Hello,
Many colleges take the position that they will Superscore test results, but recommend sending all test scores from all dates. For example, on Tufts website it clearly says: “It is Tufts’ longstanding admissions policy to use a student’s highest score for each section of the SAT or the ACT regardless of the test date. Accordingly, Tufts recommends that applicants submit all testing from all test dates.”
Can someone please tell me if this is a practical requirement or not, and whether this policy has a direct influence on admissions? Is anyone aware of examples where a student was accepted based on a Superscore and offer was rescinded because applicant did not submit all scores from all dates? I find it disheartening that we could submit every test score, and xyz applicant only submits his/her two best sections - and both applicants took the SAT multiple times. It only seems natural to me that if two applicant scores are the same Admissions would favor the applicant who only appears to have taken the exam “once”.
Thanks
This is a case where recommend ≠ required. Send the scores you want based upon the school’s policy. Personally, I think some students put too much time and energy into strategizing which scores to send to whom, but that’s just me. Also note that some schools place all scores on the HS transcript.
Never happened.
It this hypothetical situation, you are assuming that all other things are equal,but all other things are never equal. I have never heard of a case where an applicant was rejected solely for not being a one-and-done,
Every school does this differently. They set their own rules based on their perspectives on admissions. It varies from best single seating to super, super score, which combines the best scores across platforms of both the SAT and ACT. You may have an opinion, well reasoned, on which is best, but the schools could care less.
Thank you. The crux of my question comes from this. My son has a 1490 (790 + 700) on his first exam from the spring. We are receiving some guidance that he shouldn’t take the exam again because:
a) Students often score less on the second try.
b) If he does score less, he lost the “one and done” impression. Additionally, if he HAS TO report exam #2, which would be less that #1, it’s not ideal if he shows a drop 6 months after exam #1.
If we are only “required” to send his best scores - that’s different than “encouraged” to send all scores. If that’s the case, he’s inclined to take the test again next weekend.
ED choice is a reach school.
Thank you.
And, this is a completely random question, sorry…but if you truly have control over what Admissions can see, have you heard of students only taking one section of the SAT, because said section is the only one you could improve upon, and therefore decide to skip the other section? For example, you have an 800 in Math and a 700 in Verbal so you only take the verbal section and deliberately skip Math - I understand, you’d get a Zero, but if you didn’t have to report it, does it matter?
The crux of my answers will always come down to this: why would a kid not want to put together the best application possible if the benefit-cost ratio is positive?
I’m sure some person has tried it. But your kid shouldn’t. He can’t leave early anyway, and he might risk getting a cancelled score if part is blank, although I suppose he could just randomly bubble.
Again, this is meaningless. Maybe one random AO will care - most won’t.
Should he retake (and again, for me, that means both parts)? It depends. Is Tufts the example real? If yes, then yes because the 700 is on the low side for Tufts. If the 790 goes down slightly, who cares? But if he can get a bit of a bump up from 700, it can only help, and certainly will not hurt.