<p>I am really getting tired of all this strategizing...</p>
<p>Background: For the longest time, the problem we thought we faced was that my son's Critical Reading score would be so low as to keep him out of schools he would otherwise be suitable for as a stem major. His abilities (and interests) are clearly in math and science. And his PSAT scores reflected this. I was flabbergasted when I saw his Jan CR score- a huge jump from his PSAT and equivalent to the highest he had ever achieved on a practice test (that was not done in one sitting). I was delighted. The math score, however, was on the low end of his practice tests. He tends to make careless mistakes and to have trouble sometimes knowing what it is they are asking for in the wording of certain problems. He did not do THAT much prep for this test. We figured he could just get one under his belt to help us determine if we were being realistic about some of the schools being considered. He used the BB and focused primarily on CR since that was his weak spot. The ironic part is that his CR scores are now smack dab in the middle of some of the more selective colleges he is considering, while his math is on the low end of middle 50%.</p>
<p>So, as I say, I was very happy and figured he will just retake and see if he can get the math up 30-50 points. (Also, he didn't do any prep for the writing essay, so that would be another area to shore up). I was under the assumption that only the really selective schools do not allow score choice, so all was good. Then I looked it up. MANY of the schools we are considering (including the state flagship) require all scores to be sent. It is possible that my son could retake the SAT and have the CR drop by 100 points.</p>
<p>What is the best strategy here? I might suggest that he practice over the summer and, if things look promising, retake in October. Or should he just stick with the one SAT he has- even though i think he could increase the math with practice? In the event of a big drop in CR, on retest, how will colleges view really disparate scores from two sittings? Also, will a decent SAT Math level 2 score outweigh the marginal SAT math score? </p>
<p>I know that, by CC standards, most kids would be beating themselves with wet noodles if they got these scores, but here are the scores we are dealing with (and pretty happy about, too!): CR 680, M680, Math level 2 :740 .</p>
<p>It is unfortunate that he could be penalized for trying to increase his score. We always assumed he would test twice, but now I'm not so sure. Any insights?</p>
<p>I think you need to find out which schools on his list superscore the SAT. If they have 2 scores, they take the highest of each section. It is certainly worth taking again with some more prep, but my D’s tend to make silly math errors also, so some may always occur.</p>
<p>In the collegeboard pdf of colleges and their type of score use, it appears that those colleges that require ALL scores also consider all scores, as opposed to the other options where they select highest score date or superscore. Is this not correct?</p>
<p>My son has said that he does not want to prep for another test. (And i don’t blame him). He did take a PR freebie ewhere they administered facsimiles of both the SAT and the ACT. His performance on both was pretty close.</p>
<p>Requiring to submit all scores do not always mean that the schools do not superscore. Actually, most schools including the very competitive ones that require to see all scores do in fact superscore. My impression is that the best composite score is what most schools look at when considering an application. Lower score from different sittings while may have some effect, it is not at all a big factor. The collegeboard pdf is not very good at explaining this and can be quite misleading. My suggestion is to look at each individual school website on their policy.</p>
<p>With that said, I would let your son study over the summer and take it again in the fall especially if he consistently achieves better score in practice than he has done so far.</p>
<p>Here’s the deal. Only the Ivy’s and I believe the UCs require you send all the scores. You could have your son retake the SAT in the fall after practicing Math during the summer and some CR practice to not lose ground. </p>
<p>If the fall SAT is not as good as these scores, which are not bad scores really, then don’t send the new fall one to any school. Just send these older ones. </p>
<p>If his new math gets over 700 and his CR does not fall say below 630 (50 point drop) then you can consider sending them. </p>
<p>Because his Math 2 test is so high, he does have the potential of matching that on the SAT.</p>
<p>Thank you ttparent. That clarifies things. The pdf is confusing-particularly the version1/version 2 options for each major score choice policy. I can’t help but think that any school would have trouble overlooking a really low score- even if they superscore. But I do think my son has the potential to increase both wr and math scores, and that breaking 700 would be nice for the math in particular.</p>
<p>One friend has said that if my son doesn’t retake the SAT again until October, colleges would think he retook it (march, may or june) and bombed it, but didn’t send the scores. Do you think this is an issue? (As if it’s not enough to worry about the scores he DOES get, now I have to worry about the tests he doesn’t take? I’m getting a bit nauseous here…)</p>
<p>Lakemom, that was my initial inclination. The problem is that there are quite a few other schools that request all scores, including a couple of publics we are interested in (aside from the UCs)</p>
