Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP- OP you are wasting time to get a perfect score. Once you hit 750 on each part you are good to go. BTW. My 2020 hs graduate got a 1580 first time sitting but did not get into every school. High test scores are not everything in college admissions.

Thank you! That is exactly the sort of information I am looking for.

That is what I was thinking but so much of what I thought I knew turned out to be wrong. Hence, wanted to confirm that it is not a mistake to stop trying to get higher score.

It is a mistake.

You’ve got it all wrong op. You need to think of grades and test scores as a qualifier, not a clincher. Kids with 1500 plus generally will qualify at every school, but then the schools will consider gpa, rigor, relative rank within class (which they can generally determine even at schools that don’t rank), extracurriculars, essays, and hooks/institutional priorities.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, you are. These schools that you’re looking at are also test optional. That means that the numbers you’re looking at are only from those who chose to submit, NOT from the entire class. There are kids who are admitted that scored lower. But their scores were never figured in the data you’re looking at which means it will appear higher than expected.

My friend’s got into Yale without submitting scores. Scored in the 1400s, which is really good. But kids who are getting into Yale are submitting 1550 and higher.

This. Basically at these schools only students with 1500+ are submitting test scores. A college advisor told my friend's daughter with a 1480 to not submit to any of her reach schools.

Hearing the same here. DS has 33 composite with 34/35 in reading/math and a 29 in English (ouch) that he can’t raise after 3 attempts. No submitting notwithstanding stellar math.

Yes, you definitely need to encourage your kid to prepare better and take the SAT again in December. If they do not score a 1600, then they are out of luck.

Anonymous wrote:NP- OP you are wasting time to get a perfect score. Once you hit 750 on each part you are good to go. BTW. My 2020 hs graduate got a 1580 first time sitting but did not get into every school. High test scores are not everything in college admissions.

Thank you! That is exactly the sort of information I am looking for.

That is what I was thinking but so much of what I thought I knew turned out to be wrong. Hence, wanted to confirm that it is not a mistake to stop trying to get higher score.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, you are. These schools that you’re looking at are also test optional. That means that the numbers you’re looking at are only from those who chose to submit, NOT from the entire class. There are kids who are admitted that scored lower. But their scores were never figured in the data you’re looking at which means it will appear higher than expected.

My friend’s got into Yale without submitting scores. Scored in the 1400s, which is really good. But kids who are getting into Yale are submitting 1550 and higher.

This makes the most sense. It would be interesting to know what percentage of kids are admitted without test scores. I would think it would be a small percentage, maybe less than 20%. If that is the case, the data still should not be so skewed.

You can look this up on the common data set for most colleges.

Anonymous wrote:Yes, you are. These schools that you’re looking at are also test optional. That means that the numbers you’re looking at are only from those who chose to submit, NOT from the entire class. There are kids who are admitted that scored lower. But their scores were never figured in the data you’re looking at which means it will appear higher than expected.

My friend’s got into Yale without submitting scores. Scored in the 1400s, which is really good. But kids who are getting into Yale are submitting 1550 and higher.

This makes the most sense. It would be interesting to know what percentage of kids are admitted without test scores. I would think it would be a small percentage, maybe less than 20%. If that is the case, the data still should not be so skewed.

No meaningful difference between 1580 and 1600 except excessive prep. Id leave it for sure.

Anonymous wrote:Yes, you are. These schools that you’re looking at are also test optional. That means that the numbers you’re looking at are only from those who chose to submit, NOT from the entire class. There are kids who are admitted that scored lower. But their scores were never figured in the data you’re looking at which means it will appear higher than expected.

My friend’s got into Yale without submitting scores. Scored in the 1400s, which is really good. But kids who are getting into Yale are submitting 1550 and higher.

This. Basically at these schools only students with 1500+ are submitting test scores. A college advisor told my friend's daughter with a 1480 to not submit to any of her reach schools.

NP- OP you are wasting time to get a perfect score. Once you hit 750 on each part you are good to go. BTW. My 2020 hs graduate got a 1580 first time sitting but did not get into every school. High test scores are not everything in college admissions.

Not humble brag. Sorry it came out that way.

Child registered for December and scheduled a tutor to start from later this month.

I used to think 1500 is pretty much all you need. Then looking at stats recently 75% percentile is 1580 for some schools. My question is: Is 1600 pretty much what top schools expect?

I understand that students take SAT multiple times and it is just the best score that many of these schools consider, so does it make sense to try to improve on it?

Yes, you are. These schools that you’re looking at are also test optional. That means that the numbers you’re looking at are only from those who chose to submit, NOT from the entire class. There are kids who are admitted that scored lower. But their scores were never figured in the data you’re looking at which means it will appear higher than expected.

My friend’s got into Yale without submitting scores. Scored in the 1400s, which is really good. But kids who are getting into Yale are submitting 1550 and higher.

All those things are not "equal". Grades rigor of classes and SAT scores are top of the heap. Depending on the institution, ECs, letters of recommendation, essays come into the mix at varying degrees.

stop humble brag

I was shocked to find that the 75% percentile SAT scores are 1570-1580 for all the highly selective colleges. I understand grades, essays, extra curriculars, recommendation letters are very important, but all else being equal, does it mean a student would be more competitive with 1590 or 1600 score? Or would it not matter if you get a high score?

Child took one full practice test, and the English portion of two tests. Skipped the math portion as child is pretty confident of full score on this section. Spent another 2 hours of review of wrong answers from Khan academy. Planning to take in December but since scores are around 1560 in practice registered at last minute for August test.

Got 1580. With a few more hours of prep, child might be able to improve on the score. Does it make sense to try to improve on this? As insane as it seems, it is only 75% percentile for some schools.

I am just not able to make sense of the numbers. Am I missing something?