What to do about a big difference in CR versus Math SAT? ...

<p>On practice tests, my junior is getting about 150-200 points higher on Math then CR. His scores are NOT college confidential superstar scores. (CR is below national average.) ACT practice scores seem to be similar. Kiddo wants to go into engineering and has a language processing disability so none of this is a surprise but we're having a hard time figuring out where to target his apps. His school has Naviance but there doesn't seem to be anyone with his gpa and those SAT scores. (Most kids with his gpa score a good 300 points higher than he does.) Since he wants engineering, there really aren't any SAT-optional schools. I have found colleges where his math score is over the 75% and his CR is below the 25%. Any ideas where to target? Should we include a letter explaining the low CR? He's done a lot of practice and will continue to do so but CR is slow to improve.</p>

<p>What region of the country would your son like to be in?</p>

<p>Have him take both tests for real but DO NOT send the scores until you know what they are. For my daughter, with similar differencial in scores, her ACT better showcased her but in the end her SAT superscored looks good too, not jump off the page but good. She also took the SAT II in Math so that if she needed the subject tests but didn’t want to send her SAT scores she could send the ACT and subject tests since the ACT doesn’t make it so glaringly obvious where her strengths are. Also, make sure not to list your highschool when you register for the tests so the scores don’t inadvertantly end up on the transcript too. He’ll have options, he’ll just have to play up his strengths! :slight_smile: And, when he’s going into engineering, much better to show strengths in the math/science side of life.</p>

<p>Well, it would help to know what the SAT scores and GPA are. My younger son (not engineering bound) had higher SAT scores than most kids with his GPA. So far he’s into a reach and a safety. In his case because he loved the safety, we planned two safeties and seven reaches. After he got into one reach EA he decided not to apply to the second safety. </p>

<p>It was hard to determine what a match really was for him, even with our school’s Naviance. I think that for a kid who’s SAT scores are better than GPA you can assume the reaches are a little more likely to happen - especially if the kid can come up with a couple of great recommendations and great essays. (Which my kid did.) If not you should probably play it more conservatively. In general engineering schools are much more likely to forgive an iffy CR score.</p>

<p>Good idea to take both tests and wait on results before sending in.</p>

<p>Anywhere – he prefers something not too rural. We’re on the east coast and he’s always lived near a city and in a very diverse environment.</p>

<p>Union College is test-optional and has engineering. Also, there are quite a few state universities that are test-optional with a high enough GPA.</p>

<p>You could also look at 3/2 or 4/2 programs at test-optional colleges where there are good choices for an engineering school for the last two years, though that has obvious disadvantages of leaving for your senior year. An example would be Wake Forest -> Vanderbilt.</p>

<p>2college - another thought. Has your son figured out (based on the language processing problem) why he is missing the CR problems? Is it reading speed, comprehension, vocabulary? If he knows more specifically what the problem areas are, he might be able to bring that score up a bit. I think practice alone isn’t always helpful without knowing what you’re working on.</p>

<p>Just one more thing… WPI has a flex path for test-optional admission.</p>

<p>Calreader, Union is definitely on our list and we’re considering WPI. </p>

<p>I don’t think he knows why he’s missing so many. It’s the long passage that really sinks him. I think he’s just getting lost in the reading-- how dense and boring it is. He has taken some SAT classes but, like I said, the CR isn’t moving. I am setting him up with a tutor so perhaps that person could at least figure out what to work on with him.</p>

<p>I think a few one-on-one sessions with a skillful, well-trained tutor could be very helpful. I believe there are ways to read those passages more strategically, but the advice would have to be customized for him.</p>

<p>Yes, I’ve been told tutors are better for kids with lds. He actually earns Bs in Honors English at a very good public high school (top 100) so he shouldn’t be scoring below average on the CR but he does.</p>

<p>Have you considered Rochester Institute of Technology? Look at its web site. There is a nice, large variety of Engineering majors. I think (not sure) that GW is test optional if you apply early decision. GW has an engineering school. However, if you apply early decision, your chances for merit aid may be reduced (again, not 100% sure of the impact of early decision on financial aid). I also suggest that you provide your child with short on-line Math quizes to study for the SAT Math portion as it is easier to up the Math score than the reading score.</p>