<p>Let him take a break and then studying again over summer and take the SAT once more in the fall. That’s not overkill and many juniors mature testwise --after all, they torture juniors all spring with APs, SAT IIs, finals, etc. . .</p>
<p>I don’t think colleges spend time second guessing why a student took the SAT in what month. There could be tons of reasons, namely sports, that caused scheduling conflicts as well as May APs. </p>
<p>However, if he is willing to work now and practice one benefit is he would be done with testing. My son took SATs in Dec and March, APs in May and Subjects tests in June of Jr. year so he would be done before Senior year.</p>
<p>No, that is just silly. The adcom does not sit around and try to find weird justification or speculation to diminish or boost certain applicant. They have hard enough time going through all the materials as it is. All you can do is to put best foot forward, and in this case, if you can improve your composite SAT by 50-100 points, that is something worth doing in the fall.</p>
<p>A 100 point drop in CR would be unusual. It could easily happen on the Lit Subject Test, but that is a different animal.</p>
<p>The downside with waiting until October is that it then becomes one and done if he wants to ED somewhere. In other words, no other chance to improve SAT or Subject Tests.</p>
<p>And yes, if he is applying to math/engineering/tech programs, a 700+ just looks better than 699, even though statistically they are the same.</p>
<p>btw: your friend is incorrect. Colleges just want to see high scores, since it benefits THEM. They do not care when he takes the tests.</p>
<p>Thanks all. While I do agree, Lakemom, that it would be great to be done with testing by June, I don’t think my son will really be able to add significant prep time during the school year. As erlanger says, he will have APs to prep for in May and essentially a self-study for a subject test in June. Not to mention college visits in April. He can’t do March test date due to an EC conflict. </p>
<p>Glad to see that everyone agrees that colleges will not be second-guessing the testing schedule. It seemed silly to me, but so does 90% of the college admission hoops. ttparent, I think that he may be able to up his superscore by 50 or so. So, I guess we will aim for the retest in October. bluebayou, I don’t think we are planning to go the ED route, but who knows what might come from the college visits. And you’re right, damn it! I doubt there is even a statistical difference between a 670 and a 700. But 700+ seems sooo much better. Let’s hope he can develop a technique for overcoming the careless errors. That’s a tough one.</p>
<p>I don’t think it’s that unusual. One of my kids had a 110-point GAIN on the CR with no particular preparation for the second test. The kid attributes the difference to vocabulary. One test had a lot of questions that included words with unfamiliar meanings; the other didn’t.</p>
<p>If a 100-point or more gain is possible, why wouldn’t a loss in the same range be possible?</p>
<p>I think simply each time you take the test you get better at it. So yes you could have a drop from test differences but 100 points would be a lot. As long as a student does some practice to not lose the rhythm of that section, I think they would be okay.</p>
<p>Most of the top schools claim to superscore, so I think you really have very little to lose to take the SAT again. The Math 2 subject test scores certainly suggests that the ability is there to get over 700 in Math. He should take it when it’s convenient for him. Lots of people don’t even start testing till fall of senior year. In my experience, my kids always went up on one or two sections and down on one section, but never more than 30 or so points. There was always a small positive net gain.</p>
<p>It is pretty simple. The best strategy is actually to have none in terms of playing around. If you think the student can improve any part of the SAT, take it again without fear. Score choice is something that could be easily forgotten; it really does not accomplish anything. Schools pay attention to the highest scores. </p>
<p>We have had debates about best dates to take the tests and about maximum number of sittings. For close to a decade, I have been saying that the only thing that matters is what a students can show as his best superscored total. I have yet to see any evidence or account of a school penalizing a multiple test taker. </p>
<p>In the end, nobody gets a brownie (or a cookie) for having taken the test 1 or 2 times. No school will ever increase a score based on what could have or should have. All they care is what is the TCB report and what is transcribed by a technician on the reading file. Chances are that the only thing an adcom sees is the superscore. With a mere minutes to analyze a file and read multiple essays, the deeper analyses of test scores some think happen with regularity are probably yet as mythical as many of the stories shared about the admission process.</p>
<p>Bottom line? Take the test again. And when it is convenient. And as many times as you can stomach! And stop worrying about the differences in scores.</p>
<p>xiggi, thanks to you, I will sleep well tonight. DS’s first SAT scores were not what we had hoped for and we were worried that even if he does better (which he should given that he scored lower on 2 sections than he did on the PSAT), these low scores will be sitting there like a big old black eye calling attention to themselves. But your sensible analysis of the reality of the situation has made it possible for me to walk away from CC and quit obsessing for the night! Thank you!</p>