SAT vs. ACT?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Washington University in St. Louis
1

<p>I am senior in high school and I have already "committed" to play softball at WashU. Although I technically still have to be accepted, I have been pretty much approved by admissions, and I am also a third-generation legacy at the school. I am not too worried about getting in, but I want to be sure. I know I would never get in without softball, so my scores are not as high as the rest of the student body. But I was just curious as to which score I should send in, or if I should send in all my scores. My scores are:</p>

<p>ACT (1st try): Composite 31, English 31, Math 31, Reading 30, Science 32
ACT (2nd try): Composite 31, English 34, Math 32, Reading 31, Science 28
Since ACT superscores, my superscore would be 32.</p>

<p>SAT (1st try): 1970, Math 680, Writing 720, Reading 570</p>

<p>I know my SAT reading score sucks, but I am scheduled to retake the SAT next week. But I was wondering if it was even worth it to retake the SAT if I decide to just send in my ACT score since it is so much better. I am also applying ED.</p>

<p>If it helps, here are my other statistics:
97.875/100 GPA
17/484 class rank
4 varsity letters
4 APs so far - AP World History (3), AP Chemistry (4), AP Calculus BC (5), AP Lang (4)
I'm taking 4 this year - AP Biology, AP Statistics, AP Literature, and AP Spanish
I am in NHS, Beta, and I'm the treasurer for Student Council
Captain of softball team
Student Athletic Leadership Team
4 Scholar Athlete Awards
Top 3% of class
Went to Spain for 2 weeks as part of Spanish Exchange Program
Travel softball for 7 years
AP Scholar
University of Georgia Academic Scholar (only students in top 5% of their classes get it in GA)
National Merit Commended Scholar</p>

<p>Thanks so much for your input!!</p>

2

<p>Wash U is one of only a few schools that superscore the ACT, which means your ACT score in Wash U’s eyes is (34+32+31+32)/4 = 32.25. That’s quite a bit higher than your SAT score, but we’re still looking at around average for Wash U standards.</p>

3

<p>My son had very similar stats to you. Except, while he played varsity baseball in H.S., he did not intend to play at WashU and was not a legacy. He was also in the top 2% of his class with the same type of extra-curriculars and AP scores as you. He did not do well on the SAT but his superscored ACT was a 34 (32 & 33). He decided to only send his ACT and was accepted RD. I’m not sure you will be able to bring your SAT up enough to make it worth sending and your ACT is strong. You definitely can be accepted without sending a SAT score.</p>

4

<p>You mention that you “committed” to play at Wash U, but you still have to technically be accepted to Wash U. I am so curious as to how this works because I have a D who wants to do this next year. Forgive all of the questions, but here goes . . . Did you get an “early read” from admissions? Who gave you the answer . . . admissions or your coach to be? Does your regional admissions officer know that you got an early read? Does your college counselor know? Is that a guarantee? Will you get your official acceptance on the same date as the other ED applicants? Are you still applying to other schools just in case or do you really feel confident that you will get in Wash U ED? Thank you for taking the time to answer all these questions.</p>

5

<p>Wait, why are you saying you would never get in without softball? I feel like your stats are really good regardless of that…</p>

6

<p>@mominfl sorry it took so long but I’ll try to answer all your questions as fully as I can. </p>

<ol>
<li><p>Yes I did get an early read from admissions in the spring of my junior year as well as August of my senior year. I had to fill out a packet for my coach and she go it read by admissions. When I had my overnight visit with the team, m coach told me what admissions said and that she thinks I’ll be good. Of course, there’s no guarantee, but coach would not have recruited me if she thought I’d get rejected. </p></li>
<li><p>My regional admissions officer visited my school a few weeks ago, and I introduced myself and told her I have “committed” to play there next year. I also emailed her to follow up and let her know who I am and to look out for my application. </p></li>
<li><p>I still had to go through all of the same application processes as everyone else, so yes I should find out the same time as everyone else as far as my decision. Nothing is guaranteed, but I am fairly confident about getting accepted. I have not applied anywhere else, but obviously worse case scenario, if I don’t get in to WashU, I will apply elsewhere RD. </p></li>
</ol>

<p>Like I said before, nothing can be guaranteed since WashU is Division 3, but I believe my grade are good enough for me to get in ED, and the coach also has a little bit of “pull” as far as me getting accepted. I will also be a third generation legacy, so that should help me as well. I have also visited multiple times and met with numerous people around campus. I advise your daughter to go about the admissions process the same way she would it she didn’t have a sport: still be active and talk to people at the school. It certainly can’t hurt!</p>

7

<p>Thanks, hsvipers7. Good luck to you!</p>