OmNomNomRice

Basically, if I get a decent score in some areas of the SAT/ACT on day and then do well on other areas of the SAT/ACT but not as well in the areas that I previously did decent on, do most ivy league schools take your highest subscores and just look at those?

drusba

For SAT, they use highest subscores from multiple tests, for ACT they use that test with the highest composite.

ksarmand

Yes, the Ivy League institutions do allow you to use Score Choice.

PhoenixR

^^ Except for UPenn. I heard that they do not use the score choice. You have to report one one from a test day.

ksarmand

^Ah, yes. PhoenixR is correct. From the website :

juillet

Yale also wants to you report all of your scores:

Instructions for Reporting Your Scores | Application to Yale College | Freshmen | Office of Undergraduate Admissions

Edited to add:
Here's the stance of each Ivy League school on Score Choice (with the exception of Yale and Penn, who have already been reported on):

Harvard welcomes it: http://admissions.college.harvard.ed...orechoice.html

Brown doesn't care: http://www.brown.edu/Administration/...plication.html

Cornell wants you to report all of your scores, and opposes the Score Choice program:
http://admissions.cornell.edu/apply/...structions.cfm
(Here's an article about it in the Cornell Sun): http://cornellsun.com/section/news/c...-choice-option

Columbia is rather vague about it, but they don't seem to care either:
http://www.studentaffairs.columbia.e...admissions.php

Darmouth lets you use Score Choice, but encourages students to send their entire testing history (and offers some nice encouragement to students with a rising trend in scores):
http://dartmouthquestions.blogspot.c...for-sat-i.html

Princeton also allows you to use it:
http://www.princeton.edu/admission/a...dized_testing/

newaccountt

yale cares

jerzgrlmom

Check the admissions/application info or search for score choice on each Ivy League school's website to check its policy. As for SATs (not sure about ACTs), half of the Ivies want you to send ALL your scores, clearly saying they DO NOT allow score choice.

Yale, Cornell, UPenn and Columbia want ALL scores.

Yale says you need to submit ALL SATs and SAT IIs and will consider all. Cornell says it does not participate in Score-Choice and requires official scores only (not on transcript). U Penn says to submit "entire testing history" and they will utilize highest subsection. Columbia says " Please note that Columbia requires that students submit scores from ALL test dates...The SAT consists of three sections, each graded on an 800-point scale; if you take the test more than once, you will be evaluated on the highest score you receive in any individual section...Students must submit all SAT Subject Test scores from all test dates."


Harvard, Princeton, Brown and Dartmouth say it's ok to use Score-Choice.

Harvard says "Students applying to Harvard are free to use the College Board's new Score Choice option and/or a similar option already offered by ACT. Score Choice rests on the same principle that has supported our admissions process for decades — that applicants should be free to present their own best case. We have always counted an applicant's highest test scores and have allowed students to decide whether they wanted to send all their test scores."

Princeton says "Applicants are welcome to use the score choice option for standardized test score submission. Princeton will consider the highest individual section results across all sittings of the SAT Reasoning and the highest composite score for the ACT with Writing, as well as the two highest SAT Subject Test scores. We encourage applicants to submit all official test scores as soon as they are available."

Brown says "You are welcome to take advantage of the Score Choice option".

Dartmouth says "If students take the test multiple times, they will be able to select how many of the attempts to report on their official transcript from the College Board. Students must report all section scores from a single test sitting...Laskaris said Dartmouth admissions officers primarily consider a prospective student's highest possible SAT score during the application reading process and will combine sections from multiple sittings, if applicable. The result becomes the applicant's official recorded score."

Jersey13

Half of the Ivy League does not allow score choice so it would be imprudent to focus on certain sections on different testing dates.

fairy011

Yes, they allow you to submit the scores of your choice. If you choose to submit all of your scores, then they'll take the highest ones.

PioneerJones

So if a school encourages the use of score choice, does this mean they superscore your SAT I's?

crazybandit

No. If a college super-scores, then it considers the highest scores of each section; you may still have to submit all your scores. Cornell does not accept score choice, but it super-scores I think. This means that you don't really lose out on the fact that you can't pick which scores to send: the school will consider only your highest scores anyway (some people argue that there is still some bias involved in sorting out scores). It is really only bad when a school neither accepts score choice nor super-scores, in which case low scores hurt you. Realistically, all these differing policies shouldn't worry you. Just do as well as possible every time you take the SAT, and you'll be set. Don't think you have to score really high your first time either. Most applicants of top schools don't score their highest their first time around. But don't take it 5 times either.

PioneerJones

I scored high enough my first time. I do not intend to retake that damn test again.

sour12

Does this mean if we use score choice, they can request for all scores? Also, can anyone offer any input on Stanford + Uchic's policies?

drusba

Two different things are being discussed here: (a) whether a college requires you to provide all scores, and (b) whether the college uses highest scores for admission, either by combination of highest section scores from multiple tests or using test with highest composite. As to point (b), all colleges use for admission either highest section scores from multiple tests or, alternatively, that test with highest composite. For that, it makes no difference whether the college requires all scores to be sent. For SAT IIs, for colleges that require or recommend IIs, they will use, depending on college, either the highest two or consider all sent.

As to point (a), a minority require "all scores" to be sent but what that means varies. For a small number that means all SATs, ACTs and SAT IIs; for others it may mean only either all SATs or, alternatively, all ACTs, and then may or may not mean all SAT IIs; for others it can mean all SATs but you can send just one ACT score and then may also mean all SAT IIs or your choice of IIs.

Stanford requires you to provide both all SATs and all ACTs but you can choose which SAT IIs to send. As to ACTs you have the option of submitting all official scores from the testing agency or instead one official score and then self-reporting the others on your application (all official ACT scores must then be provided after you are admitted).

UChicago lets you send whatever you want but it does superscore SATs so it can help to send all. Note, it neither requires nor recommends SAT IIs. It also does not use the writing section of the SAT or the essay scores from either and does not require the optional essay portion of the ACT.

If a college is fine with score choice, such as UChicago, it is not going to ask you to submit scores you withhold. Those that require all scores, have, as a matter of the obvious, already demanded that you submit scores when you submit any scores as part of your application and thus they are not likely going to repeat that requirement by sending you a special request afterwards.

For those thinking of trying to conceal scores from a college that requires all scores, you are correct to assume that exercising score choice means College Board will not send a score and will provide nothing to tell the college that you withheld a score. However, your high school may be your likely snitch because many put on your official high school transcript that is sent to colleges all of your scores.