I remember seeing on the UVA admissions blog that the AOs only see the superscore since a computer program strips out the lower scores before it reaches an applicant’s review file. I’d think many schools with a large number of applicants do the same.
@LeastComplicated ironically, it seems like your making it a lot more complicated than you need to if you’re trying to build out a standardized test strategy based on super-scoring. If you haven’t done so already, my recommendation would be make sure your kid takes both the SAT and ACT to determine which one he or she is most comfortable with, and to determine what target scores he or she will need to be competitive for admission and merit.
Regarding super-scoring, some schools do it for SAT, some do not. Some schools do it for ACT, some do not. Some schools require all test scores, others do not. My understanding is that in any case the schools will only see the test results that you authorize the College Board and ACT to send them. If you don’t have the College Board or ACT send a specific set of results, the schools will not see them and will not use them in their super-scoring or application evaluation. Whether the AOs (or anyone else) sees the details for each exam or just a final “best” score automatically calculated seems a bit trivial.
The real answer is: It depends.
First you have to determine if the college participates in Score Choice, which means that the applicant picks which scores he wants to send. Within the schools that participate in Score Choice, some will only see the superscore because a computer assembles it before the reader gets the package. Other Score Choice schools schools allow you to send whichever scores you want, but look at all the scores you choose to send. Some schools don’t participate in Score Choice – they require the applicant to send all scores. Among those, some say they only consider the highest from each section.
MOST schools do some form of superscoring. I will reiterate the suggestion of @calmom in post #10. CC won’t let me link to it, but Compass Prep has an excellent, continuously updated list of colleges’ policies…
The CSUs in California super score SAT and ACT (like tests only) and just plug the result into a formula with recalculated GPA to get an eligibility index that is used for admission (applicants are ranked by eligibility index within buckets by campus and major).
Everyone - the common app has a spot for students to enter their ACT or SAT scores and within each subscore they specifically ask for the HIGHEST scores across all sittings. Next to each subscore, you enter the date of the test. Therefore, the superscoring is handled on the common app. It is the students responsibility to send the official tests for any score dates they have entered on the common app. I am assuming a computer automatically verifies these scores vs the self reported ones on the common app, or maybe not - maybe the adcom does a check.
This is exactly from the common app (ACT section):
Number of past ACT scores you wish to report
Have you taken the ACT Plus Writing test?
Number of future ACT sittings you expect
Highest composite score-
Composite date-
Highest English score-
English date-
Highest math score-
Math date-
Highest reading score-
Reading date-
Highest science score-
Science date-
Highest Combined English/Writing or Writing Subject Score -
Writing date -
Edited to add - and this is how it works at the common app level so schools that require all scores and don’t super score see the same thing as schools that super score. My guess is that schools that don’t superscore ignore the student reported scores and just look at what is sent directly from the reporting agencies.
@lloyddobler85 UVA says that they look at the highest sub scores but they do not compute a new composite score, they still look at your highest composite score.from a single test.
“It depends” is correct.
Almost every school is paperless and could teach their system to superscore for them. Whether they do is something you can ask them and some won’t feel compelled the answer the question. [Here’s the blog post I wrote about how we set our system up](Notes from Peabody: The UVA Application Process: UVA's Policy on the New SAT). This is from 2015, so ignore the part about the writing/essay sections. We don’t even load those anymore. You’ll see references to the old and new SAT…that’s clearly not an issue these days. 
ETA: In the olden days of paper files (2008 for us), our system was still able to select the scores before we got to the file. We had it printed on a sheet of general info that got inserted into the file. I vaguely remember circling the highest test scores myself, but that must have been 2001-2005. Most schools should have programmed their systems to select the scores for them by now.
Actually, the chart on the Compass site shows that ~115 colleges either require or recommend submission of all scores – or at least all ACT or all SAT – for whatever reason. There are discussions on other threads about what “recommend” means in college admission – in my view I would say to do what the college asks unless there is a strong reason not to.
