<p>D is a Jr, took the old SATs in Dec, scored 1410, (630 V, 780 M). Wouldn't even have taken them again if they hadn't been changing them. Some schools on her list want the new so she took them in March. Came home from the test really happy cause she thought it was easier. Her weakest part of the old test was the analogies which are now gone. She thought she wrote a great essay. Got the new scores this morning and she's devastated, went from a 780 M to a 710 M, went from a 630 V to a 620 V and got a 610 on the writing (8 out of 12 on the essay). I told her she still did well, not to worry. She is beside herself. She is still well witing the range of the schools she wants, even the ones that are requiring the new, with the exception of Princeton (where she isn't even sure she wants to go). I told her she could take them again, or perhaps take the ACT, but she doesn't want to hear it. What's a parent to do?</p>
<p>HEy, at least she GOT her scores today. My daughter has been told that she may have to wait up to several WEEKS to get hers. </p>
<p>Keep in mind that many schools will still be taking the BEST scores of all tests, including the OLD test scores, for juniors so she hasn't "lost" those initial scores from the old test.</p>
<p>I think it's going to take a little while to sift through the scores and see what they mean. My son didn't do very well on the new SAT but did take the ACT Saturday and thought it was easier. Our plan at the moment, is to see what the ACT score is and then decide which one to re-take.</p>
<p>The ACTs may be worth a try for your D. You can take them with or without the essay component, so if she decides to go this route, have her check with her prospective schools to see if they require it. If she wants to avoid retaking the SATs altogether, she should probably do the written test anyway. Many students seem to score better on the ACT and they're "score choice", too. And, as Carolyn stated, most of the schools will still take the highest score for each subsection, so your D's old V and M scores will probably still hold.</p>
<p>She is a junior, and she very likely will experience some intellectual growth over the next half year just because of increasing age. If she takes the test once more as a senior, she most likely will achieve a higher score both because of that and because of familiarity with the new format of the test. </p>
<p>Best wishes to her in her college application process.</p>
<p>I'm sorry your daughter is so upset; I know how hard that is to watch. I still remember my daughter freaking out several years ago when her SATs came in substantially lower than her PSATs would have predicted. She felt as if doors were slamming in her face.</p>
<p>I don't have any direct experience of the new tests, but since it's new for everyone--and even the practice materials must have been somewhat speculative--I'm guessing a lot of people are going to have surprising results (some better than they hoped, but many not). Also, since the big drop was in math, which seems to be a real area of strength for your daughter, I'm wondering if there were specific kinds of problems that hadn't been on the old SAT and that threw her when they showed up on the new version. (I believe it would take only a few wrong answers to lower a math score from 780 to 710.) If so, I think there's every chance she can raise her scores significantly by practicing those kinds of problems. </p>
<p>Good luck! I don't think the tests are a lost cause at all, and if your daughter can pick herself up and focus on the positive steps she can take from this point on, it will help not only with the scores but with fostering the resilience that nearly everyone needs to get through the ups and downs of the application process.</p>
<p>Oh so sorry (I suspect she is the tip of the iceberg of those who are upset, but that is no consolation to YOU or HER). She has little to lose in trying the ACT, just a Sat morning and the cost of a prep book - if she has scheduling problems or concerns, buy a bool, have her take a practice test and see how she does - maybe there are practice exams on the website for ACT, not sure. DD's overall scores were about the same, but many kids do better on one than the other - DD's subscores, math vs Eng/verbal, were flip-flopped, making her overall look like a very high scorer, don't know if any admissions people noticed.</p>
<p>By the way, for anyone that is interested in registering for the June ACT, the last day for registering without paying a late fee, is May 6. Unfortunately, for us, this will be before we find out how our son did on the April 9 test. So, my plan for deciding which test to re-take is not going to work....</p>
<p>Thanks for all the replies.
We didn't get to talk much this morning when she received the scores, beacuse she was on her way to school, but I am going to sit her down tonight and have a heart to heart. This is what I have decided to tell her:
NO ONE can take away the 1410..even those schools who want the new will still see the old. She should be proud of what she accomplished.
If a school doesn't want her because of the new SAT alone, well then she doesn't need to go there. It's not like her new score is "bad", she will still have a good chance at almost all the schools she is interested in. Her top choices right now are American U and Ithaca, both of which will take the higher score and her GPA, SAT II's and EC's are fine.
I will let her decide if she wants to leave things as is, take the SAT again or take the ACT. It will be entirely up to her.
