Would 1580-->1600 SAT make a difference? & other UChicago admissions questions

JBStillFlying
Fri, 31 Jan 2020 00:13:34 +0000

@MohnGedachtnis - Calibration is a good point; we have no idea how well this new test is calibrated at the upper tail. What we do actually know - just from looking at the latest percentile chart for the underlying section tests, is that only a combined score of 1600 includes a combinations (800V/800M) that remain in the 99+ percentile. 1590, which includes combinations of 800 and 790, dips into the 99th percentile on the math side. From that information I’d conclude that fewer testers are at least expected to score perfect 800’s on both tests than score some combination of 800 and 790. For 1580, some combinations actually dip into the 98th percentile on the math. So - theoretically - it appears that 1600 is supposed to be a higher percentile than 1590 which is supposed to be a higher percentile than 1580. However, ALL are 99+% so some fraction under 1% - very hard to achieve.

OP’s specific combination of 800M 780V is in the 99+ percentile for both. However, the 99+ percentile actually begins at 780 for Verbal and it’s definitely possible that a few more testers score 800 every year than score a 780.

Another way to measure your test score is to look at the total and section scores on the CB/ACT concordance table. OP’s 1580C concords to a 36. The section scores concord to a 36 Math and 35 English+Reading. Clearly there’s going to be some wiggle room in using a concordance, but if every way you measure turns out to be something like the 99+ percentile, you are probably safe resting on that score