Note: this post has been updated to reflect new information regarding Superscoring between the Digital SAT and paper SAT.
Recently, high schoolers have benefitted from an SAT and ACT practice known as Superscoring. If you’ll permit me to sound like an old person for a sec: back in my day, this was NOT an option! But I sure wish it had been.
If you’re a parent, and you’re poking around my free test prep articles to help your kid ramp up for the SAT or ACT, you may have not even heard of Superscoring yet! So that’s why I’m hitting the fundamentals in today’s post: WHAT Superscoring is, WHY colleges use it, HOW it works, and WHICH colleges deploy it!
What is Superscoring on the SAT and ACT?
Superscoring is a practice whereby a college will look at your highest scores for each section, across the probably multiple dates you’ve taken the test, and consider the combined score from those “bests” for admissions purposes!
For instance, let’s suppose you took the SAT in December, March, and June. In December, you managed to get a 730 in the Math, but only a 470 in Evidence-Based Reading and Writing (let’s shorten that to “Verbal,” for convenience’s sake). Hmmm, that combined score is not high enough for your target college! You take the exam again in March, really learning ALL of the strategy and content you can to raise your Verbal score, and you DO: to a 680! However, you were SO zeroed in on Verbal that your Math score declined to a 690. You take the test again in June, but this time, you’re so stressed with finals and AP exams that BOTH your scores sink to the mid-600’s. Uh-oh!
At first, you might think this is cause for serious concern because NONE of your individual test dates achieved the score you need! But wait: Superscoring changes the game here. With Superscoring—if your college list allows it—only the highest Verbal and highest Math scores count in your application to that school. So in our example, your Superscore would consist of the 680 in Verbal that you got in March and the 730 in Math that you got in December. Together, those add to 1410, so, in the test prep speak, you “Superscored to a 1410.”
Can You Superscore the ACT as Well?
In some cases, yes. Here’s the nuance: it’s not the ACT powers-that-be or the College Board (the company that owns and operates the SAT) that decide whether they will Superscore you. It’s actually the specific colleges you’re applying to. Each school on your list determines whether they Superscore the SAT, the ACT, or both tests.
Now, the SAT is more frequently Superscored than the ACT. There are some schools that WILL Superscore for the SAT, but NOT for the ACT. That said, generally speaking, more and more colleges ARE Superscoring these days.
And, further good news for you: since 2021, the ACT has offered a new, one-stop reporting option that makes it way cheaper for you to send your Superscore to those colleges that do accept it.
However, some colleges will still opt NOT to use this single-serving ACT Superscore report, and will instead opt for this quirky thing known as “weak Superscoring” for the ACT. Basically, this means that they’ll consider your highest English, Math, Reading, and Science section scores...but they will NOT take the extra effort to adding them up and divide by 4 (you know, average them) to come up with a new, Superscored Composite Score.
Why Do Schools Superscore the SAT and ACT?
So, I know you don’t want to hear this, because it seems like I just made your standardized testing dreams come true, but colleges do not Superscore solely out of the goodness of their hearts, or in a way that will benefit you and you alone. See, if a college is permitting you to take multiple SAT’s and ACT’s and weld the highest section scores together, you’ll (in most cases) end up with a higher overall score, right? But….so will all of the other applicants you’re competing against!
What this accomplishes is to raise the a given college’s “average SAT” or “median ACT” scores, which makes THEIR admissions statistics that much more competitive! If a school can brag that their incoming freshmen class has a 25th-75th percentile SAT score range of 1480-1560, that makes them look pretty impressive...which means more applications, and more applications dollars, coming their way!
Which Colleges Superscore the SAT and ACT?
As you might imagine, this is a case-by-case question—one whose answer is different every year! To find out if YOUR dream school Superscores for the test, either go to CollegeBoard.org, search CollegeData.com, or go to the individual school’s website and search “standardized testing requirements.” (You can probably find the info you need by clicking the “Apply” tab!)
Can you Superscore Digital and paper SATs together?
The College Board has recently indicated that Superscoring between the two versions of the test WILL be permitted…with this caveat: as with Superscoring two paper SAT scores together, the decision is left up to individual colleges. Meaning: some of the schools on your list might allow you to Superscore two versions of the test, but not all of them may.
How Does Superscoring Affect ME?
At the end of the day, if a college Superscores, it DOES take the pressure off having to get every section in the best possible shape at the same time. But there’s another side to the coin: if your target colleges Superscore, you’re at a disadvantage if you only take the SAT or ACT once (unless, of course, you get a perfect or near-perfect score the first time you try!).
Since ALL applicants will be able to raise their Superscore by taking the test 2, 3 or 4+ times and just getting a higher score in any section of the test, you’ll miss out if you don’t allow yourself the same multiple opportunities to raise your section scores. (Wondering how you can possibly cram multiple test sittings into your already-packed Junior/Senior year schedule? Here’s my guide on calculating the testing timeline that will get you to your target score!)
Also, when a college allows you to Superscore the SAT and/or the ACT, their median score ranges tend to be higher, since students didn’t have to give a perfect performance on a single test day to get that score that they’re reporting.
In the end, there are pros and cons to Superscoring, though it ultimately doesn’t matter what *I* think... all that matters is what your dream college requires, and what’s going to help you put your best foot forward when it comes to testing!
So that’s what’s up with Superscoring.
I hope this post will help you make informed decisions about your testing strategy! If any of this is confusing, or you need more help prepping to take the SAT or the ACT, let’s build a customized study plan together.
