My dd is a junior and has taken the SAT twice. She scored 2160 her first sitting and 2230 second sitting (780M, 720W, 730R). All scores went up, so no superscoring. She did very little test prep, except a bit of self practicing. She has no intention of applying Ivy league. Her scores will easily get her into everywhere she is looking to apply, but she is searching for merit money, as she intends to go to graduate school and will be awarded no need based aid. She is inclined to be done and never take that dreaded test again. Would trying for a bit higher score make any difference for merit money, or is she high enough that it won’t make a difference anyway since she is above the 75th percentile at all of her school choices? She has a 4.0 with rigorous classes and tons of activities and community service. Should I encourage her to try the ACT or to try one more time since she has plenty of time, or is she right to just be done.
If she has always been a good tester, more practice probably won’t make much of a difference.
I would look at the college’s website(s) to see if her scores qualify for any merit scholarships. Usually merit only takes CR+M into consideration and 1500 is the magic qualifying number. She has achieved that already. I would say no, to her taking it again unless she is applying to super selective schools and thinks that she can improve it. What are the schools that she is interested in?
She’s looking at TCU, Chapman, Gonzaga, Scripps, Loyola Marymount, Pepperdine and University of Portland.
I agree with above poster - that outstanding SAT should be plenty to have your child admitted, but the merit awards can be significantly different. This is just an example, if you go to USD website (not on your list, but I think a peer school to Pepperdine and Chapman??) - they have a merit award calculator. For a 3.9 GPA, and a 1500 SAT (math and reading), it shows a $15,000 award. If the SAT gets up to 1540, the number jumps to $25,000. So, if your child is willing, I think it would be worth it to get as high as you can (and maybe try the ACT, too). DD2 took the ACT as a sophomore (just went along to support her older sister) and got a 34 - just one point in any section away from getting 35. We were so happy, I told her she didn’t need to take any more tests. Well, now I wish she had tried again for that extra point!
I have a daughter who received merit at Scripps — your daughter’s stats compare to my daughter’s. I have a son who applied to LMU (again with similar stats as your daughter) and was offered the opportunity to attend a special weekend to interview for scholarships (including a full ride scholarship). (He didn’t attend because he was accepted ED to Harvey Mudd).
I think her scores are fine for those schools. You might also consider Concordia in Irvine or Cal Lutheran in Thousand Oaks–my daughter was offered excellent scholarships at those schools.
Hope that helps!
I would say no to taking it again if this is her list and you’ve checked their merit stats. Does she want to take it again? I noticed TCU on her list. Have you looked up Trinity University in San Antonio? Great school in a great city with a lot of merit scholarships.
Thanks for the input. ClaremontMom your info was especially helpful and Goingnutsmom I will have her look at Triniity, don’t know much about it. All the schools we have looked at have maximum cuts well below her scores, so I think she is going to focus on her other activities.
@bsmom, genuinely curious about the reasoning for picking those colleges but avoiding ivy league schools. I do recognize a lot of those smaller California schools that she is applying to.
@testanalyst Well, that is a great question. My dd will not qualify for need based aid. She wants to go to grad/medical school and while we plan to fund her education we cannot justify spending $65K per year when we honestly believe that she will be successful wherever she attends. She feels the same way, and does not want to take on debt if she can graduate debt free, and believes she can get merit money from these schools. Additionally, she wants to be in a supportive environment that encourages her dreams, not a “weed out” cut throat place and right or wrong, that is her impression of life in an ivy. Does that make sense?