<p>I think this is rather common, especially for girls. </p>
<p>I agree with trying the ACT. You might hit the SAT again too. There are some “strategies” (common sense to me) that girls are not good at. They are reputed to be more “linear” in their approach to the test, meaning that they are at risk for getting stuck on some question or problem that they don’t know well, and consuming time that would be better spent by skipping it and coming back after you’ve answered all the ones that you clearly do know (this applies mostly to math). Maybe you’ve already reflected about that, but maybe not. The math section, IMO, requires you to quickly recognize problems that you struggle with and to relegate them to your time available after dealing with the problems that you are certain that you have mastered. </p>
<p>Also, if her AP test scores show that the SAT is an aberration, that will be taken into account. </p>
<p>I’m guessing that her score pattern is 700ish verbal, 600ish math, and 700 ish writing. You’ll get better guidance/feedback if you’ll report the math/reading total or individual approximations, as most schools don’t care much about the writing part.</p>
<p>There is plenty of room for improvement from multiple sittings. A lot of people take a big jump up senior year. You can also, I think, get yourself a “free” last chance if you take the SAT one last time after you’ve applied and sent your scores. If the score comes back as a big positive, pay the $ and have the last scores sent. If it doesn’t add anything, just don’t pay to have that score sent anywhere. Obviously don’t sign up for the free school reports when you register for the test if you follow this approach. </p>
<p>One last note on this…my D has a friend who bombed on ACT & nailed the SAT. It’s not that one is easier than the other…its just that some students like one, others like the opposite. As far as accepting it, I don’t know of a single top-tier school that doesn’t accept it as the only score needed (with some of the Ivys also requesting subject tests). </p>
<p>Can you describe what she has done to prepare for the SAT? And, if she’s already taken it 3 times since this fall, how much time, really, did she have to prepare for subsequent testings? That just seems like a lot of tests and not much time to study. What was her PSAT score–was it in line with these SAT scores? Has she also had disappointing AP scores–is she someone who panics when under pressure? I agree with the other posters that it may be best to try the ACT at this point, but I think you should also be considering how she can prepare better. For instance, did she take full length practice tests under timed conditions?</p>
I just wanted to point out I think this is absolutely untrue. All schools accept both the SAT and ACT, and only one school states it has a preference (a CA school for the ACT). From what I’ve read the schools use concordance tables to equalize the scoring. <a href=“http://www.act.org/aap/concordance/pdf/reference.pdf”>http://www.act.org/aap/concordance/pdf/reference.pdf</a> As a matter of fact the ACT overtook the SAT in the number of students taking it a couple of years ago. </p>
<p>Take the energy that could be sucked out of your home worrying about more testing, and apply it to finding schools which meet her academic needs/interests based on the profile she has today.</p>
<p>Yes- she could bring her scores up with more prep. Or not. Yes- she could do better with the ACT. Or not. But at the end of the day, this is a kid that will thrive in college, and there are dozens of fantastic places that would love to have her right now, as she is, no more test prep.</p>
<p>Your d’s test scores put her in the top 10% of test takers. I have two comments/questions.<br>
Why are you thinking there is a huge discrepancy between her grades and test scores?<br>
What this little gap says to me is that your d is a hard worker. That’s a good thing, not something that needs fixing. </p>
<p>ACTs own research shows that, as a predictor of academic success, grades alone are a better measure than test scores alone. Both high grades and high test scores are an even better predictor. Your d really does have both. </p>
<p>Yes, try the ACT. My own d has similar scores on both tests. Some kids do perform better on one than the other. Some kids don’t. </p>
<p>Admission to the University of MI is very competitive out-of-state and pretty competitive in-state. According to the UMIch admissions website, the SAT scores for the middle 50th percentile of admitted students (for the 2013 Freshman class) were 650-740 (CR) and 680-780 (Math).</p>
<p>And those averages are for all admitted students, both in- and -out-of-state.</p>
<p>The oos admission rate for UMich has been below 30% already. It was 30% when the over all admission rate was much higher. It is expected to have a near 30% overall admission rate this year that the oos admission rate may be below 25%.
