<p>Since the new SAT is two parts verbal skills to one part math, does this mean that kids whose verbal skills are superior to their math will, on the whole, come out looking better to the colleges?</p>
<p>I hope so. :) Of course I'm the mom of a math-challenged literary genius. </p>
<p>I do think that colleges that are specifically looking for students strong in math & sciences -- or colleges that are evaluating kids applying to major in thos areas -- will definitely pay attention to the math score. I mean, no one's getting into MIT with a math score of 500 no matter how high the verbal and writing.</p>
<p>It seems to me that immigrant kids with less-than-perfect english are hampered by the new emphasis on verbal skills, so the change in the test is "designed," perhaps unintentionally, to help domestic applicants over foreign-born applicants.</p>
<p>But yes, math skills count for less now.</p>
<p>I'm betting it favors girls.</p>
<p>It depends how the college(s) use the new SAT. We have visited 14 colleges and MY question always is "how are you using the new SAT". In most cases, the colleges have said they will use the critical reading and math sections in the same way they have previously used the math and verbal sections of the old test (in other words...1600 points total). They will look at the writing section separately (in much the same way that some schools previously looked at the SAT II in writing). There were some schools where they were very honest and responded "we don't know". Some schools said they would use the full 2400 point total which would favor the verbal students. We are from the opposite side...DD is very strong in math. My guess is the colleges will take several YEARS to really figure out just what this new SAT means and how to really use it.</p>
<p>I think it's self-evident that it does favor the verbally gifted. Of course, it's also pretty much the same thing as the old SAT plus the SAT II Writing, and people who deal with these things know that, so I don't know how much of a difference the tilt makes.</p>
<p>What's potentially disturbing to me is that, given the recent statistics on college attendance and degrees granted for men versus women these days, it's inappropriate to be favoring the verbal side IF women have the advantage there.</p>
<p>Maybe, maybe not. Depends on how the essays are graded, and on the kid and his school. DD made an 800 on the old SAT Verbal, but just squeaked out 740 on the writing - she was glad that she did not have to take the new SAT, because analogies were one of her strengths, and writing was not. Sure those are very good scores, but add in that her lowest subscore on the first shot at the ACT was English! Her verbal strengths aren't across the board, plus her school does not emphasize the type of writing that the SAT essay "measures".</p>
<p>To the OP, the UC's, the driver of this so-called upgrade, have for the past years counted the former SATII Writing for 2x. However, note that Writing/Verbal have a lot more than just grammar; reading comp (of boring-as- watching-grass-grow passages) is also heavily counted.</p>
<p>Anectodal evidence from local acceptances indicate that a Writing score of 700+ was a determining factor between top 25 bwrk's at the same HS for admission to UCLA.</p>
<p>ctymom: at a neighboring HS, Euro Lit is nicknamed Chick-Lit by the boys, bcos of the 7 novels they read, 5 of them have women authors and/or themes about women. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it could be a reason that the boys are zoning out in class, and the girls are pulling down the A's. LOL</p>
<p>I spoke with an admissions officer at an elite university who told me they are ignoring the writing section altogether. They prefer their own essays.</p>
<p>The new SAT is a very different test than the old one. The Critical Reading (formerly the verbal section) no longer contains the analogies (eliminated from the SAT altogether) and the editing (which is now part of the writing section). The Math section contains more Algebra 2 than the old SAT. The Writing section is very different from the SAT II in writing. The writing section is only 1/3 essay. The writing now includes the editing section too. SO...I'm not sure how the schools with confidence can use the new SAT numbers the same way they used the old SAT...two different tests....like comparing Apples with Oranges, in my opinion. I believe that it will take at least three years for the colleges to know exactly what these new SAT scores mean in terms of acceptance of students. My kid feels like a guinea pig...and I agree with her.</p>
<p>There is always the ACT, which most colleges accept. My S never took the SAT's even though his PSAT indicated he would score very well. He got into his first choice very selective university, as well as some great other schools.</p>
<p>It's only an interim change anyway, something the CollegeBoard jerryrigged together without significant field-testing in order not to lose their biggest customer (the U.Cal. system.) And it does increase their profit margin.</p>
<p>ouch ouch ouch... if only i took the old sat's i'd have around a 1500, now the mid 600 writing really hurts</p>
<p>oh yea, i'm a math kid</p>
<p>thumper:</p>
<p>sorry to disagree, but the new SAT is not a whole lot diff than the old (ignoring the Writing for a moment). There are only 3-5 alg II questions on the math, and they are very basic Alg II problems. A kid could miss them all and still score a 700+. Plus, Alg II replace those 'darned' comparisons, which tripped up many kids. So, it's really a wash on the math.</p>
<p>Dropping analogies is good for some kids, but bad for others (depending on how strong their vocab is). Just more boring passages to interpret.</p>
<p>While the essay is supposedly 1/3 of the Writing, it is not 1/3 of the final score (or 233 points worth). If you scan the SAT thread, you'll see that a strong essay only bumped the Writing score up 20-40 points, or a weak essay cost a kid 20-40 points. For example, a 64 correct bubbles + a 10 essay only gives a kid a 680 final score. Conversely, 70 correct bubbles and a 6 essay also yields a score of 660-680. Thus, the essay's true impact appears much less than previously thought.</p>
<p>Idad is correct, the ACT is accepted in lieu of both SAT I and SAII's at some colleges like Pomona.</p>
<p>Cujoe: unless you are applying to the UC's a 750m, 750cr, & 600w will still be outstanding since most privates are gonna know what to do with the new Writing. But, if you are considering Berkeley or UCLA from OOS......</p>
<p>i live in jersey and there's no way my parents would allow me to apply to cali schools... <em>stars</em> caltech <em>stars</em> haha... and the breakdown isn't quite that even... more like 790m, 680r, 660w... but i WILL get the 10 pts back on math, and i figure i can maybe squeeze another 20 from reading :)</p>
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<p>Agree, there are a lot of unknowns at this point. My guess is that the kids and the score-improvement services will take several years to figure out how to beat the system. Most likely verbal (CR) and math scores will continue to improve in repeated sittings, but the essay part is more difficult to predict because of the subjective nature of its scoring.</p>
<p>What's of concern to me, is that we just don't know how the "new" SAT is going to be used by colleges. Most say they will look at the writing section, but what will they be comparing it to? Will math really be less important now that it's only a third of the total? Will strong reading and writing scores outweigh weaker math scores? I don't know the answers to any of these questions. Unfortunately, next year's seniors will be the guinea pigs.</p>
<p>Of course, verbal/CR skills are not always accompanied by grammar skills. I typically do fairly well in the CR sections, but I always get killed in the writing MC because I don't know all of the grammar rules - if it wasn't for the essay, my writing score would be terrible.</p>
<p>Another issue that I am struggling with: Ok, we are looking at potential schools and comparing our kids stats with their "medians" But, there is currently NO median at ANY school for the writing section. Which means, at schools that say they will consider the writing section, we are basically shooting in the dark in terms of our kids' admissions chances. Is a 700 going to be good enough? A 600? A 500? Who knows? We don't have enough information in order to gage what the "new" median total score will be. I personally find that to be troublesome. In a way, I think it would be good if ALL schools agreed not to use the writing in admissions decisions for a year or two, but only gathered info. about their medians for accepted students. But on the other hand, my daughter's strongest score was in writing, so I'm secretly hoping the confusion will help her out. ;)</p>