8/23/25 SAT scores out

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Test scores should not be dispositive in the admissions context, but it is undeniably useful to have a single uniform and unbiased metric for all kids in the admissions pool (if only to normalize the wildly different quality and grading standards across high schools).

It's not unbiased! It's biased in favor of kids from upper SES homes with college educated parents who can pay for prep courses.

You know what is also biased? Being able to pay for tutors, gettting an internship through mommy or daddy connections, money for expensive ECs.

There are ample free test studying resources.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:up 40 in english after getting same score on all three previous SATs so that is awesome-not at 730, but math down to 720(highest 740), superscore is 1470 , senior female, taking again, has 5/5 in ap calc c, wants engineering

she's going to take the SAT five times?

no the first 690 was psat, so sept will be fourth time.
all of her school friends are taking it 7-8 times, lets not pretend you don't know this

DP.

Is this really common? Most I’ve heard of is 3x.

Seriously effed up if true

It’s a shorter test now with pretty significant disparity in difficulty between test dates. That has led to more kids taking it more times.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'll be the breath of fresh air for my kid- went from an 1120 to a 1210. Yeah. She's not a super star but I'm proud of her!

That's a fantastic improvement! Congrats!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

It's not unbiased! It's biased in favor of kids from upper SES homes with college educated parents who can pay for prep courses.

Round and round we go on this topic. Everyone acknowledges that grades AND test scores conveys more information than grades OR test scores.

Anyone involved in teaching undergraduates over the past few years knows that test optional has been a disastrous experiment from a student quality perspective.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:up 40 in english after getting same score on all three previous SATs so that is awesome-not at 730, but math down to 720(highest 740), superscore is 1470 , senior female, taking again, has 5/5 in ap calc c, wants engineering

she's going to take the SAT five times?

no the first 690 was psat, so sept will be fourth time.
all of her school friends are taking it 7-8 times, lets not pretend you don't know this

DP.

Is this really common? Most I’ve heard of is 3x.

Seriously effed up if true

It’s a shorter test now with pretty significant disparity in difficulty between test dates. That has led to more kids taking it more times.

it's always been different btw test dates. That's why it's normed. My '25 took both paper and digital bcs digital was less stressful - shorter with easy first half. Paper was longer with hard questions dropped in all the way, so you didn't know if something that looked easy was a trick. overall way more stressful.

But feel free to take the ACT.

[Anonymous]

So excited. My kid KILLED it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Test scores should not be dispositive in the admissions context, but it is undeniably useful to have a single uniform and unbiased metric for all kids in the admissions pool (if only to normalize the wildly different quality and grading standards across high schools).

It's not unbiased! It's biased in favor of kids from upper SES homes with college educated parents who can pay for prep courses.

Yet so many UMC moms in this thread reporting they are happy with their DCs 1200 scores. It’s the LEAST biased factor. The test doesn’t care grandpa’s seven figures trust, it also doesn’t care extended time UMC moms bought for their mediocre kids.

[Anonymous]

It's not unbiased! It's biased in favor of kids from upper SES homes with college educated parents who can pay for prep courses.


Yet so many UMC moms in this thread reporting they are happy with their DCs 1200 scores. It’s the LEAST biased factor. The test doesn’t care grandpa’s seven figures trust, it also doesn’t care extended time UMC moms bought for their mediocre kids.

Hey, my son benefited enormously from the $5000 private tutor I hired for SAT prep, so we're a beneficiary of the bias as well. But it's a reality.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:up 40 in english after getting same score on all three previous SATs so that is awesome-not at 730, but math down to 720(highest 740), superscore is 1470 , senior female, taking again, has 5/5 in ap calc c, wants engineering

she's going to take the SAT five times?

no the first 690 was psat, so sept will be fourth time.
all of her school friends are taking it 7-8 times, lets not pretend you don't know this

DP.

Is this really common? Most I’ve heard of is 3x.

Seriously effed up if true

It’s a shorter test now with pretty significant disparity in difficulty between test dates. That has led to more kids taking it more times.

DP. I agree that there seem to be significant disparities in difficulty between test dates. I don't know whether that has yet translated to taking it more times, though that would make sense. What is irksome is that the scoring scale is shrouded in mystery with digital testing, whereas the old paper test had the same weight per question, there were limited numbers of test forms, and the scale for the most common form for a test date could often be crowd-sourced.

[Anonymous]

I think if forced to choose, college professors would rather teach high SAT/low GPA kids than low SAT/ high GPA kids.

I wonder why that is?

[Anonymous]

I think my DS got the lowest score on this thread. 870. Slid back 100pts since May. We do get our money back on the SAT prep course though, so thats a positive.

[Anonymous]

I know everyone wants their kid to do well, but as a parent with college Jr and Fr., SAT score is NOT the "golden ticket" it once was.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think if forced to choose, college professors would rather teach high SAT/low GPA kids than low SAT/ high GPA kids.

I wonder why that is?

Cite?

[Anonymous]

My senior just hit 1500, which was the goal he set this time last year.

It took four sittings over the past year, along with one group class last fall and then a 1v1 tutor in the spring and one more 1v1 tutor this summer. When he got his score this morning, he shouted out from his room that he will “NEVER, EVER” take that awful test again!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

It's not unbiased! It's biased in favor of kids from upper SES homes with college educated parents who can pay for prep courses.


Yet so many UMC moms in this thread reporting they are happy with their DCs 1200 scores. It’s the LEAST biased factor. The test doesn’t care grandpa’s seven figures trust, it also doesn’t care extended time UMC moms bought for their mediocre kids.

Hey, my son benefited enormously from the $5000 private tutor I hired for SAT prep, so we're a beneficiary of the bias as well. But it's a reality.

Honey, let me be honest with you. Your son has it in him.

If he doesn’t have snowplow parents like you, he may accomplish it without that stupid tutor, and some more. Stop pampering him.