Test Scores: To Report or Retake?

Applying to college costs money. The value proposition of getting into the RIGHT school is …high. So the lean should be to apply to “more” rather than “less” – but for many, there is… waste. Straight A student with 2300+ SATs and the football coach wanting you? You really don’t need a second “back up school”.  B student with 2000ish SATs and a reporter on the school paper? Don’t bother applying to Harvard. 

There are fees and yeah, they add up: There are application fees, registration fees, financial aid fees, and fees to send your test scores to the right colleges. It can seem like everyone is trying to take your money. (They are. Welcome to America.) So, before you register to retake the SAT or ACT, let’s be sure that you actually need to. Do you agree with any of the following statements? If yes, you should consider retaking the test.

• You tested below the middle 50% level for the colleges thought you’d attend and you still carry the dream...
• Your GPA is on the low side for the schools you're applying to, and you want to improve your test scores to boost your academic profile.
• You took the SAT or ACT early in your junior year (maybe even your sophomore year).
• When you took the test, you didn't study. Studying can really improve your score. (Sadly, schools know this fact – and the fact that you took it without studying – and received a bad score – is going to hurt you. No sugar coating here. Minimize the damage and put up a smokin’ good score on your second try and maybe you can in fact blame the bad Thai food you had the night before the first exam…)
• You want to improve your scores because you're hoping not only to get into your dream school but to be eligible for some merit scholarships they offer to the top applicants.
• You have time to study for the test. Taking the test again doesn't help if you don't have time to study and improve your score.
• You have discovered that you have a learning difference (such as dyslexia or ADD) and that you should actually take the test in an un-timed setting.
• When you took the test, you were just having a bad day. You woke up on the wrong side of the bed, you spilled your coffee on yourself on the drive to the testing location, and all of your pencils broke. You weren't at your best.

Should You Report All of Your Scores?

Depends. You will have a choice as to which set of scores you want to send to colleges. Many colleges will tell you that they only look at and consider your highest scores. So, if you scored higher in the math section in the spring and higher in another verbal in the fall, they will combine the highest scores from each section to make a new high score for you. Check out the college’s website to see what their policies are on test scores. And, if you're a bit neurotic and don't trust the admission office only to use your high scores, then make sure you only send your best scores.

Should You Take the SAT II?

Many colleges require that you take the SAT Subject Tests. Sometimes they will tell you exactly which tests they want you to take, other times they will leave it up to you to choose the subject tests you are best prepared for.

• If you score poorly on a required SAT Subject Test, you might want to retake it if the Subject Test has to do with your intended college major. For example, if you don’t do so well on the Physics Subject Test, but you indicate on your application that you want to study physics in college, then you should consider retaking the test or rethink the major.
• If the college does not require the SAT II, but there is a subject that you kick butt in, then take it, send it, and beat your chest a bit.

Some Schools Don’t Require Any Standardized Tests

Many schools and educators have begun to question whether standardized tests are helpful in evaluating a student’s application and in predicting how they’ll do in college. So far, lots of colleges including Bowdoin, Smith, and Wake Forest have gone “test-optional” which means that you are not required to submit standardized test scores. Cool idea, in practice; unclear results, in reality;

Check out this list of “test score optional” colleges.  But if you opting to go to a school “advertising themselves” as “score optional” it is likely that they are attracting a lot of low-scorers. We live under a system where scores (winning) matters. So… be careful what you wish for.