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<p>Sick Of SAT</p>

<p>Some advice needed here...
My son, who intends to go into a STEM field, has taken the SAT twice. No formal class or tutoring. I handed him the blue book and he practiced and we went over the tests together.</p>

<p>The first time he got 680, 680, 650 (M. CR. W), and we were very pleased. CR is his weak area, and this was better than we were projecting for CR. But we expected higher in math (son took Calc as a junior). So, he retook at the end of the year, but didn't have much time to prepare at all. Also, he was focused on improving the math score, and admits that he didn't give CR 100% of his effort. Second set of scores 710, 590, 720 (M, CR, W). So, the first sitting has the higher CR+M, but lower composite. The second sitting would be the higher single sitting test.</p>

<p>For those schools that superscore, he is okay. The problem is that he is mainly looking at large public universities. Three of the schools that are highest on his list appear to look only at the highest sitting. His highest sitting (the second one) makes him look very lopsided and the score in CR is very low. On the other hand, it shows that he can break 700 in two sections. Most schools claim that nothing is lost by sending all your scores because they look at the highest sitting. However, since many schools don't weigh the writing score much in the decision, this may backfire for my son. ie CR+M is 1360 for the first test, but only 1300 for the second.</p>

<p>So, i think i have answered my own question, but I'll throw it out there. Should we only send in the first score? At one information session for a large school where online it says to send all scores, the admissions counselor said to only send in the best. When I pointed out that this did not match the policy listed online, she told me, "To be honest, I only see the highest score." I don't mind sending in all scores if all will actually be seen. But, if by sending in both scores, he is actually penalized because they only look at the higher composite, lower CR+M, that seems unfair. ie the higher SAT score can, in fact, hurt you.</p>

<p>The last possibility is that he take the test one more time. Really wish we were past this.
Thoughts?</p>

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<p>Schools that use only the Math + CR score for admittance and/or scholarships will likely use the FIRST score. They won’t likely use the second score, so don’t worry. They’ll use the one that has the highest combo that is important to them.</p>

<p>I’m not sure what that person meant by: I only see the highest score. If a school doesn’t use the W score, then it would seem that she would see the highest M+CR score.</p>

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<p>Thanks. That was what I was hoping. However, the counselor I referred to said that she doesn’t put much weight on the W score. So, I am concerned that it does, in fact, get included in the sum that determines which sitting they will consider (at least, for that school)- even if it is not weighed as strongly as CR+M. What she meant by “I only see the highest score” was that, by the time she receives the summary info to review, she can’t even see the scores from other sittings. I think that we often assume that if they ask for all scores, they actually see those scores. But i don’t think that is necessarily the case.</p>

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<p>I’m not sure how it works at this school, but I think you’re on the right track…they only see one set of scores. At my sons U they use score choice but encourage you to send in all scores. The computer automatically pulls the highest score from each section and that’s all they see…it score choices for them. The school you’re referring to could have a similar system that gives them only the scores they want given the perimeters set. You just don’t know if they use highest M+CR. Or M+CR from the highest test sitting. (I think I understood you)</p>

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<p>send both and let them do with it what they will - pick the highest for them, I would guess.</p>

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<p>If you’re concerned about ONE school, and it allows score choice, then send the one with the highest M+CR. The highest M+CR can hardly ever hurt a student. It’s also the one that most schools use for merit awards. </p>

<p>For instance, at my kids’ undergrad, with the 1360 M+CR and being an engineering major, he’d get a Free Tuition scholarship PLUS 2500 per year. With a 1300, he’d hardly get anything.</p>

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<p>Have S do a couple of practice ACT’s and take the September ACT. I think the last day to register for that one is tomorrow.</p>

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<p>I think he should either take it again or take the ACT (register today though!!). He would likely improve in all areas. It is only 4 hours of his time. He will be working much harder than that when he gets to college!</p>

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<p>My youngest did much better on ACT than SAT. ( oldest didn’t take ACT)
Both in STEM fields. Their schools used highest scores I think.
I’d also point out, that while some merit awards go by GPA/test scores, admissions even at large public universities can be much more holistic, and consider recommendations & essays as well.</p>

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<p>My son did better on ACT also. But I would recommend that he practice, and practice by timing the sections. My son STEM also. My son took calc in 10th grade also. So by the time he took SAT/ACT he really needed to review concepts so that he could recall them for the test. I believe one test tests through Geometery, and one through Algebra 2- but I could be wrong. Either way, they do not test through trg/pre-calc/ calc so your son may be 2-3 years out of the math they are testing. That is why his scores are not what you expect. </p>

<p>On the other hand, his HS English teachers are preping them for taking the SAT’s, and the CR and writing portion of those. So that is why he may have the increased writing score too. </p>

<p>If he did not give his best on the CR, why not consider taking the SAT again as well as the ACT? He has plenty of time right now. Pull off some of the scholarship info on schools off of CC and show him why the higher scores are important financially. Not just for admissions.</p>

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<p>Sometimes the third try is the charm. There is certainly nothing to lose (exept for a little time and money) and our experience has been that the math score is very responsive to extra practice. I agree with vilines that admissions aside, higher scores can mean some significant merit money at many schools.</p>

