Let me explain my situation: I took the SAT before I took the ACT and I did pretty bad on the SAT but got a 36 on the ACT. I retook the SAT (because my first score was REALLY bad) and my retake score came out today - 1560 - which is OK, but definitely low in comparison to my ACT score. If I send both the SAT and ACT, will it devalue the 36 I got on the ACT?
in addition, if I use Score Choice, do I have to choose to send at least one SAT score or can I just send only SAT Subject Test scores?
Finally, is it OK to use Score Choice? I don’t want it to seem like I’m hiding something but I really hope a less than perfect SAT score doesn’t devalue my ACT.
@skieurope Thanks for the input. I know it came off as a bit disingenuous but due to the competitive environment I’m in, a 1560 simply isn’t an exceptional score for top universities. As a student who’s striving for those kinds of schools, I’ve heard the spiel about people with perfect stats and noteworthy EC’s who still got rejected, so of course I want to do my best possible.
Anyway, in regards to Score Choice, I think you may have misunderstood my question. I’m asking if the CollegeBoard Score Choice system itself allows me to only send SAT II scores, even though I already took the SAT twice? In other words, does the system force me to choose at least one SAT score to send or can I just not send SAT scores at all and only send SAT II scores?
Yes, assuming the college in question does not require all scores.
Yes, it is.
And the second part of the sentence is that people with lower stats get admitted. Standardized tests are just one part of the package for colleges that evaluate holistically. Good luck.
The College Board Score Choice system always will allow score choice when you send scores. It may give a warning when a college requires all scores but you can choose to ignore the warning and send only scores of tests you want to send, either SAT or SAT subject tests. Nevertheless there are colleges requiring you to send “all scores,” but that is a diminishing group and even many of the ones that have an all scores rule have weakened their own rules in the last few years. For the latest list of colleges that have a form of an “all scores” rule, read my last post in this thread: http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/sat-act-tests-test-preparation/1912440-must-you-submit-all-sat-act-or-sat-subject-test-scores-p5.html As you will see, there is currently only one college left, Georgetown, that requires you to send all SAT, all ACT, AND all subject test scores. However, Stanford requires both all SAT and all ACT scores, but you can choose which, if any, subject test scores you want to send. Every other college with any kind of all scores rule would allow you to send that ACT score and your subject scores and withhold the SAT test score.
However, you have no downside in sending your SAT score to any college. It is a very high score. I do not know who are listening to about what is needed, but I am unaware of any college that would consider a 1560 low or would consider rejecting you because of that score. High ranked colleges may reject many with 1560 to 1600 SAT scores but none of those are being rejected because of their test score. In addition, it does not even matter, as colleges uniformily use that test with the better score to determine admission and ignore the other if you submit both SAT and ACT.
@fluffybear What @drusba said is correct, you can play with college board score reporting system to send what you want. However you should always follow the individual institute’s specific and up to date score reporting policy on the school’s web site.
1560 SAT is a great score that everyone should be proud of. However in your case it likely will be negative because it is AFTER the 36 ACT, showing a downward trend. The upward trend is more important that actual scores themselves, this is why some schools like Standford and UC Berkeley want all the scores. I would not send SAT if not required.
@hooverhoo yes, since i took it after the ACT it does have a downward trend but it’s an improvement from my first SAT. My essay score was a 7/7/7 for this SAT but only a 8/12 for the ACT.
@fluffybear Unless you send all scores even to schools that do not need all scores, who knows your new sat is better than your 1st sat, AND they bother to rethink the difference between act and sat?
I just want to give a little fair warning before you to decide to withhold any scores through score choice with College Board. There are many high schools in the US that put all your test scores on your official high school transcript sent to colleges. In fact , there are a number of colleges, such as Stanford, that accept as offical scores those that appear on your high school transcript and you do not have to even send scores from College Board as a result. Before decidng to withhold any scores, you should check what your high school does, because if your transcript includes all your scores, withholding them via College Board accomplishes nothing. Note that in determining the issue, you should not rely on the transcript sent each smester in the past to you. That it may not include your test scores does not necessarily mean the transcript the high school sends to colleges is the same, and you really need to ask your high school counselor or other official whether the transctript sent to colleges includes test scores.
@fluffybear they can definitely be able to hide scores, as I have asked my counselor already, although it may be different at your school. I would say send both your SAT and ACT scores because they are well above average and can only help your application. Hope this helps!