The pscyhological difference between 690/700 and 790/800... what do you think?

Applying to College
1

<p>Salespeople often say it. Pricing something at $99.99 makes it seem cheaper and thus more appealing to a potential customer.</p>

<p>So, although the difference between the two is only by one measly question, do you think adcoms will be more impressed if a score is a 700 rather than a 690, or an 800 instead of a 790? Perhaps this sounds ludicrous, but I feel like some may see the '7' or the '8' and automatically register a 700 as being superior to a 690 or an 800 as superior to an 790. It's more of an internal, subconscious thing, really.</p>

<p>Just in case you were wondering, I have a 690M and 690 CR for the SAT I, although I did get an 800 in W. So this is quite relevant to me. :)</p>

2

<p>I’ve always been told that the difference between a 690 and a 700 is huge. I also hear that a 790 is as good as an 800.</p>

3

<p>^I’m going to go ahead and second that (personally)…but on admissions decisions, the difference between 690 and 700 is nothing.</p>

4

<p>

</p>

<p>I dunno… I mean, obviously it doesn’t have a major effect, but adcoms that see a ‘7’ in front will probably automatically register the score as being superior to any score with a ‘6’ in front of it, even though the difference between 690 and 700 is one question. Same goes for 790 v 800. It’s just frustrating… if I’d gotten 1 more M question and one more CR question correct, I’d have 700CR, 700M, 700W for a 2200 composite, which appears to be considerably stronger, even though it’s really not.</p>

<p>This is probably as extreme as paranoia can get, huh? :)</p>

5

<p>Human nature being what it is, we can’t ignore when we see an 800. Admissions officers know this too.</p>

<p>I was chatting with one admissions officer one day and he mentioned how he would like his office to code SAT scores on the applicant profiles in advance, in order to eliminate that bias. For example 800-780 might be assigned A, 730-770: B, 690-720: C, etc. (this is hypothetical for illustration only). </p>

<p>Since it’s acknowledged that there’s no real difference between a 790 and 800, the file reader would only see “A” instead and not be swayed by the actual score.</p>

6

<p>^That sounds like a brilliant idea.</p>

<p>Fortunately, I’m only a junior, so when I retake this spring, my 690’s will hopefully rise to numbers with ‘7’ in the front of them. :)</p>

7

<p>dec, I think the difference here is a little more than just psychological. If you go to collegeboard website find a particular school, and look at the “How do I stack up” boxes, you find that they have data for what percent of the recent incoming class has scores 700-800, 600-699, etc. Since a 690 doesn’t look as good for the school stats as a 700, it obviously is a benefit to be in that top level. OTOH, 790 vs 800 doesn’t carry much extra weight. Good luck getting over that hump!</p>

8

<p>700+700+700=2100</p>

9

<p>sylvan8798 - See what I mean! Glad you agree. :)</p>

<p>It’s quite frustrating. After a junior year of 3 AP classes and much work, those two 690’s will become 700’s at the least… I mean, they’ve got to right? Lol.</p>

10

<p>I would agree with sylvan8798. I suspect, mostly based on how admissions folks I know talk and the way in which most schools post stats, that the jump from 690 to 700 carries more weight than is really reasonable.</p>

11

<p>Let us say the middle 50% in SAT math is between 700-760 and your score is 790. You are already in the top 25% possibly in the top 5% of the range. 800 may be in the top 3% of the range (as an example). You are already a very competitive candidate and there are very few candidates in that range. The difference between 790 and 800 may not make any difference, it is all the other factors that will come in.</p>

<p>As an example, if you have a score of 690, you are in the bottom 25%. There would be many many candidates with a 700 and hence you are already in weak zone. The fact that you are not even in the 25th percentile could hurt you in more ways than one.</p>

<p>On the other hand, if the middle 50% was 650 to 720, the difference between 690 and 700 will be less significant.</p>

<p>Again this is just a generalization, but further (lower) away that your score is from the middle 50%, your chances go down considerably. At the high end the difference between 790 and 800 usually will not be significant.</p>

<p>At the low end, the difference of even 10 points could be very significant, depending on where you score is in relation to the middle 50%. So rather than talk hypothetically, look at this in terms of the schools you are looking at.</p>

<p>For example at Yale, these are middle scores</p>

<p>SAT Critical Reading 25th-75th percentile range: 700-800
SAT Math 25th-75th percentile range: 700-780
SAT Writing 25th-75th percentile range 700-790</p>

<p>So, with a 700, your chances are very difficult as you would be in the bottom of range, but 690 it will be even more difficult as you are below the 25% percentile.</p>

<p>For Marquette University which is ranked 75 in USNWR, there would be very little difference between a 690 and 700 as 690 is in the top 25%</p>

<p>SAT Critical Reading 25th-75th percentile range: 540-640
SAT Math 25th-75th percentile range: 540-660
SAT Writing 25th-75th percentile range 530-640</p>

12

<p>^Thanks for that. :)</p>

<p>Unfortunately, Yale is my top-choice school, so a 700 or higher is a must for M and CR. Fortunately, I’m a hooked applicant (Hispanic, fluent in Spanish), so my scores don’t have to be 2300+ for my chances to be good. But I would feel far more comfortable with a 700, preferably a 720 or higher, on those two sections. Thankfully, I got an 800 in W, so my score for that section is a non-issue and may help me out a bit in respect to my other two sections’ scores.</p>

<p>Anyways, it’s still a year and a few months til I send in my app for Yale SCEA, so this is quite early. But I’m glad I got some insight and input on this issue.</p>

13

<p>for uc’s at least they look at your composite score but i think its the same idea.<br>
1890 way worse then 1900
1990 way way worse then 2000.</p>

<p>I have given it a lot of thought, i have a 1890, ugggg</p>

14

<p>

</p>

<p>I’m no expert, but I don’t think that it’s ‘way worse’. It’s a composite; your individual section scores probably matter more. Plus, it’s only one more question correctly on the entire test: there’s no way it would have a significant impact… I mean, 10 points out of 2400 points… c’mon.</p>

15

<p>well then if you apply to UC’S you wont have this problem because they dont look at individual scores, only composites</p>

16

<p>Admissions officers are not immune to the irrational psychological problems that plague others. So 700 is more better than 690 than 710 is better than 700. But, for example, is 1900 more better than 1890 than 1910 is better than 1900? That depends on whether admissions officers actually see the combined score.</p>

17

<p>EDIT: Haha nevermind.</p>

<p>Thanks silverturtle, I understand your point.</p>