Is it bad if you send too many scores? My D took 3 SAT subject tests and sent all of her scores to all schools she applied to. Is there a penalty for not following directions if they asked for two and she sent three?
No. Sending three is fine. They’ll still only consider the best 2. There are no brownie points for showing well-roundedness on Subject Tests or for acing every science test, though. Sending more than 3, IMO, risks the AO wondering if the applicant is too one-dimensional. Surely one can find something better to do on a Saturday than take tests.
UPDATE. This is an update on the colleges that actually have a rule requiring (not just recommending) that you to submit all test scores. Recently, Harvey Mudd clarified that it in fact no long requires all scores and accepts score choice. https://www.hmc.edu/admission/2017/11/07/harvey-mudd-now-accepting-self-reported-test-scores/ . South Carolina had language indicating all scores might be required but that language has been removed from its site. Based on some of the responses here and changes that occurred in the last year, the following is a list of colleges still remaining as of March 8, 2018, that actually have a form of an “all scores” requirement that is applicable to the SAT, ACT or SAT subject tests:
Georgetown: requires all SAT, all ACT, and all SAT subject tests, see https://uadmissions.georgetown.edu/firstyear/preparation. It is the only college that requires all scores from all three tests.
Cornell: requires either all SAT or all ACT tests. You can choose which test to submit but if you choose to send scores from both tests, you must send both all SAT and all ACT test scores. See https://admissions.cornell.edu/standardized-testing-requirements. It appears to also require all subject test scores if the particular Cornell college requires subject tests (which includes its Arts & Sciences and Engineering colleges); you can withhold them if subject tests are not required by the college to which you are applying. See http://blogs.cornell.edu/admissions/2013/11/07/sat-subject-tests/. Note that Georgetown and Cornell are the only colleges left that require all subject test scores.
Yale: requires either all SAT or all ACT tests, and if you choose to submit both, you must provide both all SAT and all ACT scores. You can send whatever subject test scores you choose to send. See https://admissions.yale.edu/faq/standardized-testing#t186n1779 (answer to second question), and https://admissions.yale.edu/standardized-testing.
Stanford: requires both all SAT scores and all ACT scores, but you can send whatever SAT subject tests you want to send (a fact confirmed by inquiry to Stanford). See https://admission.stanford.edu/apply/freshman/testing.html.
Barnard: requires both all SAT and all ACT scores , but neither requires nor uses subject tests for admission. See https://admissions.barnard.edu/apply-barnard/standardized-testing-and-our-score-choice-policy and https://admissions.barnard.edu/apply-barnard/faq.
Carnegie Melon: requires either all SAT or all ACT scores but you can send whatever SAT subject test scores you want to send. See https://admission.enrollment.cmu.edu/pages/standardized-test-requirements
Rice: if you submit SAT, you must provide all SAT scores. That rule is inapplicable to ACT or subject tests. See https://futureowls.rice.edu/futureowls/Standardized_Tests.asp
University of California: The stated rule applicable to all UC campuses requires all SAT scores if you send any SAT scores, does not appear to require all ACT scores if you send ACT, although it is arguably ambiguous on that point, and does not require all subject test scores, see http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/freshman/requirements/examination-requirement/index.html. Reports of responses to direct inquiries have confirmed that the UCs do not require all subject test scores if you send subject tests. Moreover, there have also been reports that UC admissions personnel have answered inquiries by declaring that you only need to send that test with the highest scores even for the SAT. See discussion at http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/1935358-sat-act-scores.html#latest.
Florida State University: requires you to “self-report all ACT and/or all SAT” test scores (you are not required to submit any official scores until after you are admitted). http://admissions.fsu.edu/freshman/. FSU neither requires nor uses subject tests for admission.
Syracuse University: requires all SAT scores if you submit SAT but rule is inapplicable to ACT. It does not require or use subject tests for admission. https://www.syracuse.edu/admissions/undergraduate/apply/what-we-look-for/
University of Miami: appears to require either all SAT or all ACT scores. See https://admissions.miami.edu/undergraduate/application-process/admission-requirements/freshman-admission-requirements/index.html and https://admissions.miami.edu/undergraduate/application-process/admission-requirements/international-freshman-admission-requirements/index.html.
ANOTHER UPDATE. Florida State is mentioned above as having an all scores rule. However, it was somewhat ambiguous. I have contacted Florida State’s head of admissions for its actual position and have been informed of the following. Applicants must provide the scores of one test, either SAT or ACT, but it does not require that you submit all test scores of either SAT or ACT if you have taken more than one test, and there is no penalty for not doing so. FSU does recommend that the scores of all tests be submitted because it superscores both the SAT and ACT.
Is SAT harder than the ACT
^That question is outside of the purpose of this thread, but the answer that you will often find is that the SAT questions can be more difficult and tricky, but the ACT has more time pressure in getting questions answered, with the result that the tests are generally about the same level of difficulty.
