I am applying to Stanford REA and wanted to take the SAT early for this deadline. However, with the virus, many test centers were closed and I was not sure if there was going to be an open test center. So, when I found one, I did not have too much time to study for it. I received a 1440. I know that it is a pretty bad score by Stanford standards, but I recognize that it is decent. However, is it decent enough to send to Stanford who is test optional? Or will it hurt my chances if I send it to them? (note: I am also asian so I am guessing that I will be compared with other asians who study a bunch and were able to get 1500+ scores).
Side note: I am also scheduled for another SAT on December. Will this be in time for other college’s regular decisions? (taking in consideration the time it takes to process the score, the time it takes for me to decided whether or not I send it, and the time it takes to send the score. Will there be enough time for me to decide or will it have to be immediate?)
I would not submit a 1440 as it’s in the 25th percentile for Stanford. In general, if something does not help your application, do not submit it. You should thank your lucky stars that they are test optional this year.
@socaldad2002 Thank you for the response. Would you say that this applies to other colleges? For example, at USC, I think it is exactly average or for UCs I think they are at the mid to high end.
In general, anything about the midpoint (estimated by the average of 25th and 75th percentiles) should be submitted.
As you note, USC is a toss-up, at 1445. My guess is that athletes and other “hooked” applicants tend to be lower in the range, so unhooked students are a tad higher. Probably not enough that it makes a large difference, so submit/not submit is probably still a toss-up. I’d probably have my D submit a 1440 to avoid being “unknown”.
For stanford and other schools I am in the lower ranges for, am I hurt more if I don’t submit an SAT score and remain unknown? Or would it hurt even more if I submit a lower score like this 1440?
I would say that it depends upon the circumstances. If you were an underrepresented minority, or first to go to college in your uneducated family, and had good grades at a terrible public high school (like inner city slum, or rural Mississippi), then that 1440 would show that your A’s at that terrible high school go along with true aptitude and having learned a lot, despite the lack of support. It would validate that you have excellent aptitude, despite your circumstances. If you’re not an underrepresented minority, and aren’t being recruited for something, and the rest of your application is great - excellent grades from a competitive school, plus wonderful extracurriculars, then I think you are lucky that it’s test optional this year. There are a lot of people who were not able to take a test, due to Covid-19. They won’t wonder why you don’t have a test score, if you were first in your class and head of model UN and head of student council, and your letters say that you’re incredible.
I suspect that there will be a lot of kids who don’t submit scores this year, if the score was lower than the top 25% for that school, and the rest of their application is stellar.