ACT vs SAT, one or both?

ctkttww

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My son will be applying to USNA beginning with Summer Seminar applications in January 2014. My question is, he scored very well on the ACT (32 composite). Does he still need to take the SAT? My husband is worried that if he does not do well on the SAT, that it could hurt him. Any thoughts?
 
The academy will only see scores that you send . When you sign up for the SAT dont sign up for the free score report ... That is never a good idea . You should see your scores before they are sent to ANY college . Also, remember that in regards to ACT , USNA only shows the Math and English score on the candidate portal .
 
^^^^ agreed

Also, the 32 would depend on what his separate math/english scores were. If they are in 29-32 range, you are "golden". I wouldn't worry about taking the SAT.
 
A different slant...

Based on my son's experience, I'd say have him take them both - early & often!
He had a 32 composite, with 30 or better in everything. He was triple-qualified, had his Rep's nomination, Eagle Scout, Boy's State, Varsity letters in wrestling and football... and got the TWE last April. So - now he's busting his tail at a four-year college, taking all the plebe classes, doing the Ranger Challenge w/ ROTC - and he just took the ACT for the 5th time on Saturday, looking to boost the math score just a little bit. His SAT (taken 3 times now) math score is 700, but he decided to focus on the ACT since he seems to do better on that test - your son might be just the opposite. Since they super-score, he's been able to boost all his scores here or there, just never all at once. He recently scored a 34 in math on one of the official practice tests, so there's always a chance to bump it up. Finally, the results can be SO variable depending on how well rested they are, what they eat for breakfast - why not find out if higher scores are possible? My son's 2nd SAT was taken the morning after a very tough football game and a late bus ride home - his scores in all three sections were exactly 50 points lower than his first attempt. If he's not absolutely certain that his current scores are the very best he can do, my advice would be to try again, and try harder. That's what the academies expect anyway! :thumb: Best of luck to your son.
 
agree with above. Take it again. My DS is a Plebe and one of his roommates is a re-applicant. Also, there are a lot of factors in the equation, including your competition, so the one thing an applicant can do is do their best. The best to your DSs
 
The academy will only see scores that you send . When you sign up for the SAT dont sign up for the free score report ... That is never a good idea . You should see your scores before they are sent to ANY college . Also, remember that in regards to ACT , USNA only shows the Math and English score on the candidate portal .

wish I would've read this before we started this standardized test mess...we've always sent all his scores (and they are fine, but not good enough) to the academies. We just keep sending all the scores. Too late to fix that now.

He has taken the ACT 3 times, the SAT once and will take both one more time (although USNA won't take the Dec. ACT but will take the Dec. SAT which I think is a bit strange)

However, DS is #1 in his class (out of 484) so GPA is not his issue. I wish the GPA held more weight than the standardized tests as he is not good at these tests.
 
my son took the sat/act 8 times.
take it again.
the past kids from our district that I know that got a BFE have had 34+. Though we come from a competitive district though.

dont worry about the poor scores already sent, they super score.


Its $40.00
It adds up, I get it. But take it again.
 
My son will be applying to USNA beginning with Summer Seminar applications in January 2014. My question is, he scored very well on the ACT (32 composite). Does he still need to take the SAT? My husband is worried that if he does not do well on the SAT, that it could hurt him. Any thoughts?

Agree with Vista--take the SAT. The tests are so different that candidates can do much better on one than the other. Not only does the Academy super score, it converts the ACT to SAT scores and then super scores. So on my DS record, it shows his actual Math SAT score (which was better than his Math ACT) and his converted English ACT score to SAT values-- because his ACT English was better than his SAT verbal.
 
wish I would've read this before we started this standardized test mess...we've always sent all his scores (and they are fine, but not good enough) to the academies. We just keep sending all the scores. Too late to fix that now.

The academies will use the official scores you send (and superscore), but my DS's transcript lists ALL of his ACT scores -- including those taken freshman and sophomore year. My DS has taken the ACT 6 times but I've only sent 2 official scores. So if your DS's transcript is done the same way, the academies will still see all the scores.
 
Some people do better on one test vs. another (ACT vs. SAT) so it behooves people to take each at least once. Once you figure out the one that suits you better (IOW, where you "felt" better and probably earned higher scores), focus on that test.

At some point, if retaking isn't resulting in improvement and nothing has changed since your last test -- such as taking/retaking a prep class -- it may become a waste of your time and money to keep taking the test. Scores are not the be-all and end-all. I've had candidates with 800/800 SATs get TWEs and folks with much lower scores receive appointments.

Clearly, if you've only taken the test once, there's a strong likelihood the second time will produce higher scores due to familiarity, etc. However, if you've taken the test 5 times and your scores haven't budged, you need to consider whether another shot will make any difference. If time and money are no object, then there's no harm in trying.

It appears the OP's DS has only taken the ACT one time. In that case, I would recommend taking the SAT and then retaking the one on which he earned higher scores at least once and then re-evaluate.
 
USNA had all of my S test scores, both SAT and ACT, although he only sent them (officially) the ACT scores. I never found out how they had the SAT scores, although I am guessing that they may have picked them up off his transcript.
 
Some people do better on one test vs. another (ACT vs. SAT) so it behooves people to take each at least once. Once you figure out the one that suits you better (IOW, where you "felt" better and probably earned higher scores), focus on that test.