The GPA of OP’s daughter is not the problem as it is above the admission average of 3.85. It is the far below 25% SAT score and oos status that hurt her chance. Try to bring up the CR+M to 1400+ (or 2100+ for composite) for a better chance. I agree that she should try ACT and aim at 31+ for a better chance. These are around the admission average score for UMich.</p>
<p>She sounds a bit like my daughter. Great, hard working student but her SAT was not on par. She then took the ACT and found the test quite easy. She wound up with a 34.</p>
<p>It’s already been said, but don’t underestimate the differences between the SAT and ACT. Some students just perform better on one test or the other. Most schools take either exam.</p>
<p>She has had private SAT tutoring, she takes many practice tests at home, and she takes practice tests under timed, testing conditions at a local tutoring center that offers that. She took one SAT in the fall (I think it was Oct or Nov), and two this semester. Her PSAT was lower than her SATs. She had two APs last year – scored 4 and 5. </p>
<p>
I know this, and you know this, but my D is set on a “prestige” college. My husband and I would be thrilled with any of these, especially the SUNY schools, GW, American. I would love to get her off her high horse. In the meantime, I am walking the line between helping her to achieve what she wants AND gently guiding her toward those colleges mentioned above. But any time I mention, say, Syracuse or SUNY Binghamton, she takes it as “evidence” that I do not have confidence in her. Sigh.</p>
<p>
If you look on Naviance, she is the only one with her GPA who has test scores in that range. Follow the y axis way up high to reach her GPA point, but her SAT is waaay to the left (on x axis) of the other SAT scores at the height. Literally, she has the absolute lowest scores at her GPA level. I know she is in the top 10% of test takers, but she is not competitive WITHIN HER GPA PEERS.
BINGO! She is a hard worker. Doesn’t need to be fixed.</p>
<p>I think what this all comes down to is that she is afraid that the MOST competitive schools will disregard her – will throw her out – will not acknowledge her hard work – all because of her scores. The fear of being dismissed as unworthy, even with her standing at a highly competitive HS, is what is stressing her out.</p>
Gotcha. Understood. But she does have a point that her GPA peers have scored way higher than her, possibly putting her at a disadvantage with her GPA peers, the cohort that will be applying to the same schools as her.</p>
<p>The fact that none of her test scores are up in the range you might have expected makes me think that more is going on here than just “she needs to review geometry” or “her grammar is weak”. That’s a lot of data points and they are all lower than expected. Does she have any thoughts on why she isn’t doing as well as she thinks she could? Perhaps this tutor isn’t as helpful as you might think? Why is she missing questions, does she simply not know the answers? Is she confused about the types of questions they are asking? Is she running out of time or not pacing herself correctly? Is she rushing and making careless errors or not reading carefully enough?</p>
<p>I would encourage her to take serious look at the test optional schools. Granted there are no Ivies on the list but there are many great schools that are test optional. </p>
<p>OP- I feel for you. But based on what you’ve posted, your D has already done the test prep/tutor/timed test thing, and four datapoints (PSAT plus three SAT’s) seem to be consistent about where her scores are.</p>
<p>I don’t think your D should spend the next 11 months beating herself up over her SAT’s. They clearly don’t represent her academic ability, and they are not predictive of what her life is going to be like.</p>
<p>Find a couple of schools where she is in the “likely to be accepted” range, and one or two which are a reasonable (but not huge risk) based on her stats today. Get her excited about those schools- and if it needs to be somewhere that her classmates don’t typically apply to, or have never heard of, so much the better. I had no POV on Whitman, good or bad, since I’d never heard of it, until someone who I thought was a fantastic student and a very “deep” thinker went there. Then Boom- Whitman on my radar screen as a great school.</p>
<p>Look at the Naviance data for the women’s colleges- Mt Holyoke, Bryn Mawr and Smith especially. They are still a great option for a studious and serious kid. Do kids like your D get into those schools?</p>
<p>Look outside your geography where your D brings something to the table. Don’t try to “sell” a list of schools where the clearly inferior students in your town end up- I think that will be demoralizing. Figure out the list of places which would love to have your D where she doesn’t feel some sort of stigma.</p>
<p>Then by application time, you’ll either have a stronger set of scores to present (ACT), in which case a couple of the high reach schools stay on the list, or not- in which case you’ve got a robust list of great places which your D is excited about.</p>
<p>And suffice it to say- she can only attend one college, so she doesn’t need a list of 15 schools she can get into and where she’s excited to go. She needs to fall in love with a couple of places which are realistic options for her.</p>
<p>But to beat herself up over her scores? Seems unproductive to me especially since she’s such a great student.</p>