DD took the SAT twice and ended up with a very good score, well above what was required for her first choice school and and the scholarships she was looking at. Even though she had a good score she felt she could do better if she took the SAT for a third time. I told her not to waste her time because her score was good enough for what she needed and no one would care about her SAT score after she started college. I was wrong.
DD has decided to apply for a competitive spring semester research program through her school’s honors program. The application requires her SAT scores. Now I’m kicking myself that I didn’t let her retake the SAT like she wanted to. There are a lot of kids in the honors program with perfect SAT/ACT scores so I’m concerned that my bad advice may keep her out of this program.
Has anyone else run into other things that require SAT/ACT scores after college admission?
Scholarships. Some require a specific score as you describe, but others are competitive with money only going to a small percentage of applicants. Since ACT is one of the few objective measurements scholarships tend to rely on them. To be highly competitive you want the best score possible.
College-entrance exams are primarily designed to predict early grades in college,as well as qualifying for scholarships and other opportunities. Your student did so well she articulated at her desired school with scholarship money. I don’re know,that taking the test after enrolment would count and any score she had earned would not have been substantially different. At the upper reaches is scores, it is predicted that a lower score will be earned aka regression toward the mean.
Your student did everything right when applying and presumably is performing as,expected. My guess is the required score is a,floor rather than a battle among equals. Lots more such as interest, match with the topic, particular knowledge or facility with the topic, etc. than the score is the primary part of the choice. Think of this as more like a job application in which several qualified applicants are interviewed, but only one is hired. As with jobs, the choice more often depends personal fit than on calculating who has the highest score. The choice is,closer to life than a race.