<p>My son has taken both the SAT and ACT and the scores seem to be pretty similar. His ACT composite is 28 and that's slightly higher than his SAT of 1240/1860. But, when you look into the individual sections, his ACT "should've" only been about a 25-26. It was a high reading section that brought his composite up. His SAT scores have an 80 point spread between CR and M.</p>
<p>I can look at data and see where his SAT scores fit in with enrolled students. But I usually see only ACT composite scores reported. I occasionally see Eng and Math scores and I've never seen the reading or writing scores reported. Often his composite puts him well within the 50th percentile but then his math and English scores are typically in the bottom 25% wherever those scores are also reported. The ACT scores are far more often out of range than any of his SAT scores.</p>
<p>Aside from merit awards the specifically state requirements, should I treat his SAT scores as the better scores and send those? Is it safe to assume that schools who report the ACT subsections care as much about those scores as the composite?</p>
<p>This so much depends on the schools in question; if it were my student and I don’t know your list, I would send both and let the schools decide which to use…can’t hurt given your description</p>
<p>Believe it or not, there are schools that superscore ACROSS tests…</p>
<p>Send both. The high ACT reading score will be attractive to colleges, they love to see students who can handle the density and depth of college reading, no matter what the major.</p>
<p>Colleges are aware of rankings. A factor in how they are ranked by Newsweek, Princeton Review, etc. is SAT /ACT scores. Those publications that do the rankings get their data from the “Common Data Set” that every college is required to complete. For test scores of incoming freshman , on the SAT both the CR & M are reported in percentiles. For the ACT, only the composite is required to be reported. If your son is at the 50th percentile on the ACT composite, but below in either the CR or M, report only the ACT. Colleges are forced to play alot of games with their stats (one is to offer delayed entry in Spring semester, so the students stats aren’t counted against them, etc.).</p>
<p>You should send both because they both are great. Plus it will look better then somebody who got just one of those, without taking the other. It can’t hurt to send a great ACT score along with a similar SAT score.</p>