<p>My 11th grade son is taking the SAT for the 1st time next week. I have no clue how he'll test but I'm nervous since he did better on the PSAT his sophomore year than this year. He can send 4 SAT scores for free to colleges of his choice. Should he? Or should he wait until after he sees his scores? He does plan on taking the test again. He also is taking the ACT in February. His colleges are not selective (Cincinnati, Toledo, Ohio Norther, OSU) but the pharmacy program is. </p>
<p>Will he definitely retake? Will he take any subject tests?</p>
<p>My d sent her scores on her last test date but it was one subject test, by then she knew her reasoning score and the other subject test scores.</p>
<p>You have up to a week (I think that’s right) after the test to decide whether to send scores, maybe wait till after the test to see how he feels about it.</p>
<p>Unless you have a strong indication that he will do well, I’d advise to pass on the small monetary savings with the free score reports. Since he took the PSAT this year, has he had substantial time to prep for the SAT (including harder math and the essay)?</p>
<p>I would opt to giving him the choice of sending ACT or SAT scores, whichever is better, next year.</p>
<p>Some schools require that you submit ALL test scores, so you may want to check the admissions policies on those schools to which you know your child will be applying - could save you some bucks down the line!</p>
<p>Of the five colleges my S applied to, one required all scores, and then used the highest in each category. Two others only wanted the reports which had the highest scores.</p>
<p>We used the four free reports the second and last time he took it at his safety schools, where we knew that even the lower, first scores would be good enough for admission. By the time he took it the second time, all Subject Tests were completed.</p>
<p>I agree with above posters. If your S does way better on the ACT than the SAT, you don’t want to be in the position of leaving colleges wondering whether the higher or lower score better represents your S’s real abilities.</p>
<p>It would cost $38 to send those four “free” score reports, if you didn’t send them the free way. It really depends on how burdensome that cost is to you.</p>
<p>I was really relieved that we DIDN"T send scores the first time. I know that it probably makes no difference in general but was glad the first thing Colleges A through D weren’t introduced to my children based only on those scores. </p>
<p>One D did a markedly better job on the ACT so most schools only saw that score.</p>
<p>I would advise holding off if you know there will be a retake or if you think your S may take the ACT as well.</p>
<p>Totally agree. Son did way better (about 120 point equivalent better) on the ACT and he took the SAT three times (got his lowest score the first time, pulled it up the second time and stayed the same the third time). Only one school on his list wanted to see all scores. Every other school got only the ACT. It was worth the extra money to skip the free reporting. You want the schools to see your child in the best light and you never really know which test that might be until they are done taking them.</p>
<p>We didn’t send in the subject tests score either. He did okay on them but none of the schools he applied to required them. If your child is up in the air about where he will apply, it’s good to take a few subject tests because there are schools that require them.</p>
<p>I am so glad that I found this forum! We will not send his SAT scores this first time around. He is applying to state schools and I think he only needs the SAT or the ACT so we’ll wait and see how he does on each one. I don’t think any of the sites said that he must submit all but I’ll have him go back and look closer. I am excited because we scheduled our first college visits! He’ll go look at the University of Cincinnati over his spring break and then Ohio Northern has a pharmacy day. We might hit the University of Toledo over spring break too. None of these are very competitive in themselves but he’ll need to do better to admitted into the pharmacy program or engineering school.</p>