a 710 in Math this time.
You’re asking about superscores, then. Look for that word on their application/admissions website/CC forums.
Superscoring is when the school considers only the highest score in each individual category. Schools that do not superscore may look at the highest composite (/2400) score, but it is less likely that they will consider the sub-scores in your previous sittings.
For example, if you get 700W/800M on the first SAT and 800W/700M on the second SAT, they will first see a combined score of 800/800 in two sittings, but also see the two individual scores below that.
So then, does UPenn superscore? Yes, but they do consider all individual scores along with a superscore. (reference: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-pennsylvania/1561105-act-superscore-upenn.html)
What does that mean for you? If you get a higher writing score and a lower math score and the same composite score it will help you at UPenn, but just a little bit. Whereas, at a school that does not superscore, it will neither help nor hurt you.