Which test score(s) should I send to Yale?

[swim1128]

I am an Asian female and I’m applying to Yale through SCEA. I just received my ACT score which is a 33. I took the old SAT and got a 2100. I also took the New SAT and got a 1520. (All of these are one sitting). I took the subject tests twice and got terrible scores: 650 and 610 on Chemistry and 660 and 680 on Math 2.

My ACT is a little low for Yale. My 1520 New SAT is a pretty good score. But Yale’s policy is that you must send all scores from one testing company. Would it be better to just send my ACT rather than send all the SAT scores?

[auntyji]

I think you are not required to report SAT II scores if you don’t want to. I could be wrong but that’s my read of this…

“Yale does participate in Score Choice for the reporting of SAT Subject Tests. You may wait to receive your score results before deciding which scores, if any, you would like to send to Yale. Please keep our deadlines in mind, however, as you consider that option. If you are applying Early Action to Yale and are taking Subject Tests on the November test date, we do not recommend using Score Choice. For November results to be considered by the admissions committee we need to receive them as soon as they are available. If you are submitting all of your ACT with writing results, you may send whatever SAT Subject Tests you like and you are not required to submit any SAT scores…”

http://admissions.yale.edu/standardized-testing

[swim1128]

@auntyji ah okay. My SAT score of 2100 has writing but my score of 1520 doesn’t (I took that test with my school and they didn’t offer writing).

[gibby]

Your old SAT score of 2100 is low for Yale, especially for an Asian applicant: http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-adv-asian-race-tutoring-20150222-story.html

Asian Americans, Lee says, are penalized by 50 points — in other words, they had to do that much better to win admission…

Therefore I would recommend “hiding” the 2100 score by NOT reporting any of your SAT scores (including the 1520). Also, as Yale requires the new SAT with WRITING, so your 1520 SAT does NOT meet Yale’s requirements, and Admissions will ignore the 1520 score: http://admissions.yale.edu/standardized-testing

For SATs taken in March 2016 or later, the additional essay is required.

Therefore, your only viable choice for Yale (and HPSM et al) is to report the 33 ACT and submit SAT Subject tests (which you can use score-choice for, hiding your SAT tests).

FWIW: a 33 ACT is about a 1500-1510 on the new SAT, so the scores are almost equal. Keep in mind that admission to Yale (and other selective schools) is not a meritocracy, meaning students with higher scores do not always get accepted over applicants with lower scores. I’ve posted this several times, but here it is again

Many state schools admit students just by GPA and SAT scores – they don’t even look at essays, EC’s, teacher recommendations, guidance counselor’s Secondary School Report (SSR) or interview reports.

At private colleges, especially the more selective ones, GPA and test sores are the minimum threshold – IMHO, for an unhooked applicant at schools like HYPSM that’s about a 2200 SAT or the ACT equivalent. Then, Admissions starts to dig deeper – they read your essays, teacher recommendations, SSR, EC’s and interview report. They compare those subjective items to all other applicants looking for students of good “character.” That’s an old fashioned word; it means the way you develop your inner qualities: intellectual passion, maturity, social conscience, concern for community, tolerance, inclusiveness and love of learning. Colleges learn of those qualities by comments from your teachers and guidance counselor, as well as what your choose to write about in your essays and the “tone” and content of what you say.

To be admitted to a top school – you need it all: A high GPA, great ACT/SAT scores, interesting EC’s, a thought provoking essay, stellar teacher recommendations. If one area is deficient, a student might be waitlisted or rejected – that’s how tough the competition is these days.

Have you watched this video from Amherst College: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-OLlJUXwKU

Prior to this Committee Meeting, about 8,000 applications were reviewed for transcript rigor, GPA and test scores. The top 1,000 students are then brought to the committee and students are either accepted or waitlisted. (The assumption is that the other 7,000 students who didn’t make it to committee are rejected.)

Notice the comments. Most of them are being read by Admissions Directors are comments from teachers or guidance counselors, except at the end where one Admissions Director says “This is a quote from his essay”.

[OHMomof2]

Asian Americans, Lee says, are penalized by 50 points — in other words, they had to do that much better to win admission…

Interesting you mention Princeton @gibby

less than stellar grades or test scores do not mean that an applicant is automatically foreclosed from admission. OCR in its file review found examples of applicants who did not have the highest quantifiable qualifications, such as grades and test scores, who were nonetheless admitted by the university based on other qualities and the overall strength of their applications. Some of these applicants were Asian.

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/09/24/ocr-clears-princeton-anti-asian-discrimination-admissions

[swim1128]

@gibby you’re so helpful, thank you

[gibby]

Not to go off topic @OHMomof2: But see: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/04/09/new-research-how-elite-colleges-make-admissions-decisions

[OHMomof2]

I just wanted to point out that the assertion that “Asian Americans, Lee says, are penalized by 50 points — in other words, they had to do that much better to win admission…” is not universally agreed upon. When the US govt looked into it at P’ton, it found no evidence of that.

Selective colleges consider URM status or full pays or pianists or athletes as your second link points out, that’s a fact. But beyond that, statements like “50 points more for Asians” or whatever is not.