SAT / ACT/ AFQT - All, just one OK? How about subject tests?

Herman_Snerd

Herman_Snerd

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The SAs and ROTC programs most describe Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT), or the American College Test (ACT) score minimums. I believe SAT or ACT may be required in many college applications but there are definitely some schools that don't require standardized test scores.

Widely advice on this board is to take ACT and SAT, as some students do better on one format - this was for example the case with my DS who scored the equivalent of 80 points higher on the ACT, for example, to his already solid SAT Score.

For those candidates who have taken the ACT or SAT and rocked it - top 1%, is there any need to take the other test for either specific college applications or for SA/ ROTC? Do colleges view only taking one test as weak, or sufficient? Also, while not required may I ask for a recommendation on whether you or your DD/ DS also took SAT Subject tests, and whether you feel ultimately this was helpful (and why)?

Just curious about others' experiences. Thanks in advance.
 
Curious about the answers to this as well. My son only took one test and took it once. For colleges he is finished as it would be a waste of time and money to retake or to switch to a different test. One and done at the suggestion of everyone except his FFR who thought he should take the other just to maximize. There is an opportunity cost and once at the top 1% it seems like a candidate would be finished in that area. Time is a precious commodity and he doesn't have much of it. He has made the decision that he is not taking the any other tests but reading here is making me nervous. I hope this doesn't impact his applications.
 
The answer is it depends. My two kids took both tests and subject matter tests as well as APs.

My DS was stuck at a 1340 on the SAT for 3 tests in a row sophomore to junior year, and then scored a 1540 on his fourth attempt in his senior year. He scored a 35 on the ACT on his first try. He also took the SAT Math 2 test with an 800 and physics at 780. Rationale: he wanted a certain score for entrance to the colleges he wanted to get into and scholarships. He wanted to get above a 1500 on the SAT, and it was well within his ability; he changed his prep method on #4 test and went for a long run before the test to get rid of the nervous energy - that did the trick. He took the ACT in the same time frame as that test can be better for some students....his 35 on the first crack showed he probably could have just taken that one upfront but he needed the SAT score for National Merit scholarship contention. The SAT Math 2 and a science subject test are highly recommended by a number of schools. He got into 4 out of the 5 colleges he applied for as an engineering major (Univ of Michigan, Univ of Minnesota-Twin Cities, Cal Poly SLO, UCLA) and his stretch was Berkeley which he didn't get into. He got an AFROTC Type 2 scholarship, National Merit scholarship, and a number of scholarships from the school he is attending to help pay for room and board.

My DD wanted to get scores equal to or greater than her brother...her first crack at the SAT was a 1400 as a sophomore and then junior year she saw how the ACT was maybe a better fit for her skills and she got a 35. 800 on Math 2 and 740 on physics in her junior year so she was done as a junior. In her senior year she doesn't have any college entrance tests to take and can just write her essays and be done with it and go after scholarships.

Net, if you rock the ACT or the SAT, no need to take the other unless there is some requirement from a school you are trying to get into or you want to achieve some score for scholarships.....there is a difference between the two tests and the ACT feels slightly more geared towards students with STEM skills.

The subject matter tests are optional but driven by the school and how competitive it is to get into the program...as the UCLA engineering admission advisor said yesterday at their open house, "When we say optional, then you should really take it as the other candidates are and the scores are a factor in admittance." Net, you don't have to, but with admission rates into some of these top programs at 5-8% for technical degrees, there are thousands more applicants than spaces so you have to be competitive. If that is not the case with the schools you are apply for, then don't bother.

You have to do your homework on the schools you want to get into and go from there. All schools are pretty transparent about what they look at...what is not known is the exact weights they put on certain items but even then, they communicate the hierarchy of importance for the factors they look at. You also don't know the competition but history will tell you a lot. There are no secrets to admission into schools....the information is available on the school's admission sites. My only recommendation is substitute "should take" for "optional" if you really want to get into a program that is highly competitive.
 
tryingmybest said:
He has made the decision that he is not taking the any other tests but reading here is making me nervous. I hope this doesn't impact his applications.
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The only consideration would be looking at the entry criteria for the schools he wants to attend - if he is solid across the board with weighted and unweighted GPA, ECs, work, and other honors/distinctions, then move on. The nervousness comes in if he has his heart set on going for top ranked, highly competitive programs. The key issue is that it has just gotten so competitive at these top programs that the median SAT score on admitted candidates is in the 99%+ area. We were at UCLA yesterday, and they showed the mean SAT scores for admitted candidates from Fall 2019: for engineering overall, it was a 1521 with GPA 4.573/3.977 (weighted/unweighted). For computer science it was a 1544 with GPA 4.621/3.987 (weighted/unweighted). That made my heart miss a beat. I sort of wished my DD would retake the ACT to get a 36 but she feels good with her 35 score so that is her decision. She has great fall back schools where she should be a shoe-in, but it all still feels like a crapshoot at places like UCLA and Berkeley.
 
I took *practice* ACTs and SATs during my junior year. These allowed me to see I was doing significantly worse on the SAT, so then stuck solely with the ACT. Paved the way for a 4 year scholarship! No need to take both if you are doing significantly better in one. If you do similar in both, can’t hurt to take both.
 
Some great advice on here, IMO. FastFood44's point was one of the first things that I was going to say...take some practice tests and see which you're naturally inclined for. My DS and DD did that and both ended up with the ACT.
Another good point that I hadn't thought of was SAT being required for National Merit Scholarship. DS got 1460 on his PSAT, which in NJ wasn't enough for Semifinalist but it was more than enough for "Commended". But if he had gotten Semifinalist, he would have had to take the SAT's to be considered for Finalist, something to think about if your kid may score high on PSATs.
I think the SAT IIs will help if you do well. Keep in mind, the percentiles on those are crazy high because only the kids applying to the top schools take them. DS got a 790 on Math 2 and that was probably about 75%.
Good article on SAT II scores: https://www.compassprep.com/whats-a-good-sat-subject-test-score/
I don't think SAT II's factor into WCS score at all. They are on his resume, so maybe that got a look and presumably did for congressional nomination panel since they asked for a resume. But in the end, you have to look at what your non SA schools need also.
So if you even THINK some of your top schools require SAT II's, you should take a few for sure. DS is applying to Georgetown and they require 3, which is a bit of an outlier, though they recently let you also use AP scores for those as well.
 
NJDadofDSUSMA2024Hopeful said:
Another good point that I hadn't thought of was SAT being required for National Merit Scholarship. DS got 1460 on his PSAT, which in NJ wasn't enough for Semifinalist but it was more than enough for "Commended". But if he had gotten Semifinalist, he would have had to take the SAT's to be considered for Finalist, something to think about if your kid may score high on PSATs.
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This year the National Merit allowed the ACT scores for the first time for the NM Scholarship....so that is one less reason on why to take both.
 
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