Thank you @JBStillFlying . I have taken SAT only once, so, it’s not an issue. How does Score Choice work with SAT Subject tests? Can I send the highest subject test score and also not send few subject tests at all?
Did anyone notice the college board score report sent to colleges with scores in a Red color font? Wonder what that Red color means?
@RedMan108, red color font for scores means “Need to stengthen skills” according to College Board https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/about/scores/color-coded-score-ranges
As to your prior question, whether you must submit all scores if the college uses “Highest Section Scores Across Test Dates” (referred to as superscoring), the answer is that there are currently only six universities left that actually require all scores: Yale, Georgetown, Carnegie Mellon, Barnard, the UCs (with some reports otherwise), and Cornell (only for the ACT). For those other than Cornell, you need to submit all SAT scores. Of that group the UCs are the only ones that do not superscore.
All other colleges in the US, including those that superscore, do not require you to send all scores; however, those that superscore usually recommend, but do not require, sending all scores, because it may be to your advantage to do so since they do superscore, and they do not use lower scores against you and there is no penalty for failure to send all scores.
As to your question concerning subject test scores, only one university requires you to send all subject test scores, Georgetown. With all other colleges that require, recommend or otherwise consider subject test scores (a minority of all colleges; the majority do not consider them for admission), you can send whatever ones you want to send.
As to choosing or not choosing to send all scores (SAT, ACT or subject tests), be aware that witholding scores through College Board or ACT does not necessarily mean the college will remain ignorant of your withheld scores. There are many high schools that put all your scores on your high school transcript sent to colleges, and thus you need check what yours does in determining whether you can actually withold scores.
@RedMan108 - in addition to the excellent post right above, I’d add that I believe you can click which subject test scores to send from the College Board. Like you, my son has only one SAT so that one’s easy. However, he’ll have some subject tests to send along once he gets his results back later this month. Fortunately, he can just self-report for most of his schools.
Yes
@drusba @JBStillFlying and @skieurope Thank you for your input. I find the red font explanation by CB weird as I noticed red font on my perfect score. I called CB and the response was not very clear/convincing. I was told that the color red on CB score sends report means that the college considers the highest score but the student has taken the test only once. The CB representative was not very sure so, I may call again with a hope of getting someone more experienced on the phone. BTW…just in case if I was not clear, the font color I was referring to was on score sends the report (the report that you can see to see which colleges the scores were sent to). Thanks again!
^ When we click “view score sends” it just goes to my son’s score report. Doesn’t even list the school he sent the score to. Not sure that feature is working properly.
Yes, it takes to score report but it will have links on top and one of the links is “Score Sends”. You have to click it again to see the details.
^OK did that. But the “score send” detail doesn’t list an actual score. Just the name and city/state, etc., of the school that his one score was sent to. Are we missing something? We don’t see a score in red font.
@RedMan108, if the red is on the report that simply tells where scores were sent, rather than the actual full score report sent, then it really does not matter what it means since the colleges do not get that sends report. They get the actual score report, a sample of which you can see here: https://www.slideshare.net/AaronFarnsworth/sat-score-report-71228468
One thing for UCs: Technically if someone wants to send only ACT and subject tests but has also taken SAT, they would have to unselect SAT tests (which means they are using score choice) and still select the subject tests. In that case, wouldn’t this practically show as the same case of score choice as if you only selected your best SAT score out of a few to send to UCs?
^As to what is actually required, one needs to be able to rely on what the UC admission site actually provides in writing. As to that, the UC site says that either SAT or ACT scores are required and in reference to the SAT (but not to the ACT or subject tests), it says not to use score choice because it requires all scores. http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/freshman/requirements/examination-requirement/SAT-subject-tests/index.html. On the same page, far removed from the requirements portion of the page, it says “International Baccalaureate scores and scores from SAT subject tests can be used to showcase academic mastery.” Possibly one could construe that page to mean that you are required to submit all scores of all kinds, SAT, ACT, and subject tests, (although to do so would apparently mean international applicants are also required to submit all International Baccalaureate scores). Possibly, one could construe that page to mean if you submit SAT scores or subject test scores you must submit both. But the page could just as well, and even more reasonably, be construed to mean that the “all scores” requirement applies only to the SAT and you can choose to submit no subject tests or, if you submit ACT, submit subject tests while withholding SATs. I have seen arguments that say when there is ambiguity in the published rules, an applicant should call the UCs and determine the actual requirements. But the application rules cannot depend on having oral communications or a requirement that the 181,000+ freshman applicants to the UCs make a phone call (and as we know, if you actually make that call, you get different answers depending on who you talk to.)