I am going to stress that she has absolutley NOTHING to be ashamed of, and she should hold her head high and send her apps next fall to the same schools she would have sent them to before the new test. What will be will be!</p>
<p>Your child can get the results of the multiple choice part of his ACT on-line between Apr 19 and 21 for $8. He will then have the results before the next deadline in May.</p>
<p>YankeeGirl - My DD took the October test as a senior and improved considerably. Of course that was the old SAT. I don't think we have enough data to say how things will go with the new test.</p>
<p>There is lots of good advice above. The old test scores are still valid, and the math 780 is terrific. Retaking the SAT is a bit of a crap shoot since you don't know where your D's specific problem areas are in the verbal and writing sections. I'd suggest taking the ACT instead. Which SAT II's is she taking? Good scores on SAT IIs would surely help her applications.</p>
<p>She got a 700 on Math I, she will be taking Math II next fall while she is taking AP Calc, so she should do well. She is taking the French SAT II in May, right after the AP french test, so that should be easier for her as well. She will also take English Lit and is thinking about taking American History.</p>
<p>I just went thru the list of schools she is considering and only 2 will accept only the new SAT, neither of which is her first choice. Princeton & Syracuse, though Syracuse is right up there with her top choices. The more I think about it the more I think she will be ok with it as soon as it has time to sink in. It's not as if her scores are bad.</p>
<p>I know it is hard to get a sense of what the new SATs will mean, but the breakdown of scores you've presented suggests that for Princeton her new scores are very low unless there are other aspects of her application that make her a strong contender. Even her old scores would have been on the low side for a mainstream Princeton or other elite school applicant (that is, not legacy, recruited, etc.)</p>
<p>I interviewed a Harvard applicant this year who was only in the mid-1400's on the SAT, but smoked the ACT with a 35. She got in. Give your daughter a little time to recover from the disappointment, and THEN talk about considering the ACT once she's refreshed. It may not be necessary for her, depending on the schools on her final list, but it's worth a conversation.</p>
<p>
[quote]
She got a 700 on Math I, she will be taking Math II next fall while she is taking AP Calc, so she should do well.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>that assumption is completely untrue... maybe not true for all but me and several of my friends got 800's freshman year* before geometry... after i've taken calc i score 790's... never again did i get the magical number...</p>
<p>YankeeGirl - Yes, I think the Literature and American History SAT IIs will illustrate her abilities nicely. Please offer your daughter our best wishes!</p>
<p>I know the new test is a bit different, but here is our story. My D didn't even want to think about the test, but I enrolled her, and made her take it at the beginning of her jr. year. She was disappointed that her score was only a 1400. Then, we bought the study manuals, and a year later, she retook them - 1550. Give her some time. Preparing helps, but not until she is ready. In between, we did the SATII's. Time will give her a better perspective.</p>
<p>My senior greatly improved his test scores by simply taking 10 Real SATs at home whenever he had an afternoon and wasn't too tired...also self-prepped for the ACT. He got very determined. Best scores were in fall of his senior year, which admittedly makes looking for accurate match schools a bit delayed, but my point is they are still growing neurologically and emotionally even as juniors. Don't let her get too upset over this. She has all summer to get more familiar with the exams and you can learn from your errors if you are a focused kid. My recommendation is to only take these exams when you have had the time to get recent practice with them...and when you are reasonably rested. So if she can, she should be staking out Saturdays now for SATIIs or the ACT, but only if she can prepare properly and never do more than one in a day IMHO. Some kids can ace them in their sleep but most of us need optimal conditions and good health. It is also a good idea to look for some schools that match her first test scores, and make sure to form emotional attachments to true matches as well as reach schools. She will eventually take her cues from you on how to put these things in perspective, so make sure you assure her that she can get a superb education at a school she has a good shot at regardless. It is true that there are many excellent colleges with above 50% admit rates that are not "talked about" all the time. Taking the first sitting of the SAT new version was unnerving to many people. Enjoy the process of the search with your girl and remember that the college tours are memories forever and a chance to be with her while she gains clarity about herself.</p>
<p>Harvard made it very clear last week that they would take ANY mix of old and new scores to give the student the benefit of the best possible score.</p>
<p>Well..here's the update. D came home from school feeling much better than when she left. It seems that most of her friends scored about the same on the new test. The ones that took the old went down and the ones that didn't still didn't do as well as they had done on the PSAT or the practice tests. My D decided to wait until the percentiles came out..it may just be that the test was that much harder and quite possibly a lot of kids didn't do as well as they had hoped.
She has also decided to put thoughts of the SAT on the back burner right now and concentrate on her SAT IIs, AP tests and NYS Regents all which are coming up in May/June. She says she will decide over the summer whether or not to retake the SAT, take the ACT or just live with the 2 scores she has.
As I've said before, there are a lot of schools on her list that will accept the score from the old test and for the ones that only want the new, she is still within their range (with the exception of Princeton, which is a reach whichever way you look at it, AND where I don't think she really even wants to go...just wants to be able to say she got in..lol).
I want to thank everyone for their advice, suggestions and good wishes!</p>