<p>I'm re-taking the SAT this Saturday, and up until now, I've been planning on throwing in 100% effort into Reading sections (630 last time), as I excelled at Math (770) and Writing (800) on the last exam. If I'm looking into schools that <em>claim</em> they superscore, should I really try that hard for math/writing? I mean, I'm not planning on leaving the section blank, but just a little less effort so I could concentrate energy on reading. </p>
<p>Good/Bad idea?</p>
<p>Check what colleges you’re aiming for. You don’t want to risk doing poorly and having colleges see all your scores. </p>
<p>A few Ivies don’t superscore. If you plan on going to an Ivy, make sure that the one you want to go to allows superscore. </p>
<p>I believe Harvard and Princeton both superscore, while Columbia and Cornell do not.</p>
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<p>What makes you say this? I believe that both superscore.</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure they all (Ivies) superscore (makes their average SAT higher) but only some allow you to use score choice.</p>
<p>^
That looks right. My mistake.</p>
<p>here is the list of colleges that superscore (or don’t) . It was updated by Collegeboard in 11/09. Cornell does not superscore…check the list for schools that ask for ALL SCORES.</p>
<p><a href=“http://professionals.collegeboard.com/profdownload/sat-score-use-practices-list.pdf[/url]”>http://professionals.collegeboard.com/profdownload/sat-score-use-practices-list.pdf</a></p>
<p>hope that helps.</p>
<p>A Cornell admissions officer says that although all scores are required, only the highest scores are considered – that is, superscoring is employed but Score Choice is prohibited.</p>
<p>([Cornell</a> Engineering Admissions: International Students, Financial Aid, and Early Decision](<a href=“http://cornellengineeringadmissions-jill.blogspot.com/2009/10/international-students-financial-aid.html]Cornell”>http://cornellengineeringadmissions-jill.blogspot.com/2009/10/international-students-financial-aid.html))</p>
<p>Silverturtle’s correct. It is a common mistake to assume that a university’s non-acknowledgment of Score Choice is the equivalent of a “no superscoring” policy. Superscoring and Score Choice are two separate things, although the latter is often used to demonstrate the highest scores attained.</p>
<p>I see what you mean. You are correct- they are 2 separate things. But I think it is strange that they would want to see ALL scores but then say that they superscore. Why don’t they just superscore then?</p>
<p>For one thing, score choice can actually prevent superscoring in some cases, because score choice is done on the sitting level.</p>
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<p>Despite primarily considering the highest sub-scores across all test days, Yale says that knowing how those scores were attained (i.e., how many times one took the test and what kinds of scores were retaken) is helpful. (It is not clear exactly how this information is used, though.) I assume this is common to most similarly practicing schools.</p>
<p>While we’re on this topic, I have a question. What will admissions officers think of me when they see my scores?
Test 1: 1670 total.
Test 2: 2000+.</p>
<p>Here is one way to think about it. The adcom needs a uniform way to ‘boil down’ the SAT scores. Applicants will take the SAT any number of times, and listing ALL those scores for the most condensed part of the summary isn’t practical. So, various schools have decided on various methods. But they don’t want to lose the information that exists in the rest of the SAT scores. How many times an applicant took the SATs, how the scores change tells them something as well. So that information is present as well.
Similar logic applies to the GPA and transcript. Yes - when they are boiling down the data , they will look only at GPA, but they also look at the whole transcript which shows how you got that GPA.</p>
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<p>I find it hypocritical as well. I believe that requiring the submission of all scores reveals that they are used for purposes other than evaluation.</p>
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<p>They should recognize your higher score as the better indicator of your potential, particularly if it was taken at a later date due to cognitive maturation, academic improvement, and so on.</p>
<p>Thanks for the wealth of information! My top school is Columbia, and they want all my scores, but according to their website, they superscore. However, the chart from the collegeboard momo provided says nothing about Columbia superscoring, just that they want all scores. </p>
<p>[Applications</a> & Admission Process | Columbia University Office of Undergraduate Admissions](<a href=“http://www.studentaffairs.columbia.edu/admissions/faq/admissions.php#6]Applications”>http://www.studentaffairs.columbia.edu/admissions/faq/admissions.php#6)</p>
<p>“When evaluating applicants, we consider only the highest testing results reported from individual sections of the SAT”</p>
<p>So I should assume the superscoring is legitimate? </p>
<p>and i agree with mifune. They’ll see the progression there, and will judge you mainly based on the better score.</p>