Since I have to send all of my scores, I’m rather nervous about my chances because the 3 sats that I took were all relatively low, around 2000 each time, while each of my ACTs increased each time i took it up to a 33. Do you think UPenn will care that much about my 3 lower SAT scores assuming that the rest of my application is good?
bump
No. They only look at the highest composite on the highest test (or superscored for the SAT)
I feel they do, no matter what they say. If they don’t then why do they ask for all scores? Like think about it, they are prob gonna look differently at a person who took the SAT once or twice did well (2200+) than a person who took the SAT three times, did poorly and had to switch to ACT and did ok. Also in most cases people who take the ACT do so because they have not been able to score well on the SAT, and admissions officers know this.
But the two tests are for different types of people. You can’t hold someone accountable for being better at solving straightforward yet more difficult problems than they are at solving extremely basic problems hidden at the bottom of an ocean of unnecessary words and other linguistic garbage. The SAT is strictly a reading comprehension test, and the ACT tests knowledge. Admissions also knows this @Penn95
There is no factual basis for the above claim. Based on the actual count of test takers, the ACT is more popular in the midwest and the SAT is more popular on the East and West coast.
The statistical count, albeit some 4 years old, of test takers can be seen at:
There is little merit in disparaging one test over the other. They’re different. In fact the SAT by dropping the writing part of the exam is moving closer to the ACT. For most applicants to very selective colleges it’s prudent to take both exams.
I actually straight up asked an admissions counselor the other day why they require all testing. He says that a lot of it is for research purposes, not for admissions. They want to track students throughout their careers at Penn and see how closely the tests (and the subscores) reflect potential for academic success. For example, he told me that for the new ACT and SAT they’re not requiring the writing section, because research has shown that it doesn’t predict success in college.
He also told me to rest assured, that they legitimately consider your highest score in admissions. They will look at all scores, but if you have a 31 and a 34, for example, they will consider you a “34 student.”