will schools know if you don't send all score reports?

I see on the college board website when I go to select my best scores “this school requires that all SAT scores be sent”. But it will still let me choose to not send all of my scores. So, if I only send my best scores to the school, how will they know that I am withholding some of my scores?

The College Board swears that colleges can;t tell. I am posting this here not to encourage cheating. Rather, because it gives me the chance to say that colleges should not set up situations that punish the honest students and that tempt honest students to either cheat or feel like fools. That is what colleges who insist on “all scores” are doing. It is unfair and a practice that needs to stop.

@lostaccount so I should consider not sending all scores if my first test is significantly lower than my most current one?

mw2016. No, that is not what I am implying. Just because a school dangles a temptation in front of you does not mean you have to nab it. Send them all because those are the rules. And to not do so starts you off on the wrong foot if you get in. You’ll always wonder about it and it is not worth selling your soul to get into a college.

Don’t lie. If your scores are included on your high school transcripts, colleges will know that you didn’t report all of them. Students who lie on their applications will likely be rejected, and if they aren’t, might have their acceptance or diploma rescinded. It’s not a risk you should take.

okay thanks I was just confused as to why college board would let you choose to “break the rules” and withhold scores if the college requires them.

There are so very many explanations for a bad set of scores-- everything from the onset of a cold or flu to the death of a pet to a breakup with a significant other.

Adcoms know that. They’re very likely to assume that the poorer set of scores was simply a sign of a bad day.

Don’t lie. Presents yourself as you are.

wait when a college requires you to send all your scores, you have no choice but to send all your scores. SAT automatically selects all scores so you cannot “unselect” the bad ones.

@rookie17 You can still unselect. There’s just a pop up saying that you aren’t complying with school policy. (I promise I didn’t try to cheat ahaha this happened even for schools that DID allow scorechoice because my reading score was the same across my two sittings of the SAT).

There is not reason to lie and skip an SAT score. If it is for ACT, I can understand the cost concern.