My kids have all tested very well. Some even better than well.
I still question their utility on a number of levels.
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The national average GPA is around a 3.0. National average ACT is around 19/20.
Average kids can and do succeed in college.
Heck, my 1.9 GPA kid is sitting at a 3.0 at tech school.
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Iāll second that as well. Both kids have always been great test takers. But I always stand on my soap box that great convergent thinking will not be as useful as great divergent thinking in the future. All of this SAT, ACT, AP, etc studying seems to produce a lot of convergent thinkers that canāt problem solve.
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I have a high GPA horrible test taking kid with a 1390 SAT who will need to apply test optional. I think aspects of the test have a lot of value - like the reading comprehension. I wish they could decouple that with the writing and language because i canāt see what value knowing comma rules has in the age of grammerly ( and writing can be assessed by the essays). In fact, schools like UGA state on their blog they only consider the ACT reading and math and donāt look at science or writing. I think achieving a baseline in math is important, but is it important to be able to get them all right on any given day? Iām not sure. But I also canāt figure out why my kid who is doing great in AP Calc BC makes careless errors and gets basic math questions wrong.
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The SAT isnāt the same as a regular school exam which covers material studied in class.
My kid is a high GPA kid (3.97 UW) at a competitive school in which high GPA is not the norm for all kids. He does very well on exams in his classes that cover material taught in the class. He is excelling in AP Calc BC and Physics C. He also has has all 5s on his AP tests taken thus far (AP Chem, AP Bio, and APUSH). His SAT Math was 780.
The SAT EBRW on the other hand is not a test covering academic material covered in a class. At our school, the kids that did well on the EBRW (700+) mostly prepped specifically for this test. My son talked to his HS GC and she told him not to bother prepping because āSAT isnāt important any more.ā His SAT EBRW was only 680, making his total score 1460. Itās a respectable score in general, but too low for some things. He planned to do some prep and retake, but had score dates cancelled twice. Oh well!
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I am not āanti-test.ā But I do believe that standardized tests are not an accurate measure of academic ability for all students.
I feel like parents of kids who 'test well" just think their kids are smarter. Iām ashamed to admit that I used to think that too, before I had a kid with dyslexia and dyscalculia.
Having a learning difference is a real thing that affects college admissions (among other things), thatās just a fact. Iām not complaining, just pointing it out.
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For someone to think critically and outside the box, s/he has to know whatās in the box first.
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To the point about being sure to request SAT scores now, I decided we will do test optional as much as possible. That way, we donāt have to worry about or pay for all those requests!
Iām delighted by TO. 
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You actually donāt need to at most schools. You can simply self report, and an official report from CB is only required if you enroll.
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Itās like a switch went on in the house today, all month we have been dealing with Covid, viruses and more illness, finally both boys are healthy and I am getting better. Itās like they are in nursery school not high school seniors.
Econ twin has been well ahead in applications, he has submitted Harvard (REA), Indiana, UMD, UVA and UNC and today submitted Jefferson Scholarship app for UVA. He has also interviewed for Bowdoin. He has his essays done for Yale and Princeton (but needs to write a paper to be graded - donāt get me started on how little writing they have done in HS). Iāve never seen someone write so much so quickly and the essays are unique and clearly his voice.
This has stressed out CS twin whoās writing style is to stare at a blank sheet for hours and then worry about every word. His common app essay was editted 8 times (he still didnāt like it, but thought it was the best he could get -I liked it and so did the person helping him). They both started writing essays in August, something finally clicked on PSAT day (seniors get to stay home) and essays started coming together. He is accepted at Pitt, submitted UMD and GA Tech this week, thinks Harvard will be ready by Monday and will submit UMBC and UMass shortly.
I am breathing easier today, finished FAFSA two weeks ago, but today finished CSS and IDOCs. I lost count of the # of times I called with questions, not always getting clear answers. College Board should know what SS Survivorās Benefits are - after a 40 minute call just when I was about to get an answer we were discounted. Luckily, Harvard answered my question in 4 minutes. Still not exactly sure when you can delete schools and add additional ones to FAFSA, but will cross that bridge later. I feels like a weight was lifted today.
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Iām glad it is coming together! It is such a relief when you can see progress being made.
I had to comment, because Iām also a mom to 4 boys, & your twins sound so much like my oldest boys (who arenāt twins but are 18 months apart). Your Econ twin reminds me of S23 (a fast writer who wants to do data science, but I am holding out hope might switch to Econ, which was my field). And your CS twin reminds me of S24 who isnāt sure what he wants to do but is leaning towards āsomething engineeringā. Your description of your sonās writing style (stare at a blank page for eight hours, and then stress about every word being perfect) exactly what I would have written about S24. 
I hope things continue to go smoothly, and they hit all their deadlines easily!
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CS twin had been saying since junior year that his essays didnāt have to be great, they just had to be good enough to not hurt the rest of his application. However, no matter how often he said that, he never really believed it. Iām surprised how much is voice is finally coming thru - he does sound a bit like a cranky 80 year old man with references to Nixon, pedagogy and a love of sporks.
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All I could think when I read this:
My 1.9 GPA hubby had a 4.0masterās degree, now has a PHD and teaches college.
He probably would not have gotten into college without a decent SAT score. (It was not amazing)
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Thanks! I wanted to add that but CC hid the āeditā button. Seems like there was a bug in the system.
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One last application for my S23 ED to Duke.
Final list Duke, UF, Cornell, UM and already in at UCF. 
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First two rolling admissions applications submitted! Feels like a relief. REA will be submitted next week. I have one document left to submit to CSS. Things finally feel like they are moving along.
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2 acceptances yet he hasnt filled out the common app yet. Both might be affordable. He would likely be okay going to either based on locations. But neither are top choices for his major. This is going to be hard.
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They sound focused and clear. My 23 is like your CS twin. Writes 8 drafts, doesnāt really like them. They are good essays, though.
Are those schools their whole list? I admire the focus and range. Very cool!
Funny, I wouldnāt describe them as focused and clear - maybe Iām too close to the situation.
They both have more schools on their list, CS twin may apply to 10 or 11 schools total and has a balanced list that I am comfortable with, Econ twin may end up applying to 21 schools and he and I disagree. The list is reach heavy and the true safeties are schools he is not fully comfortable with at the moment. A lot could change in December - I have insisted on adding some less reachy schools he would be happy at but still either high matches or low reaches.
My 1st two applied to colleges when it was easier to predict outcomes and neither wanted to apply to super high reaches. They were able to apply to a lot of schools EA, both applied to 10-12 schools and got into all but one each (waitlisted). The twins are better applicants but much more stressful process.
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