My child is targeting high academic schools as a science major. Her SAT scores currently place her at above 80th percentile for ELA and below 20th percentile for math in comparison to other students at these schools. Her total score is 10 points below average to average depending on the school. Most of the schools seem to have much higher math scores and she is reversed. For the test optional schools should she even bother to submit? Does the high ELA help enough to offset the low math? Thanks!
This is tough, and of course all of us are just guessing on this, but here is what I would do. I will work under the assumption that the transcript is very strong in her area of interest.
• if she is hooked in some way, even if it is a very light hook like being from an obscure state, I’d definitely send.
• for safeties or targets where the combined score is at or above 75th pctile, I’d send, even if it “discrepant,” even if a direct admit to a major or school
• the rest? It sort of depends. Some schools have embraced TO, some have been dragged into it kicking and screaming; some schools that have embraced it have nevertheless accepted proportionally far more submitters than non, and so on. At schools where they seem not super into it, you might be better off submitting even if it is “low.” At ones where they do seem committed, they admitted a big chunk last year TO, etc, you are probably good not to submit.
Or you could do the opposite of all this; I mean, who knows! Good luck.
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Test optional. Don’t submit.
Check out schools that have been test optional for a very long time like Bowdoin, Bates, and American. These - and others like them - are not schools that jumped on the test optional bandwagon to be part of a fad. They have a lot of experience dealing with test optional applicants before Covid hit. And they have a lot of experience with seeing how their admissions decisions have actually worked out in the college classroom.
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I don’t see how submitting these scores could increase her chances, especially now, when the TO trend has swept the American higher ed.
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It just really depends on the school, her stats, rigor, and intended major. There are schools that really want scores like Michigan, Emory, Auburn…so if those are on the list and she’s close to the median, send them (especially if mathy majors are not the intended ones). Does she have a HS GC who can help her with these decisions? If not, post her stats and the schools, and posters can make their recommendations.
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I would say apply TO as a Science major. Those schools will likely weight the Math portion of the score more heavily and being test optional is most likely better than a score below the 20th percentile.
I disagree that any kind of “hook” somehow makes below 20th percentile better than TO.
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If you knew that as a rule schools will accept scores 200-300 points lower than the median for hooked non-athletes (look at a Swarthmore CDS eg) then why would you not want to demonstrate how very close you were to the median?