In essence, if an applicant submits ACT and subject tests and not any SATs, he can do so under a reasonable interpretation of the written rules. The UCs are not going to punish you for construing the rules that way (and, as far as anyone knows, have never punished anyone for failure to submit all scores).
Further proof of why that is correct is provided by another section of the UC pathways site, which shows whether a UC recommends subject tests http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/freshman/requirements/examination-requirement/SAT-subject-tests/index.html. As you will note there, the recommendations listed per college are “recommendations not mandates.” Nowhere on that page is it stated that you must submit SAT scores if you submit subject tests scores, or that you must submit subject test scores if you submit SAT because of a supposed rule against using score choice. Of further interest is UC Santa Cruz. You will note on that page that it does not recommend subject tests in any area. If you go to the Santa Cruz site, you will also learn that it does not even use subject tests to determine admission https://admissions.ucsc.edu/apply/freshman.html. In essence, Santa Cruz does not even want you to apply an anti-score choice rule that would require both SAT and subject tests if you decided to submit either.
Bottom line is that as long as one can reasonably conclude that the written rules on the UC Pathways site allow one to submit ACT and subject tests while withholding SATs, then one can do so despite any arguments otherwise. If someone wants to construe the written rules as requiring all SATs if you submit any subject tests, or vice versa, or requiring all scores of all kinds, then one can go ahead and construe the rules that way, but doing so does not allow one to insist that others be punished for construing the written rules differently…
@drusba thanks for the detailed explanation! Unfortunately in my case, I have SAT and subject scores and am not sure if I can/should score choice those (some scores are really bad).
I am crazy worried because my sat score is pretty low and i still submitted to the uc. Do you think they keep records of my sat score or the fact that i gpt declined from the uc? because I’m going reapply again after a jc and im wondering if i ruined my chances of going to a uc coz of my past sat score?
^Your question is probably better placed on the UC portion of this site rather than this thread. You seem to be asking two different questions. One is whether a low SAT will be used against you at the UCs if you also submit a higher one? The UCs assert that they use that test with the highest composite to determine admission and thus, unless you believe the UCs are liars, submitting the lower SAT test would not be an issue.
The second question appears to be whether the UCs keep records of those declined for admission and what is the effect of such a declination on a later attempt to transfer to the UCs. As to keeping a record, the answer is yes because every college keeps a record of those declined for admission, but what I do not know is for how long they are kept since that varies among colleges, although I am guessing, based on some colleges’ record-keeping policies that I do know, that if you are declined this year and then apply for transfer in two years from a California community college, the UCs are likely to still have a record showing you were previously declined admission, but someone who knows more about the UC’s record-keeping policies, and whether that previous declination is an issue when you apply later as a transfer, would be in a better position than me to answer that question.
Just to clarify; when a college requires all SAT scores if we choose to send them, am I right in saying that this doesn’t include Subject Test scores, i.e., if I took all of SAT EBRW+M, ACT, and Subject Tests, it’s perfectly fine if I send just the ACT and Subject Tests? This is in particular reference to Yale, Cornell, and Carnegie.
Thanks!
^Of the small number of colleges that still have any kind of “all scores” rule, only Georgetown requires all subject tests; for every other “all scores” college you can choose which subject tests to send, and that includes Yale, Carnegie Mellon and Cornell.
Note, your question seems to assume Cornell requires all SATs if you send SATs. Cornell accepts score choice for both SATs and subject tests. It requires all ACTs if you choose to submit any ACTs.
Yale and CMU require all scores from EITHER SAT or ACT. Not both. It’s OK not to submit both tests - you just have to submit all administrations of whichever test you choose to send. If you submit both, you must submit all administrations of both.
GTown much simpler: You need to send them every administration of the ACT, SAT and subject tests.
I’m so frustrated because my son is planning to apply to CMU. He received a 1600 on the November SAT, but as part of a state graduation requirement, he is required to take the SAT in April 2019 at school when all juniors take it. Obviously, I expect he will score much the same, but wasn’t planning to do any prep or practice tests like he did for November. I’m just irritated that he HAS to take it again in the first place and because there is the rule about submitting all of the scores, it will have to be submitted to CMU. Hopefully if is score is lower the 2nd time, it won’t be by much or hurt him in any way (I know they’ll look at the highest, but still…). Thanks for letting me vent 
What State required mandatory SAT testing from a student?
Just be “sick” that day.
That is incredulous.
Moreover, why would any state proscribe a specific test date?