@gusmahler I agree with @mom2twogirls. That is an FAQ and you might find info on the schools’ website. That being said, I had the same question about the SAT and found websites not clear. Brown will take the higher SAT score even if it’s on the test with no writing, as long as we send another test with writing. Other schools that require the writing will not take any SAT scores at all if they were not on a test where the students wrote the essay. To be 100% sure, I would call. I called all of the school’s on S19’s tentative list that required the essay and asked (it wasn’t that many schools).
No exemptions for exams at our school. Finals in every class
I would physically call the schools @gusmahler - I found discrepancies with what the websites had and what I was told on the phone as far as superscores, so I’d be leery of just relying on the website. Maybe email the regional reps for the schools you are interested in; that way you get someone with some authority, as opposed to whoever answers the phone in the admission office, which could be the work-study kid on duty.
The problem with contacting colleges is that none of the schools she’s considering even require writing. The primary reason she took writing is because we thought Rice required it. Turns out that they changed their policy this year and no longer require it. We found out when we did a tour after we had already registered for the test with writing.
Not only the schools she’s seriously considering, even the schools she has a slight interest in, that we’re visiting mainly because we’re visiting family nearby, don’t require it.
BTW, should mention the mini college vacation we’re doing next week. Informal tour of Tulane, followed by a formal tour/sales pitch of Bama, Tuscaloosa. We’ll visit UAB briefly on our way east to Emory University in Atlanta for a formal tour. We’ll also have an informal tour of Georgia Tech. (Neither Tech nor UAB have formal tours during the short week, or at least none available now).
Bama is pretty high on D19’s list, Tech is in the middle. We know little about Emory, but we’ll be in Atlanta and they have a medical school, so of course we’ll visit.
As an aside, I told D19 that she should consider Tech because they are one of the few schools that run the flexbone. She thought I was talking about some novel surgical procedure involving the skeleton. She was disappointed when I told her that it was a football formation.
@gusmahler Then you have no problem. You can send them any ACT test. If it has the essay and they don’t require it, they just won’t look at it.
We have had the worst luck this week. First D’s ACT scores were not released, now the same for her SAT scores. We are leaving for Thanksgiving break today and stopping at a couple of schools. It would be nice to have her first set of scores!
Well the report card has been posted and it’s a good news/bad news situation. The calculus grade came out as a B, a well deserved, hard fought B which we’re proud of the kid for. However, the kid also got a B in the ‘easiest’ class on the schedule, forensics. Looking at the school grades website, I see a bunch of low quiz grades, missing small assignments, etc. Good grades on the big tests and big projects, but not paying attention to the little stuff.
Ah well, it’s first quarter. If kiddo can bring these grades up this will make a good ‘overcoming adversity’ story and show upward trajectory, right?
Well, D19 got her ACT scores and it is not what we were hoping for. Hopefully she can pull it up or we will be changing her college list.
We got D19’s SAT and I am happy with it. Big improvement over sophomore PSAT which I attribute to having audio accommodations this time. Her score is above average for our public honors colleges (ASU Barrett and U of Arizona Honors). But her GPA is below average. So I think she can be done with the SAT and I can focus my anxiety on her GPA, lol.
That’s great news @Corinthian !
I’m sorry @jeepgirl that your news wasn’t quite as good
I’m continuing to be jealous of people who know SAT or ACT scores for their kids already.
My kid’s two Bs have tumbled him down from #3 in the class to #9 in the class. This has him boiling mad. Hopefully that translates to greater academic focus next quarter. However, considering that he’s been in two plays at once this quarter I should be happy that his GPA is over 1. I found myself Tiger Mom-ing about the B in Forensics. I sounded just like my mother. I hate that voice coming out of my mouth, but I can’t seem to stop it.
Ah, well. It’s the last weekend. I can see the finish line, just a few more laps.
Thanks @mom2twogirls, I am disappointed for her. She is quite lazy and thinks she knows everything. Maybe now she will realize that this whole process is about her and the effort she puts into it. Her older sister is a hard act to follow and that doesn’t help. Not looking forward to this time next year!
@jeepgirl, sounds like my D is similar to yours. The SAT score we got back today is ok, but I know she could do better if she actually put some effort into it. The ACT score we got back earlier this week was not good at all. She did do prep for SAT and not ACT, but jeez. I signed D up for the Princeton Review SAT prep course in August. She quit volleyball at school, so she had plenty of free time. The classes actually were not that good. I expected the classes to help them with test strategy, not remedial stuff. But it was remedial stuff. I complained and got 7 hours of one on one tutoring instead of going to the classes, which was somewhat valuable.
I was hoping she would do well enough that she wouldn’t have to do it again. Back to the drawing board!
@jellybean5 we are after merit money, so I am feeling that D will be really limited. We have a very fair college budget and we do not want her to have any loans. I just wish she understood that she has to want this and put effort into it. Hoping that her SAT score is better than her ACT.
So here’s a story for some of you still trying to hit SAT and ACT scores for merit. My niece is very bright but basically refused to study for these tests. Her parents explained that they had a certain amount of money (a fair amount and would allow her to go to our state flagship as well as some other midwestern flagships OOS). She got a 27 ACT in March of junior year. Bombed the SAT. I don’t even remember the score. She decided to take the ACT again. Got a 29 in June. After a whole summer passes by and she didn’t crack an ACT prep book, she just got a 32 in the fall of her senior year. Sounds decent, but the kicker is that the 32 doesn’t really open any more options for her. She’s upset but her parents are now in “I told you so mode.”
All of the privates she’s been dreaming about are out. Even some of the more interesting OOS public schools that offer merit are out. (She doesn’t want to go south so no Alabama for her.) I tried to help them and look for privates that would give her enough money to make it affordable for her family but she didn’t like any of them because she had never heard of them and she wants “brand name”. If this student had studied, I know she could have hit 34 and had a ton more options. I don’t like that these tests are important but they are. I’m sure our niece will be absolutely fine wherever she goes…but her expectations are dashed because of her own choice not the study for the ACT.
@jeepgirl we are also after merit money. My D gets good grades, but in this high school she’s not even in the top 10% any more. Last year as a sophomore she was prob the last one in the top 10%, now she’s more like in the top 12%. Hopefully after this year’s class load (that she chose) she will move up a bit. Need to get that SAT score up to get some merit dough. Otherwise we’ll have to reorganize the college wish list.
Yup @homerdog I will try to get that through to my D. It isn’t really a fair process; to have so much hanging on test scores, but that’s just the way it is. So knowing that, try to get what you can by actually studying. My D has several friends that are seniors right now because they were on the HS JV volleyball team when she was a freshman and they were sophs (seems like a long time ago!) so now we are hearing about them being accepted to colleges and their stories, so hopefully D will see the big picture. But in their favor, the stayed w/ HS volleyball and mine didn’t. That’s a whole 'nother thread…
My son didn’t study for his first SAT as a junior. He’s a senior now. Got a 1310. This year, he decided to try again because we’ve told him he needs scholarships/merit for college. He did study this time, took practice tests. Took the 11/4 Test. Results came back today: 1500!
Congrats @apraxiamom! That is awesome for your son. Hopefully my daughter will have that light bulb moment!