<p>However, if your son has a problem with being able to show all he can do on multiple choice exams, I would also ask if exams in intro STEM classes that he would be taking at the schools he is considering are multiple choice, problems that are hand-graded, or a combination. We were surprised to find out that at some schools, students in non-honors classes such as calc through differential equations are evaluated entirely on the basis of their performance on machine graded multiple choice exams, with solutions to problems posted after the exam.</p>

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<p>“appear to look only at the highest sitting”</p>

<p>“Appear” being the focus - Send all scores.</p>

<p>Remember, it behooves the colleges to list the highest CR/M/W because it aids in the US News rankings. This means there are plenty of schools NOT taking the highest sitting, but instead taking the HIGHEST score per section from all tests and creating a new composite SAT.</p>

<p>agree with vlines – Accelrated math kids are at a disadvantage on the SAT because the concepts are not fresh in their minds.</p>

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<p>My STEM kiddo also did much better on the ACT. He took it w/o preparation and, while it is longer than the SAT, he found it to be less boring - in his words. He finished BC Calc as a junior so was far beyond the math on the SAT. </p>

<p>Best of luck!</p>

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<p>Thank you for all of your experience/insight. While the ACT might be another avenue, I think we will not pursue that. At one point, my son took a Princeton Review practice test where they gave sample questions from both ACT and SAT. He did do slightly better on the ACT, but did not like it. He had had practice on the SAT and did not want to prep for a different exam. He is the kind of kid who needs the practice to do well. Also, as far as i can tell, the ACT requires more speed. Not his strong suit. While the ACT might have been a better choice initially, I don’t think he would be up for mastering a different test at this point.</p>

<p>Because my son will be applying to a bunch of schools that do not use the common app, his application season will be painful, I fear. I didn’t relish the idea of adding more test prep to the mix-especially since his first SAT scores are likely good enough to get him in to the couple of places he would most like to attend. But as vlines and others have pointed out, there is the possibility of increased merit aid with higher scores. And we would very much like that :slight_smile: While i have perused the stats for merit aid from various schools, it is not clear how much goes to the oos students. Anyone know about Wisconsin, Illinois, MD or (dare I ask) Michigan for oos merit? With superscoring, my son’s CR+M is 1390. So, I imagine that getting that up to 1400+ would be a significant factor for better merit money prospects. </p>

<p>frazzledtothecore (love that name, btw), your comment that “there is certainly nothing to lose” really helps a lot. This whole process was way easier 8 years ago with my daughter when I was totally naive (and much calmer).</p>

<p>Guess I’ll go downstairs and break the bad news to DS- three’s the magic number :)</p>

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<p>I live in MD, and can tell you that instate students did not get a lot of merit money this year. Compaired to previous years, it was quite slim, I suspect because of state budget cuts. I am not sure about out of state merit aid, though.</p>

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<p>vlines,
how do you think a west-coaster would fare socially at U MD? What is the social climate? Also, are the classes huge?</p>

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<p>This is an applicant who would especially benefit from superscoring, and that may still be true after the third sitting of the SAT. Perhaps that has become more of an important criterion, on his list of schools.</p>

<p>OP raised an interesting question, one on which I’ve never been able to get a satisfactory answer from our guidance department. Yes, the SAT offers score choice. But if an application says “send all scores”, doesn’t that negate score choice? By submitting the application, aren’t you essentially certifying that you’ve provided the information they requested? So wouldn’t it be wrong to try to appear that you’ve only taken the SAT once?</p>

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<p>University of MD is right on the edge of DC. It is a cramped and fast paced area, and the area of and around college park is not the safest. On campus is fine. I understand that many of the classes are quite large, but honors level and many of the major specific classes are quite reasonable. I have always felt that College park is one of those places that is in the middle of everything, but is hard to get to, and it is hard to get to other places from there. </p>

<p>I am not sure what you are looking for re: social climate. I find most of the people in this area pretty uptight (meaning MD/DC/NOVA). The closer you get to DC, the worse it gets. If your son is the sterotypical laid back quirky Californian- he may not like Maryland that much. Have you been on the Maryland CC forums and read some of the threads from there? That might answer some of the questions for you and give you a feel for the families that have students there. You may be able to find some good info on scholarships there too.</p>

<p>Here is a link ot the Maryland threads: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-maryland-college-park/[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-maryland-college-park/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>mommeleh- I know that you said your son is a STEM major, look at schools that have guaranteed merit aid as safety schools. We did that, and ended up that school became my son’s #1 choice, and no longer a safety. There is a real benefit to being able to graduate from college debt free. </p>

<p>Additionally, if your son has taken a number of AP classes with good scores, look for schools that will let him use at least some of those classes. 2 years ago I would not have thought that would have been a big deal, that he would just re-take the classes. Now, knowing the opportunities if they have AP credits, I am glad we looked further. </p>

<p>One last piece of advice, look for a school that has rolling admissions that he is basically guaranteed admission to (and maybe some merit aid) and apply there now. Or as soon as the application is available. It really takes the level of stress down to have one school that you have alredy been admitted to as you apply to others, and wait for the results from then next spring.</p>

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<p>Take a look at this thread: </p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>and this looks like a little older thread on rolling admissions, so you would still need to check each school to be sure, but it is probably fairly accurate still! </p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/354075-list-colleges-early-action-early-decision-rolling-admissions.html?highlight=rolling+admissions[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/354075-list-colleges-early-action-early-decision-rolling-admissions.html?highlight=rolling+admissions&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;