<p>How do colleges view students who have quite a division in their SAT scores, like CR and W above their 75th percentile, but a M score a few points below their 25th percentile? For example, my CR and W scores are in the mid 700s but my M score is just below 580. I'm asking this question about colleges in general, excluding those that are very selective. </p>
<p>In my personal opinion they won’t care much for the W being so high, most colleges put little to no weight in that score. Higher numbers are great of course but Writing is probably not the score most important. The high CR is good, the low M however is not if its percentile is that low for a given school. That’s still 71st or so percentile nationally with the 580 though so it’s not a huge deal I’d say. Hope that helps ya out.</p>
<p>They look at scores in the context of the applicant & applicant’s interests/background. They are used to lopsided scores – the schools need both future poets and physicists, and so it is very common to see a pattern such as yours. </p>
<p>The 25th percentile mark is NOT a cutoff – the cutoff for minimum scores is well under it and can often be discerned from common data set data – but it is reasonable to assume that students who have weak scores on one subtest have counter balancing scores on others. </p>
<p>My d. had a 580 math score and was admitted several top schools (Chicago, Berkeley, Barnard)… though definitely not as a prospective STEM major! Her math scores were well below 25th percentile at many schools that admitted her.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that at every college, 1 out of every 4 enrolling students has a test score that is below the 25th percentile! It really is not disqualifying – it’s just one piece of data that the college considers. </p>
<p>If your math score seems like an accurate reflection of your math ability (or lack thereof) - and you aren’t planning to pursue serious study of math or sciences in college… don’t worry about it. Target schools geared to your strengths for reach/match level – and look for safeties where all your test scores are in range and you should be fine. </p>
<p>My daughter’s score is 2330. 760 (CR); 770 (M); 800 (W). In both her attempts at SAT she scored 800 in Writing. However, her CR and M were marginally lower in first attempt (by about 80 points in total - 2250 total score). She got 80 (W) in PSAT too. So, does the W section has very limited value and is always dwarfed by the CR + M? Or, will this consistency still help her? And, even if consistency is not the issue, do not most universities put the total SAT score on their website with respect to 25% - 75% range (of course, they give range for other sections too; like M and CR)? So, if the W is less important then why do not they just put this 25% to 75% range for just M+CR? </p>
<p>Any way, I just hope for her sake that they consider W to be just as important as M and CR. And that they look at the total SAT score as the most important part of the SAT score.</p>