College Planning Blog

It’s that time of year when rising high school seniors (and soon-to-be college applicants) should begin to take stock of their application preparations. I recently received a note from the parent of one such student that raised questions about strategies for reporting test scores. It’s a question I receive fairly often so I thought I would share my response. This parent writes:

“My daughter scored a 34 on her ACT and a 2170 on her SAT (760 math, 730 writing and 680 critical reading.) Her ACT converts to a higher SAT score (2260) so would you be inclined to send only the ACT scores for those schools who will accept either, or would you be inclined to go ahead and send both to show that she did pretty well on both “types” of tests? She has also taken 4 subject tests: 700 in literature and 730 in math this June, and 680 in chemistry and 680 in history as a sophomore.”

In responding, I must first point out that every college in the country now accepts the ACT or the SAT and acknowledge that the young woman in question has produced superb test results on both tests. While it would be wrong to make assumptions about whether she will be admitted, her results will put her on the competitive “playing field” at any school in the country. Interestingly, these scores are not likely to be the credential that tips the scale in her favor at highly selective places even though they speak well to the likelihood she will find success if admitted.

Generally speaking, submitting both the ACT and the SAT can work to this student’s advantage. The same can be said for students who possess closely matched but lower scores. Why? While it might be nice to show that the student is capable of scoring well on all the tests, the presence of two respectable scores for a given college affords its admission committee options with regard to the score it uses to justify an offer of admission. (More on that in a minute).

That said I would like to make several observations. First, be careful about being too literal with regard to how an SAT might convert to an ACT and vice versa. While both test makers provide concordance tables to give you an idea as to how their scores compare, the tests themselves are quite different in terms of what they measure. As a result, you can’t make exact comparisons with regard to the diagnostic benefit of the respective tests.

Second, the need to demonstrate proficiency on both types of tests may be a bit over-rated. At the most highly selective colleges, such proficiency is both expected and rather routine.

And, third, I would like to reflect on the notion of giving admission officers options. Schools that receive a preponderance of one test type over the other are regarded as dominant with regard to that test. For example, a school where most of the applicants submit the SAT is considered “SAT dominant.” While ACT results are considered in its admission process and reported on institutional profiles of entering classes, the ACT scores themselves disappear when test results are reported to ranking guides as the latter only factor in results from the dominant test at a given college or university.

So, what does this mean for you, the applicant? If you find yourself competing for admission at a college where your overall credentials are compelling but your test results are relatively modest, the fact that you submit test results from both testing services allows the admission committee to rationalize an offer of admission based on the scores from the non-dominant test. Without the scores from the non-dominant test, the committee might be wary of offering you admission for fear that your scores from the dominant test will adversely affect its testing profile.

The bottom line: think of your test results, whether they are from the SAT or the ACT—or both—as competitive credentials—numbers that reflect your ability to function on a given test. And know that colleges like big numbers. If you have the opportunity early in the process to sample one of each (perhaps the PSAT for the SAT and the PLAN for the ACT), do so to determine the testing format and methodology to which you respond best. If one test emerges as a favorite, then focus on preparing to do well on subsequent administrations of that test. Trying to master both will only distract you from other more important pursuits in your life.