A BIG gap between verbal and math SAT scores (college acceptance related)

[Narnian_Princess]

I got 750 (98th percentile) and 710 (97th percentile) in the verbal bits of the SAT, and 580 (70th percentile) on the math; I have an awful time with math, as you can see, LOL. I am having to re-take intermediate algebra in college and I can't imagine having to get through anything harder. BUT, with only the SAT scores, I got my state's highest academic award that pays for 100% of all tuition at any college in the state. It just depends on what the particular college/program is looking for as far as scores go.

Good luck to your DD! I know how it feels to be "stupid" in math; for some reason people make you feel inadequate if you can write with the best of them but can't simplify a radical expression. We're not all cut out to be mathematicians!

 

[daisyduck123]

Does anyone know what the range is for scores on the SAT nowadays?
Back when I took it, about 25 years ago, I remember that people said you could get a 200 just for putting your name on the paper.

I've got a DD13 in Algebra II right now...so we won't be taking the SAT for a year or so (she just took the PSAT last week). I have no idea how those scores range either.

 

[allison443]

She's struggling through second semester Algebra II, even with being tutored two hours a week by a math college professor. My main concern is that a bad grade in math is going to wreck her grade point average.

I would focus on the GPA at this point. Is your daughter homeschooled and getting tutoring 2 hours a week? If so, I would increase the amount of tutoring time to get her math grade up.

As for the SAT, when my oldest applied to colleges it seemed that colleges were more forgiving of a good GPA/low SAT score than they were of the low GPA/high SAT score. The way it was explained to us was, the first combination indicates to them a hard worker who just freezes or does badly on standardized tests; the second indicates a "slacker" who is smart but doesn't do their schoolwork.
So if she can keep a good GPA, that may compensate somewhat for the SAT score.
Good luck!!

 

[Rafiki Rafiki Rafiki]

Does anyone know what the range is for scores on the SAT nowadays?
Back when I took it, about 25 years ago, I remember that people said you could get a 200 just for putting your name on the paper.

I've got a DD13 in Algebra II right now...so we won't be taking the SAT for a year or so (she just took the PSAT last week). I have no idea how those scores range either.

It's still 1600 total; 800 each in math and verbal. A writing section is given an additional 800 points, but it has not been given long enough to be normed and is not added in the total score.

 

[momrek06]

OP, the college my DS is now a Senior at has DROPPED the SATs/ACTs and you can read the following article that was in a Rhode Island newspaper as they interviewed the President of PC on his decision to drop the SAT's and the ACT's from their application. I think this is the direction many colleges and universities will be headed SOONER than later.

I also totally agree with the poster who said to concentrate on the GPA as vs. the SAT.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Providence College to no longer require SATs for admission.

The college's president says such standardized tests may give an unfair advantage to more affluent applicants.

BY JENNIFER D. JORDAN
Journal Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE -- Providence College will no longer require applicants to take the Scholastic Assessment Test or another standardized college entrance exam, the ACT, as part of its admissions process, making it the first four-year institution in Rhode Island to adopt a "test-optional" policy.

High school seniors applying to the Catholic college for acceptance in September 2007 without the test scores "will receive full consideration, without penalty, for admission," according to a statement released today.

Providence College's president, the Rev. Brian J. Shanley, said three factors convinced him to make the policy change: evidence that test scores were not as good an indicator of student performance as grades and the rigor of classes in high school; a desire to increase access to minority and first-generation college students; and a perceived inequity in the current college application process.

"From a moral point of view, the idea that if you have the economic resources to take a test prep course and it gives you a competitive advantage over students who can't take the test -- there is something wrong about that," Father Shanley said. "We were founded to be a school of opportunity for first-generation immigrants and people who otherwise wouldn't get a college degree, and I feel a moral imperative to stay true to our mission."

Popular test preparation courses, such as Kaplan and The Princeton Review, cost $900 to $1,000, an amount out of reach for many of the students Providence College would like to attract.

"The primary issue is access to higher education, especially for populations that feel priced out or unable to compete because there's a sense that private colleges have become so competitive that you can't be accepted if you don't have the right numbers," said Christopher Lydon, associate vice president for admission and enrollment planning at PC. "We hope that by going test optional, students who may not be the best test takers will continue to consider us."

