Sally_Rubenstone

Question: My son is applying to MIT and several other highly selective colleges. Must he submit ALL of his SAT and ACT results to the schools on his list or can he choose which scores the admission committees will see? Your son may actually need the MIT degree before he even finishes high school just [...]

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SDonCC

How does one go about filling out the test reporting section on the Common App? Do we just fill in there what we want, and leave blank what we want? Is it okay to send in scores that we don't report on the App?? On the one hand, there's score choice, but on the other, there's this section that asks for all the tests taken. We're not sure yet what we want to report and will be applying to colleges with different reporting requirements. I do know that my daughter's second sitting of the SAT 1 will be what she goes with (scored higher in all areas than first time).

Also, if a school requires all scores to be reported, does that apply to Subject Tests, or only SAT 1?

Sally_Rubenstone

The new score reporting policies have raised all sorts of legitimate questions and have made a convoluted process even more frustrating and complex. Because this is so new and confusing, there are still not yet hard and fast rules. But this is what I would suggest for your daughter, SDonCC:

-On the Common Application itself, she should just report the scores that she wants all colleges to see. For some students (not your daughter) this may require listing more than one test date but not listing all scores on a given date. My usual advice is that, if the scores are close, list the top scores as well as the not-as-good ones. For instance, a student who got a 670 in Critical Reading on her first try and a 690 on the second try should probably include both (and this is true even if the second score is the lower one). But if there is great disparity ... e.g., a 590 and a 670 ... I'd go with only the high score.


-If some of the target colleges are test-optional, and if the applicant's scores are below the typical admit range, it's probably wise to prepare a separate version of the Common App that includes no test scores

-Regardless of what is listed on the application, it's fine to send additional scores directly to colleges. This can be done when some colleges demand all test results but you don't want to put all results on the application for every college to see.

-For applications that require Subject Tests and also insist on ALL results, it's wise to check with each school individually. Georgetown, for instance, DOES request ALL Subject Test results. Stanford, however, asks for all test results but says that Subject tests are recommended but not required and thus does not require that all Subject Test scores be reported.

Although students are notoriously honest when it comes to self-reporting test scores on their applications, the self-reported scores are never considered official by colleges. So, as long as your daughter respects each institution's policies by submitting the scores they demand, she should feel free to select whichever scores she wants to showcase on her application.

Finally, don't forget that, even if your daughter withholds selected scores, the colleges may see them anyway if her high school includes them on her transcript.

SDonCC

thank you. this was very helpful!

Sally_Rubenstone

You're welcome ... and good luck!

Deja

There is another issue here...

Regardless of which test scores your s chooses to put on the Common App and have sent to colleges by College Board, your s's high school may completely undermine SAT and ACT score choice by plastering all standardized test scores on his transcript.

College Board discourages doing this, but, regardless, some (many?) high schools do this. Find out now (before applications are submitted!) what the policy is for your high school. There is info on the College Board site that can be given to high schools that don't seem to think plastering all scores on transcripts is an issue.