Sending test scores

Test Preparation
1

I got a 35 on the ACT, a 1500 on the SAT, and an 800 on 2 SAT subject tests. I would be grateful if you could answer some questions.

  1. I would rather send my ACT than my SAT score, but I still have to send my SAT subject tests. I ended up sending my SAT scores to only some of my schools, because when I sent SAT subject test scores, CollegeBoard notified me that the college requested all scores. Should I report my SAT score on my Common App? If I do, then some colleges will know that I self-reported a 1500 but they won’t ever see the official score report. If I don’t, then some colleges will receive an official score report saying I got a 1500 but will never receive self-reported scores.
  2. I only took the ACT once in high school, but I took the ACT in middle school and got a pretty bad score. Do I have to send both scores for colleges like Cornell that require all ACT scores? Some schools like Stanford specifically exempt middle school scores, but Cornell doesn’t.
2
  1. Colleges including Cornell do not use tests taken in eighth gradse or before in determining admission and any "al;l scores" rule is inapplicable to such tests, including Cornell's.
  2. The College Board "all scores" warning can be ignored and you can still send whatever tests you want to send. Moreover, that warning is actually wrong in many cases, including because it includes a large number of schools from College Board's orginal list (from 8 years ago) of all scores colleges that never even had such a rule, and because College Board has failed to update its list with changes made by colleges since, and those changes have generally been made by colleges which have dropped any all scores rule. For example, today there are only two colleges left that require both all SAT scores and all ACT scores, Stanford and Georgetown. For any other colleges with an "all scores" rule, you can send all ACTs and no SATs and that includes any colleges to which you are also sending subject tests.
  3. The scores you put on the common app are not used by most colleges to determine admission; instead they rely on the official reports sent by the testing agencies or scores reported on an offical high school transcript. However, some, including Stanford, accept and use self-reported scores and do not require official score reports until after you are admitted.
  4. So what bad happens if you actually report all your scores, both SAT and ACT, to any colleges with an all scores rule? Nothing. If you provide both SAT and ACT scores, Colleges unifornily use that test, ACT or SAT with the better score to detemine admission and do not hold any lower scores against you. Moreover, in your case, you are worrying for no reason because the score you want to withhold, a 1500 SAT, is itself a high score.
3

Don’t report the SAT on the Common App if you are submitting ACT scores instead. Just list your ACT scores and SAT Subject scores. You get to choose which scores to send (see point 2 in comment above) and you don’t have to send all the SAT scores.

4

There is nothing to hide for SAT 1500. The school would look for the better score anyway. You are over worried.