I think that @TheGreyKing (post #13) is correct – most colleges aren’t using the scores the way that the applicants think they do. They aren’t averse to accepting students with lower scores within their range – but they do want to keep their ranges at a certain level for reporting (and ranking purposes). So if a particular college’s CDS stats show a 25-75% score range 600-700 SAT reading… then it would want to admit enough students with high scores so that they will be enrolling 25% of students with scores of 700+, and no more than 25% with scores under 600. I’m sure that they factor that in on a collective scale during the admission process. But on an individual basis, it may not be a major factor in the admissions decision. In the above example, they would be happy to have half of their students in the 600-700 band, so a score of 620 vs 690 may not make much difference at all to them — either way, it is within their median – no added value to admit that student, but no negative either — the focus would then be on all the other admission factors
So I do think applicants often overthink the process and it may not be particularly beneficial to retake the test for only a marginal increase in scores – although probably worthwhile to pay attention to the band ranges typically reported by the schools. That is, there is no statistical difference at all between a 690 or 700 – both are within the same margin of error – but the 700+ scores will end up showing up as a higher band, so may be added value the college.
Since colleges report SAT math & reading scores separately… most can do pretty well if they admit plenty of students with only one score in the 700+ range … with the students with strong reading scores but weaker math counterbalancing the ones with stronger math, weaker reading. Of course, it’s even better if the applicant has high scores on both math & reading… but the higher scores are only helpful to the college if the student actually enrolls. So that’s where considerations of yield start to come into play as well — which is another reason why higher test scores tend to attract more generous merit aid offers. (But plenty of high scoring students puzzled by waitlist decisions, because the yield prediction might very well outweigh the impact of the test scores).
Thanks everyone! Especially @“Dean J” !! The input is helpful.
I didn’t mean for this to get so complicated (good one @shortnuke :)) but I leaned a few things I wasn’t aware of - as did a few other folks I’m sure.
@suzyQ7 Her top choice school requires the Coalition App and it has similar data fields, but is a little different. It asks how many times a student has taken the test (not how many they wish to report like the Common App) and then ask for the highest subscores and on what date those subscores occurred. It also asks, like the Common App, how many more attempts the applicant is planning. However, the Coalition App doesn’t require the entry of the highest composite score unlike the Common App.
As mentioned upthread, who knows how the number of test sittings influences AO’s. Or knowing if an applicant is planning on testing (and how many) in the future. There’s got to be a reason for that. For the latter, maybe to flag a borderline applicant for further consideration? I’m scratching my head on that one.
^Likely they just want to know if an applicant is taking a last minute test. For example, many colleges have an EA deadline of 11/1, but will allow scores to be sent through 11/30.
@LeastComplicated One tricky thing about both the Common and Coalition apps though is that I think that each school is able to select what data they receive from the general sections of the apps and which ones they don’t (or they just ignore them). D18 applied to 5 schools through the Coalition App. I believe that three of them (UF, FSU, and Pitt) required submitting grades through a separate process even though the Coaltion app has a section for entering HS grades. My assumption is that Pitt, FSU, and UF didn’t even receive the Coalition app data. This could be the same for SAT and ACT scores at some schools.
One question further. I know schools say recommended but for those who ask for all related scores to be sent, how does that relate to the SAT2. If you are sending in the SAT2 scores but would rather use your ACT score not SAT(took both ACT is better), do you need to sent in all SAT scores?
Again, the individual college sets the rules and gives direction. In general, unless they say they require all scores for both SAT/ACT, then you can send in ACT plus Subject Tests without SAT scores. But check with the college to make sure.
Thank you!
To the extent to which a school does not require submission of all tests taken, at what point is it worth omitting a test even if it lowers the composite score? Please consider the following:
Test #1: English (27) + Math (31) + Reading (32) + Science (33) & Writing 8 = 31
Test #2: English (32) + Math (35) + Reading (30) + Science (31) & Writing 9 = 32
Test #3: English (29) + Math (35) + Reading (24) + Science (35) & Writing 8 = 31
Composite: English (32) + Math (35) + Reading (32) + Science (35) & Writing 8 = 34
Student needs all three tests to super score to a 34, however, using all 3 shows awful Reading score (Test 3), low English score (Test 1), and lower Science score (Test 2).
If the super score is simply marked on the file by the intake person and the actual AO may not even go beyond that, then great; 34! However, if the tests are reviewed in detail, it is clear that the student was never able to do better on one test than 31-32, and that there are some big inconsistencies, particularly in Reading.
Caveats: (i) Student is a prospective Electrical Engineering/Computer Science major; (ii) Test #3 was the final test with the focus being on gaining the points needed to super score to a 33 or 34, particularly focusing on the Science section, and (iii) Student is not applying to Ivies, but will probably apply ED to Top 40 school, e.g., BU.
Any guidance and insights will be much appreciated.
I’d probably send in #3 and #2 and assume they’ll think that the earlier Reading test was a fluke or that he’s since learned how to read. (Or more accuarately how to take that test!)