Since Covid, I haven’t really had any “testing strategy” conversations with clients. So many colleges have been test-optional that test scores just haven’t been a big deal. The pattern for almost all of the students has been the same: they take the SAT when it’s administered at their school, get their scores, and then decide if they’ll submit test scores to the colleges they’re applying to. A few took the SAT a second time, but even those avoided the sorts of long and anxious conversations that I used to have with students: trying to figure out whether to take the SAT, ACT, or both; trying to figure out how many times to take the test and what kind of test prep course to take; trying to figure out what a good score is. For the past few years, the students I work with simply haven’t spent much time trying to figure those things out.
But I think that’s going to change.
While most colleges are still not requiring tests, and some refuse to even look at test scores, a few have decided that they will again require some form of standardized tests. First MIT made a big splash with their announcement, and recently Dartmouth, Yale, and Brown have followed. I could kind of pretend those don’t matter, because very few of my clients apply to any of those specific schools. But this month UT Austin announced that they will also require testing again, and virtually all my clients apply there (I’m in Houston).
So it’s time to re-think testing strategy, and this is what I am now recommending.
The first step is to take a test. Take the SAT, ACT, or both. If they give one or the other at your school during the school day, excellent. If not, then find out where you can take one near you. (Here are the ACT testing dates, and here are the SAT testing dates.) If possible, don’t make decisions based on the PSAT or a practice test—use a real and usable score as your baseline for making all other decisions. Some students like to take both the SAT and ACT, in case they score significantly better on one. That’s understandable, but there’s no real need to do both. Colleges accept both SAT and ACT, and they don’t have a preference. Few students have a drastically different score. Which you take mostly comes to down to geography—some states and regions have normalized the SAT, while others prefer the ACT.
I think taking at least one real test is a good idea for everyone, with one exception: you have no interest in applying to schools that will even look at a score. If you’re only applying to UC schools, which are test blind, then obviously don’t bother. Otherwise, even if you only plan to apply to test-optional schools, take at least one test.
Once you have a score, understand it in context. There’s no such thing as a “good” or “bad” score. To get a feeling for your score, consider it in three contexts.
The simplest is to understand your score in a national context. Your score report will include a percentile. That shows how high you scored compared to everyone else who took that test. If you scored in the 70th percentile, then you scored higher than 70% of the people who took the same test as you. That’s a really large group, from all over the country, so it gives you a pretty good point of comparison.
You can also compare your scores with other students at your high school. Many states—but not all—make this information public. If you live in one of those states (here’s where you can look up Texas high schools), look up the average scores for your high school to see how you fit with your classmates. If you’re not in a state where you can look up the information, ask your school counselor. Colleges using holistic admission will view your scores in the context of your high school, so it makes sense that you would look at it this way too.
You’ll also want to see how your scores compare with the typical scores at colleges you’re considering. You can easily look up any college’s test midrange for the SAT or ACT. The midrange is exactly that: it’s the range of scores within the middle 50% of students. 25% made a higher score than the midrange, 25% made lower. Having a score higher than the midrange doesn’t guarantee acceptance, and a score lower than the midrange doesn’t guarantee denial.
Another important thing to understand about the colleges you’re considering is whether or not they “superscore” test scores. Superscoring means that they will count your highest score for each individual test section and ignore the lower scores. For example, imagine if you took an SAT and got a 600 on the reading & writing section and a 600 on the math section, for a 1200 total. And then you took it again, and again got a 1200 total, but with 550 on math and 650 on reading & writing. A college that superscores will give you credit for 600 on math and 650 for reading & writing—the same as 1250. A college that doesn’t superscore will make you choose which test scores to submit to them: submit 1200 evenly split, or submit 1200 with a higher section and a lower section.
You should also find out just how important testing is to a college you’re interested in. There are schools like MIT and UT Austin that require SAT or ACT scores. There are schools like Yale and NYU that require testing, but are flexible about which tests and will accept AP or IB exam scores instead of SAT or ACT. There are schools that are test-optional, and you can find out (from their Common Data Set) how many applicants submit scores.
Once you’ve considered all of the factors that make up the context of your scores, then you’ll have a better idea of how to feel about them and what to do next. Remember: it’s a feeling. Test scores are not objectively good or bad, and you can’t figure out what to do as your next step using any simple objective formula.
With your score and context in mind, decide if you want to re-test and if you want to do any formal test prep. I don’t advise retesting without prep, but some students do. There are a number of ways to practice for a test, from free online programs to intense (and expensive) in-person programs or a one-on-one tutor. I don’t’ have any kind of preference except this: if you do test prep, make it count. Learn something other than how to take the test. Make sure you’re learning math and reading skills, not just learning test-taking tricks. Otherwise it’s a complete waste. I don’t think there’s a very good reason for taking the test more than twice. It’s just not worth the time and effort.
For test-optional schools, decide if you will or will not submit scores. Keep your complete context in mind, and not just the college’s range. The main factor in deciding to send scores should be you. Are the scores aligned with your other information? Are you proud of them? Are you being realistic about them? If so, send them. Don’t let the time and preparation you put into the test go to waste—because those test scores are definitely useless once you’re out of high school.
Also ask what the school’s attitude is about being test-optional. Were they test-optional even before Covid? Or have they announced that they plan to stay test-optional for a long time? Then they obviously don’t think scores are super-important, and you should feel more comfortable not submitting scores for whatever reason. If you get the sense that they are begrudgingly test-optional, then you may consider sending scores if you have them. They’re signaling that they really prefer test scores and may be less hesitant accepting someone with scores than without. I’ve seen college admissions web pages that make it very clear they’re happy to be test-optional…and I’ve seen some where you really have to search for the phrase “not required.”
You should also feel more comfortable not sending SAT/ACT scores if you have other scores to report, like AP exams or an IB exam. Especially if those other measures accurately reflect your best efforts and the SAT or ACT doesn’t, feel more confident keeping your ACT/SAT to yourself and relying on those other tests to let colleges know who you are.
Let me end with three things to remember.
1. Your test score is just one piece of information. Some colleges think it’s really important, some think it’s interesting, and some think it’s worthless. But it’s never all of your application.
2. Never skip applying to a school just because of your scores. Don’t decide for yourself that “you’ll never get in.” I can’t guarantee that you will—nobody can. But if you think a college may be a good fit for you and you’d like to apply, go for it. Let them tell you they’re not going to accept you, don’t decide for yourself. On the other hand, make sure you apply to at least a few schools where your scores are definitely in or above their midrange.
3. Of all the things you can do to have a stronger application, your test score has the least longevity. It’s worthless after you graduate, especially if your test prep was nothing but test-taking tricks.
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