I want to apply to a school that allows score choice but also super scores. so I feel like it’s in my best interest to send them all my scores.
however I did really well on 2 sections of one test while I did really bad on the other two. and when I took it a second time, I did really well on the 2 I originally did bad on, and I did not so good on the other 2 I had originally done great on.
I’ll give an example below
test 1. 34(E), 27(M), 34®, 29(S)
test 2. 33(E) 32(M), 32®, 31(S)
there’s a 5 point difference in my math so I’m wondering if I should just send in test 2 (especially because Im applying to Wharton undergrad which is a business school). however I did really well on English and reading in test 1 so I’m wondering I should send both to show them my best…but I would also be showing them my worst…
do you think they’ll judge for the scores in test 1? even if I really improved in test 2?
DO THEY REALLY SUPERSCORE? or do they really pay attention to both…cause I’m confused about top schools superscoring…like they must look at everything…or do they?
For schools like Penn, that say they superscore, then they superscore. For you as the applicant, what are your options? Tell them that you don’t believe them?
Some schools do not superscore the ACT, like Harvard. Again, it is what it is. No sense worrying about things you cannot change. Good luck.
It’s not about them lying about it’s about whether or not they also see the lower score and are affected by it as well. Like do they completely ignore the other one. Yes they look at your highest one but you also see the other one too
I don’t think any of us know what admissions folks at specific schools actually see, but it’s possible that schools that superscore simply enter the highest scores for each section into the file that admissions uses to evaluate the applicant.
I noticed that my D’s school has a “Test Summary” page in their portal, for class placement purposes, and it happens that only the highest scores for each section are there (she sent both of her ACTs for the same reasons you are thinking to). The lower scores just don’t appear.
Yes I have that’s how I came to ask these questions. I saw that the school does superscore and I wanted to see what extent do they not look at all at the lower scores even if there is a big gap
@skieurope, Harvard says that they look at your highest composite score, but that they “consider” your individual sub-scores. What does that mean exactly?
Again, none of us work in admissions, so we don’t know. Stanford says something similar. I assume that if you present a 34 composite, but a 36 on one of the sections, that it can only help. But with a 94% rejection rate, I’m not sure how much it really helps one way or the other.
In schools that do holistic admissions, superscore, but want to see all your scores, it probably means that they will consider the superstore in the context of your background. These schools are concerned that rich kids take the test multiple times, giving them an unfair advantage over poorer kids. So if you are an unhooked kid who is considered blessed financially then your superscore will be discounted appropriately.
I know this one admission officer at this one school quite well and she told me that at this school Asian super scores are viewed less favorably because there is this feeling that Asians are “too score focused” and tend to take the test many times. So for this one school, Asians who don’t score well in one sitting are at a disadvantage compared to Asians who ace the test in one sitting. This is something she would never admit in public though, so there is that. Not sure if such an unwritten rule exists at other schools.
Well I know a lot of schools are need blind so do they even look at your financial records and income when accepting you? I feel like no. I mean of course I get the rich kids thing but…?