Which Schools? Best SAT Scores / Any Day vs. Best Total / Single Day

Parent Cafe
1

<p>Does anyone have a link to a site, post, etc., which lists the schools--like HYP--which compute the total SAT score from the best scores in each category from among all the tests the student has taken, and also those schools--like the Universite of California--which make that computation using the best scores from a single test day?</p>

<p>I've been having trouble finding out how certain schools operate in this regard by looking at their websites. A comprehensive lsit would make life a lot easier.</p>

<p>TIA.</p>

2

<p><a href="http://www.compassprep.com/admissions_req_subjects.aspx%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.compassprep.com/admissions_req_subjects.aspx&lt;/a> is a list that might help you. It is more about which subject tests are required by the specific colleges, but they also sometimes note the info you're interested in, AND they include a link directly to the testing policy pages (which can be hard to find) of each college's admissions website. This will save you some digging.</p>

<p>For what it's worth, I know of very few selective private colleges that only take total scores from one sitting. Most play the mix and match game. Of course, there may be a difference between what they "officially" consider which is what they then get to report to USNWR for rankings purpose, and what they actually are looking at and considering in the admissions process.</p>

3

<p>it is in every school's interest to play the "mix and match" game so they can boost their numbers (for rankings and alumni), so most private schools do.</p>

4

<p>2400</p>

<p>Thanks very much. "Digging" is an understatement.</p>

5

<p>2400SAT - very useful site, thanks.</p>

6

<p>Please take that site with a grain of salt. The SAT information for the first college I checked on the Compass site is incorrect according to information my son received directly from admissions. Furthermore, the college's webpage that is linked on Compass does not give the needed information. </p>

<p>If you have particular colleges in mind, your best bet is to check on their websites. If the information is not there (and it isn't for many) e-mail their admissions offices. Most will e-mail you back within a day.</p>

7

<p>I agree that once you've settled on a short list of colleges, you should absolutely be in contact with them directly, but there isn't a more comprehensive or updated list than <a href="http://www.compassprep.com/admissions_req_subjects.aspx%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.compassprep.com/admissions_req_subjects.aspx&lt;/a> if you want to get an overview of which caliber of colleges are requiring what tests. It sure is a lot better than the College Board's list at <a href="http://www.collegeboard.com/prof/counselors/apply/12.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.collegeboard.com/prof/counselors/apply/12.html&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p>

<p>Which college had the incorrect info? I found a mistake once and let them know and they updated it immediately.</p>

<p>Below is what they say on their site about how they manage the list:</p>

<p>Although the impetus for this list stemmed from changing Subject Test requirements in light of the New SAT, we have tried to make it as test neutral as possible. For the listed schools we have endeavored to determine policies on the SAT I (hereafter referred to as the Old SAT), the SAT Reasoning Test (the New SAT), the ACT (with and without the Essay), and the SAT Subject Tests (formerly SAT IIs). Both the College Board and the ACT have created sites to deal with their own slice of the world, but we feel that counselors, parents, and students benefit from seeing the full picture.</p>

<p>A Plea
We collected this information by searching hundreds of websites, placing dozens of calls, and cross-referencing it with as many sources as possible. But policies are in flux, mistakes creep in, and information is always changing. If you know of a school that we failed to include or of an incorrect policy, please send us an email at <a href="mailto:subject.tests@compassprep.com">subject.tests@compassprep.com</a>.</p>

<p>A Promise
We built this page to pull from a database that can be updated at any time. We promise that if we can verify a change, we will update the page immediately. We set out to create not a static list, but a useful ongoing resource for the college admissions community.</p>

<p>A Caveat
No list can replace the nuances of individual policies. Wherever possible we have tried to hew to the language that most closely fits what a school has on its website or told us in conversation. Realistically, however, there are as many shadings of "recommended" or "considered" as there are schools. Is the recommendation an indication that a student's application will be disadvantaged without Subject Tests, or does it merely reflect that admitted students will benefit from being able to place out of foreign language or mathematics requirements? We leave these deeper questions to the college counselors and college admissions officers, and that is exactly where we will point students in need of such answers. Again, if you feel that the list can be improved, please do not hesitate to let us know at <a href="mailto:subject.tests@compassprep.com">subject.tests@compassprep.com</a>.</p>

8

<p>sat:</p>

<p>which privates do not mix and match scores?</p>

9

<p>I can't think of any off the top of my head, but I'm sure some do. Anyone else know? This would be a good list to start.</p>

10

<p>that's why I asked the q....I don't know of any either, but your earlier post (#2) indicated that you knew of some....quite frankly, I'd be surprised if ANY privates do, since it is not in their best interest to do so....</p>

11

<p>University of California system--best single day sitting.</p>

12

<p>but UC is public. </p>

<p>bluebayou, I guess I was thinking more about the distinction between what's considered for admissions purposes and what's reported externally for ranking purposes. you're right that it would be crazy for a private not to report best subscores to US News, etc, and if I can think of one that doesn't, I'll let you know.</p>

<p>What I think is interesting (and the real gist of this thread) is that there are some colleges who state adamantly that they truly only CONSIDER the best scores, whereas there are other colleges who admit (more honestly, IMO) that they do look at everything, which I take to mean that they do consider, to some degree, the trends on a student's testing transcript, the number of times the student took the test, the best score from one date, etc, especially when they're trying to make a tough decision. For example, here's a snippet from Wesleyan's FAQ:</p>

<p>Q: Will you take the best split of any test or only of one particular kind of SAT?</p>

<p>A: On current testing reports we see all tests now and will use whatever we have in the context of all the other information. For profile purposes we will continue to use the highest score on any given section.</p>

13

<p>excellent point, sat....perhaps we'll never know the "real" answer. </p>

<p>In the (admittedly) few private college info sessions I've attended, each college clearly said that they take the highest score of each SAT section, regardless of how many time the test was taken. A UC adcom said that they will accept the highest one sitting test score, regardless of number of times taken.</p>