So I made NMSF in October with a 221 and scored a 35 ACT 10 writing in February. The breakdown for the ACT was Math 33, Science 34, English 35 and Reading 36. I am looking at top CS colleges and even inquired about retaking the ACT to raise my math score. In March my HS gave a free SAT test(no writing) which I can use to confirm my PSAT and I got my scores back this am. 780 Math and 690!!? 33 Reading and 36 Writing and Language. Complete opposite. It scores out to be a 216 which should good enough for the PSAT but that is a horrible Reading score. Do I have to send this SAT score to colleges or can I have this purged? The math score does look much better than the ACT so that would be a plus. If I do/can purge the SAT score would that affect my eligibility for PSAT since they require a confirming score? To this point I have taken 1 ACT with writing and 1 SAT without writing.
If you want to certify the PSAT then I don’t believe you can’t purge the score. Perhaps @drusba can verify?
If your schools require you to send ALL scores then it will have to be sent. If you have a choice of which to send then only send the ACT.
never heard of purging a SAT score? I know you can permanently delete an ACT score, but not a SAT.
@Luska19 Most colleges will require all scores to be sent. Some, like Bowdoin, do not. It depends on what college you are looking to apply to.
Also, when applying for the NMF scholarship, I believe that you will need to submit an SAT score to confirm your high performance on the PSAT. If you do not have this SAT score as a “proof of performance” sort of thing, I dont think you are able to qualify for NMF. Unfortunately, I dont think they accept ACT scores either.
The only opportunity to “purge” your SAT score, I believe (not sure about this), is right after you take the SAT. If you think you bombed it, then you can request a score cancellation. By the time the scores are published and released, it is too late to do this.
Hope this helped!
PSAT certification is not part of the equation - one cannot purge SAT scores. Whether the OP needs to send the score will depend upon that college’s policy.
Regardless, even if the college requires all scores, they will only consider the best score. And by no stretch of the imagination is a 1470 “bad.”
You can’t delete your SAT score. And if you want to be considered for National Merit, you need to keep it.
Very top tier schools will want to see all scores, but the vast majority of schools don’t require a complete testing history.
Honestly a 1480 SAT is a very good score, although your ACT is a bit better. It won’t hurt your application. Put it out of your mind.
You cannot purge an SAT score once it is released (you had until the Wednesday after you took the test to cancel the scores before you received them). There are only three colleges that require you to send both SAT and ACT scores, Georgetown, Barnard, and Stanford. All other colleges allow you to send either SAT or ACT, and separately SAT subject tests (if the college actually uses subject tests, most do not) and that includes all colleges other than Georgetown, Barnard or Stanford that have any form of an “all scores” rule. See my last post in this thread for a current list of colleges that have an all scores rule and what the rules actually are for each college: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-act-tests-test-preparation/1912440-must-you-submit-all-sat-act-or-sat-subject-test-scores-p5.html
Nevertheless, the only way you can possibly qualify for a National Merit Scholarship is to submit both a PSAT and an SAT. Providing a PSAT along accomplishes nothing.
@hyperpi314 Most colleges do NOT require all scores to be sent. A handful of elite colleges do. But most do not.
@intparent Sorry. Please add the adjective “elite”. From the score range @Luska19 provided, I had inferred that luska was aiming for the top colleges.
@drusba I guess I should clarify “purge” SAT score. I meant after the SAT qualifier for the PSAT I could have my school purge the SAT score from my record and not send to colleges. I know you can’t purge scores from the college board except right after taking the test essentially. Does PENN no longer require both ACT and SAT?
Penn switched to accepting score choice in September 2016 and you can send whatever you want to send. Whether you can get your high school to not provide the SAT scores to colleges on your transcript is something that depends on the particular high school, some will, some won’t.
@drusba Great, thanks!
Very few schools require you to send both ACT and SAT scores. Stanford is the only one that quickly comes to mind. They almost all require you to send all SAT’s or all ACT’s, but some will allow score choice. 35 is a great ACT score. As far as testing is concerned, I’d focus on getting a high SAT2 Math 2 and possibly Physics score (and high AP scores in those areas plus CS) if you are going to pursue CS.