At some point, if retaking isn't resulting in improvement and nothing has changed since your last test -- such as taking/retaking a prep class -- it may become a waste of your time and money to keep taking the test. Scores are not the be-all and end-all. I've had candidates with 800/800 SATs get TWEs and folks with much lower scores receive appointments.

Clearly, if you've only taken the test once, there's a strong likelihood the second time will produce higher scores due to familiarity, etc. However, if you've taken the test 5 times and your scores haven't budged, you need to consider whether another shot will make any difference. If time and money are no object, then there's no harm in trying.

It appears the OP's DS has only taken the ACT one time. In that case, I would recommend taking the SAT and then retaking the one on which he earned higher scores at least once and then re-evaluate.


Yes, he has only taken the ACT once, as a sophomore, last February.
 
Based on my son's experience, I'd say have him take them both - early & often!
He had a 32 composite, with 30 or better in everything. He was triple-qualified, had his Rep's nomination, Eagle Scout, Boy's State, Varsity letters in wrestling and football... and got the TWE last April. So - now he's busting his tail at a four-year college, taking all the plebe classes, doing the Ranger Challenge w/ ROTC - and he just took the ACT for the 5th time on Saturday, looking to boost the math score just a little bit. His SAT (taken 3 times now) math score is 700, but he decided to focus on the ACT since he seems to do better on that test - your son might be just the opposite. Since they super-score, he's been able to boost all his scores here or there, just never all at once. He recently scored a 34 in math on one of the official practice tests, so there's always a chance to bump it up. Finally, the results can be SO variable depending on how well rested they are, what they eat for breakfast - why not find out if higher scores are possible? My son's 2nd SAT was taken the morning after a very tough football game and a late bus ride home - his scores in all three sections were exactly 50 points lower than his first attempt. If he's not absolutely certain that his current scores are the very best he can do, my advice would be to try again, and try harder. That's what the academies expect anyway! :thumb: Best of luck to your son.


OK, for clarification, what is a TWE?

Also, Math score was a 32, English was a 33.
 
OK, for clarification, what is a TWE?

Also, Math score was a 32, English was a 33.

Sorry - TWE = "Tiny White Envelope" containing a rejection letter, as opposed to the BFE = "Big Fat Envelope" containing an offer of appointment. There's a thread on here somewhere that's a list of all the acronyms, a search will find it for you.

Those are great scores - but you never know what the other 9 kids on the slate scored on their ACTs! Since your son is just a Junior, he's still got lots of time to test again, as well as working on the rest of his file - leadership positions, extra-curriculars etc. Test scores are a big part of his 'whole person' score, but they look at so many things.
 
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Based on my son's experience, I'd say have him take them both - early & often!
He had a 32 composite, with 30 or better in everything. He was triple-qualified, had his Rep's nomination, Eagle Scout, Boy's State, Varsity letters in wrestling and football... and got the TWE last April. So - now he's busting his tail at a four-year college, taking all the plebe classes, doing the Ranger Challenge w/ ROTC - and he just took the ACT for the 5th time on Saturday, looking to boost the math score just a little bit. His SAT (taken 3 times now) math score is 700, but he decided to focus on the ACT since he seems to do better on that test - your son might be just the opposite. Since they super-score, he's been able to boost all his scores here or there, just never all at once. He recently scored a 34 in math on one of the official practice tests, so there's always a chance to bump it up. Finally, the results can be SO variable depending on how well rested they are, what they eat for breakfast - why not find out if higher scores are possible? My son's 2nd SAT was taken the morning after a very tough football game and a late bus ride home - his scores in all three sections were exactly 50 points lower than his first attempt. If he's not absolutely certain that his current scores are the very best he can do, my advice would be to try again, and try harder. That's what the academies expect anyway! :thumb: Best of luck to your son.

Wow, seems surprising that he did not get in based on the activities you listed. Good luck to him!
 
ACT vs SAT

My son (Current Youngster) took the ACT 7 times, beginning his sophomore year and the SAT twice. Admissions told him, it was fine to send all scores and let them pick the scores, but, if I'm not mistaken, he reviewed all the scores before sending them. It did cost a little more, but it was a necessary expense for his process.

His SAT scores were good, but not in the range of his ACT scores, so he concentrated on the ACT. His scores increased almost every time he took the ACT, so as someone else recommended, I would take it as many times as possible if your scores are increasing.
 
He had a 32 composite, with 30 or better in everything. He was triple-qualified, had his Rep's nomination, Eagle Scout, Boy's State, Varsity letters in wrestling and football... and got the TWE last April

I am floored...and cannot imagine why?
 
We were kind of surprised, too

His app seemed pretty darn strong to me, but I'm not on the admissions board! :wink:
A couple of things we thought of after the TWE - he was next to youngest in his HS class, wouldn't have turned 18 until the end of Plebe Summer. Maybe they're leery of very young students. And, he was never a team captain. He held many leadership positions in Scouts, up to Jr. Assistant Scoutmaster but maybe they place more weight on being team captain. Either way - he's doing very well at college and taking another run at the academies - that's his goal.
 
Highly recommend the SAT, although I think it is really a personal preference.
 
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