<p>Thanks. We are planning to visit RIT (and Union) soon. RIT seems to have extensive disabilities help so that seems encouraging although their graduation rate isn’t that high. I do think his CR is below their range but they seem to take a lot of kids with lower gpa and overall SAT than my son. (The scores aren’t broken up on Naviance so I don’t know what the CRs look like.) I’ve been looking at a huge range of schools for him-- again, I’m just not sure where to focus.
There are a few schools where his math is in range but his CR is low (like Northeastern, Syracuse, Santa Clara, maybe even Rochester) and I’m thinking they may be too much of a reach. </p>

<p>Oh, and GW is interesting. It comes up in our Naviance but I honestly think that was someone with a strong hook to that specific school. I wouldn’t have thought GW is in the ballpark for my son.</p>

<p>The S of a friend of mine is applying this year with a “split profile,” very good math score but without a critical reading score to match (and English is his first language). I’m watching with great interest where he will get in. He is pre-med.</p>

<p>So far, he’s gotten into all the schools where his math scores put him in the top 25% of all applicants and his reading scores put him in the top 50% of all applicants. </p>

<p>He was rejected from his early decision school, at which he was in the top 25% of all applicants with his math score and in the bottom 25% with his CR score.</p>

<p>He was waitlisted at one school at which his math score put him in the top 50-75% bracket and his CR score put him in the bottom 25%.</p>

<p>I will be very interested to see how he fares when more of the schools where he is in the bottom half of the applicant class with his CR score and top 25% with his math score report.</p>

<p>My advice would be to make sure that your S’s final list has a few schools that he wouldn’t mind attending at which his math scores are in the top 25% and his CR scores are in the top 50%. After those schools are identified, then apply wherever he wants to…knowing his safety layer will provide a safety net.</p>

<p>Our Naviance shows GW with scores and grades all over the place. They are definitely willing to take a risk and accept some students with surprisingly low scores. It might be a reach, but definitely worth considering. It also has one of the few engineering schools that has a 50/50 M/F ratio. (At least according to the tour we went on.) My son hated GW because it has no real campus, but lots of kids love the location.</p>

<p>Would any of the Jesuit schools with engineering work for him? Some are less stringent about test scores and are more holistic in admissions. I would also think that they might be more flexible with a child who demonstrated interest in their schools. </p>

<p>2collegewego…may I ask how many kids you have? :slight_smile: For some reason, I thought all your kids were already in college. I didn’t realize you had a younger child. :)</p>

<p>mom, I do have kids at college but, no, they’re not all out of the nest. :slight_smile: The people I know who attended Jesuit schools loved them-- but they were generally white and Catholic. My kid is neither so I’m not sure if they would be a social fit, how they generally handle lds and how this kiddo would fare with the philosophy requirements they seem to have. (I remember looking at Catholic U because that seems to be a safety and has a good music program-- kiddo is a musician-- but I think it requires 4 philosophy classes which I don’t expect would be this kid’s forte.)</p>

<p>“Kiddo wants to go into engineering and has a language processing disability…”</p>

<p>First thing you should do is get your kid tested by a good educational psychologist to see if he qualifies for an accomodation on the SAT/ACT. If he qualifies, he can get up to double-time to sit for the exams, along with other accomodations (breaks, quiet room). This can make a substantive difference on the CR section for a kid with a language-related learning disability. Getting you kid tested properly by the right person who can generate the right kind of report can be pricey, but is an invaluable investment. There is no obligation to self-disclose to colleges that you had an accomodation.</p>

<p>You’re right. I’m in the process of having him retested now. Honestly, he needs double time but I doubt he’ll get more than time and a half. The high school will not provide double time (they give time and a half) and I think the CB will not generally give more time than the high school is providing. I did ask the psychologist why the high school doesn’t provide double time if the testing shows the kid needs that more time and she said because it triggers a different level of services and they don’t want to provide that because of $. I don’t know if that’s a state thing or a national thing but that has been my experience. It’s generally not as big a problem on high school tests because high school tests usually don’t have big blocks of reading.</p>

<p>If the CB determines that your son is eligible for double-time, and your high school won’t provide it (I’m not sure if you want to fight that battle, though you certainly would have the law on your side)–you can request another test location where double time is provided. You should definitely try to take advantage of whatever rights your son has with respect to his disability.</p>

<p>I believe that the CR section is probably the hardest test section to respond to tutoring. It’s also the one section of the test that best equates to cognitive IQ. Most kids can get their math and writing scores up with tutoring or coaching. Even more reason that you want your son to have the best chance to do his best on the exam.</p>