As PC has risen steadily through national rankings in the past decade, including the influential U.S. News & World Report, the average SAT score for the school has also risen, to a range of 1,120 to 1,290, Lydon said. Becoming more selective has enhanced PC's reputation, but has not helped the college become as diverse as administrators would like. Minority students will make up 11.5 percent of this year's incoming class -- almost double the percentage from five years ago, but still well below where the college would like to be, Father Shanley said.

"In some ways, this is personal for me, because my father was the first generation in his family to go to college, when he came to Providence College on the GI Bill. And it changed my family dramatically, because of the opportunity he had," said Father Shanley, who grew up in Warwick and graduated from PC in 1980. "I want Providence College to continue to be a place for students whose parents didn't go to college to come here and change the arc of their families' lives."

DOZENS OF OTHER colleges have decided to drop SAT and ACT scores from their admissions requirements, including Bates College in Maine, which was one of the first prestigious colleges to become "test optional" two decades ago. More recently, both Mount Holyoke College in western Massachusetts and the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester have decided to not require college entrance exam scores.

"I talked to the president of Holy Cross about it, and he said they have really increased their applicant pool and diversity," Father Shanley said. "We think we're at the crest of a wave that a lot of other schools will follow."

 

[momrek06]

Sorry double post!!
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OP, I also wanted to add, GOOD LUCK to your DD!!!! :

My DS is applying right now as we speak to the University of Arizona for his Master in Business Administration!!! He was accepted as an undergrad to UA but choose PC. He really would love to go to UA for his MBA!!!

 

[Acklander]

When I took the SAT's a zillion years ago, I had a huge gap. I got 800 on the math, but only 5 something for verbal. I had heard that colleges would prefer someone who was well rounded academically and that having a big gap would hurt you. When I applied for college I checked off the box that I spoke English as a second language, figuring that would explain the gap in my scores. I figured if anyone actually asked me about it, I'd say that I checked the box in error - since I didn't speak another language. No one ever asked me about it, and I have no idea if it helped me get into my college of choice, or even if it mattered that I had such a big gap in my scores.
When I look back on it, I think I'm more bothered by the fact that I let the "numbers" run my life, than the fact that I lied on my college application.

 

[thewishfire]

She really wants to get into the dance program at the University of Arizona. We've visited there twice, and she auditioned for the dance program last month.

The dance program is great at the U of A.

But to answer your question...

I just moved to Tucson this past May after being accepted by the U of A. I decided not to go due to financial reasons and am starting at the community college here, but I also had a big gap between my verbal and math scores. 200 points! I'm sure each department is looking for something different, but it didn't seem to hurt me any.

If you have any questions that I might possibly be able to answer, feel free to message me!

 

[luvflorida]

OP, I also wanted to add, GOOD LUCK to your DD!!!! :

Thank you, and thanks for the article you included in your post. I know many colleges are putting less emphasis on the SATs, and I think that's a good thing.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

My mother barely "passed" the math portion of the SAT (average would have been WONDERFUL--I think she was slightly below)..but her verbal was out of the park. She went to a 2 year technical college but did get in (this was as an adult with only a GED)

I did okay on verbal (whatever the minimum was...I might have gotten slightly over it) and did well on the math and I was able to get into UF (Though it seems to be much more competitive now.)

I don't think she will be the first nor the last student with a big gap between the numbers.

My brother sucks at tests and math--he got in with his ACT score to a 4yr university. Not sure what the score was..only that he had to take it multiple times.


I do think when I applied the combined score was looked at. I had retaken the SAT and my math went up by 20 points and my verbal went down. They took the highest math and highest verbal...and thus my total score.

 

[iggbees]

the school i went to stopped requiring sat's back when i applied in 2000. it's a very selective school and has constantly been in the top 25 liberal arts colleges in the us. they just found that the correlation between sat's and the way that kids do in college are not accurate.

i think that recommendations, as well as you grades, are much more important than sat's are. especially if she wants to get into a dance program. i know kids who went to my high school who got into the university of arizona and did not have fantastic grades let alone sat scores (and not like they had one awesome sat score and one crummy one, they just had 2 ok ones).

oh and i just applied to a graduate school program for molecular and cellular biology this past year and got in, regardless of the fact that my gre scores were HORRIBLE. i was ashamed to submit them (something like a 550 and a 530 for math and verbal). i hadn't taken a test in 2 years and then taking something like a standardized test was a killer for me. the graduate program that i got into is fantastic and has been ranked before in the top graduate schools for that concentration.