<p>My son had terrific math SAT's, but thought he could do better in reading and writing, which would have been especially helpful at private schools that allow you to mix and match scores from different sittings. UC schools don't allow that. His top choices are UC's and USC. We hired an expensive tutor to work one on one with him the second time around.</p>
<p>He just got scores back yesterday and they were awful, total of 175 points lower than first try. I haven't heard of this large a drop. I'm worried about private schools seeing those scores on the report (even if not on the application). </p>
<p>He also wants to try one more time with the ACT in December (absolute last test date for these schools). Any advice. He has a fairly heavy course load and I want him to come in strong with good grades (although UC's don't look at senior grades). I think he did well the first time because he took a prep class and really put in the time. And thank goodness he has those scores. </p>
<p>Definitely try ACT. Definitely do several practice test to get know the format of ACT, especially the science section. </p>
<p>My DD is an excellent student and she got an embarrassing low SAT I this March. Based on the suggestions from this forum, I got her to try ACT in June. On her very first try w/o any study, she got a respectable score. She will try ACT one more time tomorrow. </p>
<p>Also, DD has gotten some decent SAT II scores since so she should be able to explain that low SAT I.</p>
<p>My son did great on the PSAT, took a course at school, and went down 80 points on the verbal for the SAT1. (I think the test has gotten wacky. Great math kids get in the 500s their first attempt, and then go up to 760, or vice versa. I truly think the SATs are loaded for math success one time with a really tough verbal, so your kids take them again, and they then flip-flop it. It is just odd how kids score on that test.) </p>
<p>My son then took the ACTs cold, and got a 32; we never even had an ACT book. He took them again, no studying, got a 34.</p>
<p>My point?? Some really bright kids get messed up when you tutor them for these tests. I truly think my son started thinking about strategy on the SATs, rather than just use his brain and answer the questions.</p>
<p>So I would encourage the ACTs. And we have the same problem - we NEVER expected him to do so poorly, so we had sent all of the scores to his top school choices. GROAN!!</p>
<p>The only good thing is that we have not sent SAT scores anywhere yet. I guess procrastination on part of a senior pays off. I appreciate the feedback. I took the ACT many years ago and did better somewhat better on it than on the SAT, but that was another lifetime ago and no one took prep classes.</p>
<p>I agree, if the ACT's are offered tomorrow, have him try as a standby. ACT scores can be sent one test at a time, so if he doesn't like these scores he can still take them again without any school knowing he took them yesterday.</p>
<p>As far as the tutor, if you used a large tutoring company, they usually has a guarantee for their scores. I would see if they will offer more tutoring for no charge. Maybe they can work on the ACT's this time.</p>
<p>ACT with writing standby, by all means. Get ahold of an ACT prep book tonight just so he can take a look at the format of the science section in particular, since that doesn't exist on the SAT. (D did this with stellar results. Never even mentioned her SAT's on her applications after that, even though colleges already had them.)</p>
<p>Also, with all of the interesting problems with scoring of the SAT being incorrect sometimes (Remember those wet answer sheets in a warehouse a couple of years ago, and all those kids with the wrong scores?), it might make sense to request that the test be rescored by hand. 175 points is a very, very substantial drop, and the possibility of a screw up on the CB's part seems, well, possible. I think that you have to pay to have this done quickly, but I don't think it's a huge amount, and it might be worth it.</p>
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<p>I truly think the SATs are loaded for math success one time with a really tough verbal>></p>
</blockquote>
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<p>I think it depends on the student. DS got a 730 on the verbal...and a 590 on the math. His math score was VERY consistent from one sitting to the next (it went up by about 20 points). But his verbal went up 200 points on the second sitting. To be honest, I think his FIRST verbal was the fluke.</p>
<p>Be aware that some high schools will put SAT and ACT scores on your transcript whether you have had them sent to the colleges or not. We had to make sure that the ACT score was not reported by the high school as S didn't score as well on them as he did on the SAT. This was not an easy task as all scores are automatically added to the transcript. I believe that our high school has no business sending these scores, but supposedly this is a common practice.</p>
<p>You can register both for SAT and ACT without the scores being sent to your high school. Do not list a high school code and your high school won't receive your score. We also did this because son's high school was adamant about listing them on transcript. I think the HS doing this does a big disservice to college applicants, especially the ACT takers who have score choice.</p>
<p>If he will go ACT tomorrow, by all means look at the science section, which is anything but science. Also, clearly review the directions for the essay -- it is different than the SAT essay in that it requires acknowledging the other pov.</p>
<p>Also, I'd probably also expend the $$ for hand scoring. 175 drop is large; perhaps your S missed one bubble and the next five in a row bcos they was out of sequence.</p>
<p>especially because they gain reading experience during high school, and all sections of the test rely on reading. What does your son read for fun?</p>
<p>I really am puzzled. The first time he used Princeton Review regular class and the second time (9 months later), we hired a Princeton Review tutor at their highest price (because his score was higher to begin with, they required that). </p>
<p>He is not a huge reader, but he does read for fun and he has straight A's in english all four years of high school. His last book read for pleasure was "Survivor". I will admit that he does not read as much as I did in high school, but I thought that was a male/female difference. Actually the exact drop was 70 points in math, 100 points in writing and 80 points in critical reading. </p>
<p>He is going to standby for ACT tommorow and I will tell him not to fill in the high school number. My husband went to pick up the ACT book. S is very strong in science so I hope that helps.</p>
<p>The UC's take the highest score from a single sitting and ignore all the other scores. UC's also don't put as much emphasis on SAT's as many private schools.</p>
<p>My son had the same experience last year- we hired the most expensive level of Princeton Review tutor and my son's SAT scores were lower than they had been a year earlier. Luckily he got a 34 on the ACT, with no prep at all.</p>
<p>My impression, although this might be inaccurate, is that at many colleges there are administrative people who prepare the applicants' folders and they record the highest scores on some sort of summary sheet for the admissions committees. They also compute the ACT to SAT conversions. The people making the admissions decisions just look at the highest combination of scores.</p>
<p>Everything turned out fine, by the way, and m son is a freshman at his first choice college.</p>