Thank you, this was helpful.
For schools that require all both SAT and ACT scores (e.g., Stanford, Barnard): If a student submits ACT scores at the time of application, possibly EA, and then later takes the SAT as a National Merit Semifinalist, is it necessary to also send that SAT score, as well? Or is there a time after which additional scores would create confusion/delays for an application, because it was already considered complete?
Stanford, Bernard and Georgetown, the only three that require both all SAT and ACT scores, state you need to send all scores. Georgetown says that if you submit scores for EA and are deferred to regular admission, you should send any additional scores. Stanford and Bernard are silent on that issue, but I do not think one can assume that means there is an exception to their all scores rule that allows you to withhold later tests.
It would certainly not create confusion or delay; many applicants send in additional information after they send in the EA/ED applications.
Thanks for your thoughts on this. Just checked the SAT and NM schedules, and it looks like the December administration would work schedule-wise. Wish we knew that the SAT score would be needed earlier (i.e., wouldn’t have taken ACT). This might be something other students think about when planning, as well - NM just wasn’t on our radar at that time. It sounds like asking the EA school (and UC?) if they want the December score would be a good idea.
The UC’s Nov 30 app dealdine does not apply to test scores and they accept scores through the December tests and thus you should probably assume its rule requiring all SAT’s requires Dec scores.
No one has mentioned that there are added costs involved in sending all ACT or SAT scores. This seems unfair to require all scores.
^Though the cost or actual fairness of an all scores rule is not the subject of this thread, you are correct that cost can be an issue. Not so much for the SAT, because you can send all scores with a single order of scores, but the ACT requires a separate order and charge for each test sent to a college. That appears to be one of the reasons colleges like Rice, Syracuse and possibly the UCs do not apply the all scores rule to the ACT. Also, Stanford and Yale have resolved that cost issue when applying, because they now accept self-reported test scores in the application and you need not submit any offical scores from the testing agencies until after you accept admission.
Many if not most colleges now allow you to self-report on the CA during the admissions process; you only need to send scores to the college you are attending. Our state flagship is encouraging that all scores and GPA be self-reported this year so that they can process the application more quickly. The application will be marked “complete” and sent for review once they receive the complete application with the self-reported stats. This will be a major time - not to mention money - saver for many families.
I would not say most; Many do, but many require the applicant to send an official score report at the time of application. As always, applicants should verify the requirements for the colleges to which they are applying.
I am not sure which forum to post this (and I started a discussion under SAT/ACT), but I just got off the phone with the toll free number in CA for questions regarding the UC application. It was a recorded call.
The lady said that one can submit EITHER the ACT or the SAT - and only the highest score from a single test administration on the same day. They don’t superscore. I asked her if one had to submit ALL of either the ACT or SAT (like the whole testing history) and she said NO. She said they recommend or like to see the entire testing history, BUT ONLY THE HIGHEST IS REQUIRED.
When I asked about subject tests, she said that YOU DO NOT HAVE TO SEND IN THE ENTIRE SAT SUBJECT TEST HISTORY. One can pick and choose what they want to send in.
I have confirmed this by phone in a recorded conversation. Of course, I wrote down the time and date in case of any discrepancy. BUT, it still says on their website that
"In the College Board’s Score Choice module, ensure that all scores are sent to UC. We require all scores and will use the highest scores from a single administration.
For the ACT with Writing test, we will focus on the highest combined score from the same test administration.
For the SAT with Essay, we will focus on the highest total score from a single test date"
I find this so strange that many are getting the answers I got, but the above quote from the website differs. To me, the website implies one must send in entire SAT history (college board score choice module) and not the case with the ACT.
In any event, just passing on information.
^This is a continuing saga with the UCs, see, e.g.,http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/1935358-sat-act-scores.html#latest where this issue came up before. When you call you get answers like yours but the website still declares that you need to send at all SAT scores if you submit SAT – even as worded on the site the all scores rule applies only to SATs because it does not say it actually applies to ACTs or subject tests (and others previously confirmed the inapplicability of the rule to those before by calling like you did). It seems like there really is no all scores rule but no one bothers to change the website which has said the same thing for about 9 years now. I would follow what you have been told including because, if nothing else, there has never been any report of the UCs doing anything to enforce the rule, such as actually penalizing anyone who does not provide all SAT scores.
I believe @drusba that the fact that the UC phone call said it was being recorded, and I wrote down the phone number, time of day I called and date, that IF anything ever happened, I would have evidence. We may end up submitting all ACT anyhow, but I do feel confident that the highest composite is all they want. And, you can pick and choose any or all SAT subject tests.
QUESTION!!!
If I take the October 27 ACT (cannot take the sept one) even though a deadline is Oct 15th, can I still send the score after? It would only be for scholarship purposes, I’ve already taekn the ACT and got a 31 but I want to see if I can get higher for more money… PLEASE ANSWER!