I know conventional wisdom says to NOT submit SAT scores to TO reach schools if the student’s scores are below the 25th (or in some cases 50th) percentile. However, I’m wondering if a different scenario might apply for a student from a relatively unknown high school. DS22 was only able to take one SAT and scored 1470. The average at his high school is around 1000. Only about half the students from his high school even go on to a 4-year college at all.
He has a 4.0 unweighted GPA so far (lots of dual enrollment credits but very few AP). I’m aware his SAT score is strong, though not exceptional for top 25 schools. He does have a couple of top 25 schools on his reach list. My gut instinct is to submit the 1470 even though it’s on the lower side for some of the reaches (Vanderbilt, Middlebury, Bowdoin, Colby). It seems to me that, though not exceptional, the 1470 does demonstrate that his academic ability is on a par with other top 25 applicants despite the lower quality of his high school and lack of AP credits compared to other applicants. He won’t have time to retake the SAT or ACT due to his demanding course schedule. Thoughts? I know Top 25 is a long shot either way, but would submitting a 1470 help more than hurt his application in this situation?
On its surface, your post seems somewhat confusing. Your son’s SAT score of 1470 would place him at Middlebury’s 75th percentile, for example.
Oops, my mistake- I should have listed Vanderbilt, Cornell, Dartmouth, all of which he is considering though his scores are below their average.
Usually, a student would only submit a score lower than 50th% for that school if the score tells the school something unexpectedly good about that student. For example, say that the student were from a hooked subset that usually had a lower SAT than average for that school, perhaps significantly lower. In that case, the student would likely be helped by submitting that SAT score, rather than harmed. What you are describing could POSSIBLY be considered that very scenario, even though your son is not an URM, or legacy, or recruited athlete, or wealthy donor child. The average SAT in the country is 1060, so if the average SAT at his high school is 1000, then I think you should trust your gut on this one, assuming that the rest of his application is very good - GPA, ECs, essays, recommendations.
In his situation, I think that 1470 is higher than the admissions committee would have expected his to have been, coming from that school, so I would say yes, you should submit it.