What employers / industries judge graduates by pre-admission test scores?
For example, judging applicants with bachelor’s degrees based on their SAT or ACT scores. Or judging applicants with professional degrees based on test scores used for admission to the professional degree program.
My D had an interview in the financial sector in Chicago (after graduating from college) - getting an interview was dependent on SAT/ACT score information, which I thought was crazy.
I don’t remember the name of the company (she works elsewhere in the financial sector).
Many financial firms and elite management consulting use test scores for screening.
Not all financial firms require this. My D16 (current college senior) has a job offer from one and was not required to provide scores.
MBB and elite finance ask for SAT/ACT scores on their applications.
My D who is a sophomore in college just had to put in her ACT score in an application for a summer bio research position. I was surprised.
I wonder if the information is used for different purposes depending on the college and the position applied for.
Some positions require more technical and problem solving skill, so a high test score might be a helpful indicator.
But other positions - especially within the elite firms - have a huge sales/networking/social status component. They don’t want dumb people, but the brains aren’t the main thing they’re hiring for; they’re hiring socially connected people who can sell them more business and interact with the elite clients. Or they’re looking for people with connections that can help the business or for people who help the business virtue signal. For those positions, a low test score paired with an elite college might actually be an indicator of what the firm is looking for as it would signal an applicant that is socially connected, an athlete or a URM, which are all sought after in those types of positions.
When I was responsible for recruiting at CMU for a large professional services firm, we often saw GMAT scores for grad students. Interviewing first years for internships, they only had one semester of courses, so undergrad performance and GMAT scores were meaningful. For full-time, it was less meaningful.
We never saw, or requested, any high school testing scores for undergrad interns or full-timers.
Wow - I’m really surprised any employer would ask about SAT/ACT scores. My kids did great, but I assumed that would be a moot point after college acceptance.
I was asked for SAT scores in 1986 for a position with a major benefits consulting firm. My older S is a SW engineer at a major tech company and he never mentioned being asked for SAT/GRE scores.
No sorry, raw brainpower is absolutely what elite consulting and finance firms are looking for. One reason I think they ask for high school test scores in the US is that you won’t get sued for that, whereas you might do if you gave candidates the IQ/numeracy tests that are often used as a filter in other countries. They certainly don’t want people who are below average and got in by being an athlete or legacy.
In these ruthlessly up or out environments you don’t spend your first few years wining and dining clients, you spend it building spreadsheet models and PowerPoint decks. A mistake in your spreadsheet or slide deck can be very costly.
^^very smart people can, and do, make mistakes too.
Imo, it’s just another way to filter. A young friend was one of 25 hired into a program for a major consulting firm- out of 4000 applicants. Imagine the work to pare that down. But does it mean this is a legit bullet? No.
Personally, I’m not interested in a post-college peer work group chosen for high school scores. I want to be with the ones who used the interim time to burst ahead and are, today, highly competent, with the right experiences and thinking skills.
Don’t underrate interpersonal skills, btw. Unless the job is sititng in a closet, interacting with no one.
Yes, and if you make too many then that is the path leading to “out” rather than “up”. But a high SAT/ACT math score is one indication that you are good at not making silly calculation mistakes when operating under significant time pressure (and similarly for reading comprehension).
@lookingforward They filter for all of those too. It’s the total package. SAT/ACT is just one of the first filters. Then GPA (very high cutoff for MBB), ECs, and leadership. Then there are 6 or more very tough interviews. MBB is said to have one of the toughest hiring processes in the country.
Just curious if they are demanding proof of SAT/ACT score or are just asking the applicant to include it.
Neither of my Ds has ever been asked to provide these test scores, but neither is involved in finance.
Good point! Obviously can’t send an official score to McKinsey. I also wonder if they want a screen shot or just take the interviewees word for it.
I don’t believe they ask for proof.
Then they deserve to get the inflated scores they probably receive. Doesn’t seem like inflated scores would be a worthwhile input into their hiring system.
Some years ago I heard that Epic Systems screens out applicants who don’t have a 30+ ACT score.