You’ve probably heard of superscoring and Score Choice. But it can be challenging to know exactly what these terms mean and how they apply to the colleges you’re interested in. Thanks to a helpful list from Compass Education Group, however, it is now possible to see which colleges superscore as well as their policy on Score Choice.
First, let’s define our terms:
What Is Superscoring?
If a college “superscores”, it means that it will consider your highest section scores from all the occasions on which you’ve taken the test and then give you a new, improved overall score. Let’s say, for instance, that you took the SAT twice and earned a 1300 (620 Math, 680 Evidence-Based Reading and Writing) the first time and a 1310 (670 Math, 640 Evidence-Based Reading and Writing) the second time. If a college superscored, it would take the highest of these section scores and give you a new composite score, so, in this case, your score would become 670 for Math and 680 for Evidence-Based Reading and Writing, generating a composite score of 1350.
What is Score Choice?
Both the College Board and the ACT have instituted policies to allow students to decide which scores they report to colleges. However, these Score Choice policies only permit students to choose the test dates from which they would like to submit scores—not to combine their best test sections from these dates, as with superscoring above.
Colleges still retain the right to require students to submit all their scores, however, and not all colleges accept Score Choice. It is therefore crucial to research your colleges’ policies ahead of time.
In general, colleges have one of three policies on Score Choice:
- Require all scores: to apply to these schools, students must submit all their test scores.
- Recommend all scores: these schools advise, but do not demand, that students report all their scores.
- Accept Score Choice: colleges in this category accept whichever scores students choose to send.
To find out which of these policies apply to you, refer to the admissions pages for the colleges you are interested in applying to. Happy researching!
