To submit SAT scores or not?

Hi everyone, our son is applying early action to several schools this fall. He’s trying to decide whether to submit his SAT scores to each school.

He took the test once, and got a combined 1240. We’ve looked at the middle 50% scores for accepted students at each school, and in some cases he’s close to average score, and in other’s he’s close to the 25th percentile. Any suggestions for when to submit them? Rutgers, for instance, has a middle 50% range of 1240-1470, so he’s at the 25th percentile. I’ll add that his GPA and extracurriculars are strong, but not extraordinary. He’s taken a lot of AP classes, and usually gets Bs.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts!

-J

For each school, it’s going to depend on where his SAT score falls within the middle-50 range for that school, and how selective the school is.

For Rutgers, I would not submit that score.

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Thank you! Anyone have anything else to add?

If the score doesn’t support his academic achievement (and from what you describe, I don’t think a 1240 does), then I wouldn’t submit. The only time that one should submit a score that is less than 50th% for accepted applicants would be when the school might have expected an even lower score than the applicant got, and in that context, the score is reassuring. For example, a B+ student from a very low-standards poor area, or perhaps from a racial/socioeconomic group that tends to have very low SATs might submit a 25th% score, because the college would be reassured that it is not worse than that.

Good advice: in his case, don’t submit if below the average for admitted students.

Thank you!

I would not submit a 1240.

I’m not suggesting you submit. Will only point out that if the only kids that submit are those that are above the 50th percentile then over time the reported range of SAT scores for that school are going to shift higher and higher until it completely misrepresents the expected academic achievement of the kids that are really getting admitted.

This is the problem with test optional. Either a school should say “we don’t care about your SAT/ACT, don’t submit it” (some have done that) or make the school test required.

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The advice generally given by counselors in this area (private HS), is that unhooked kids generally should submit if the score is at or above the 25th%ile in the test-optional era, unless a specific school has said NOT to submit a specific score.

Yes, your point is why we continue to get posts like the OPs.

Some colleges are stating that they want your tests scores just for their statistics. They state clearly that they will not consider the scores if the scores don’t be fit the application. They still want the information though. The schools are mostly all test optional, afaik.

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