When it comes to college applications, your SAT® score is the most important factor. As the candidate pool becomes more competitive each year, it is critical to send your best results to institutions, and superscoring is one way to do so. In this blog, we will discuss which colleges superscore the SAT and why.
What Does Superscore Mean?
Superscoring refers to selecting your best section scores from multiple test dates to get a new final score. As you probably know by now, the final SAT score ranges from 400-1600. It is the sum of the Evidence-Based Reading and Writing (EBRW)/Reading and Writing (RW) section and the Math section scores on the test. Each section of the SAT is further scored on a scale of 200-800.
Let’s understand superscoring with an example. You take the SAT twice. In your first attempt, you score a 500 on your EBRW and a 600 on your Math. As a result, your final score is 1100. In your second attempt, you score a 600 on EBRW and only a 500 on Math, which makes your final score 1100 again. However, when you superscore your SAT, you select your best section scores, that is, 600 on EBRW and 600 on Math, giving you a new final score of 1200.
To know in detail how superscoring is done, check out our blog on SAT superscore and our SAT scoring guide to learn about all the scoring components and the process of calculating scores.
List of Colleges That Superscore the SAT
You will find many US universities and colleges superscore the SAT. Here, we have put together a list of top colleges that superscore the SAT to help you with your college admissions.
Why Do Colleges Superscore?
While submitting your admission application to colleges, you might be wondering why some colleges accept SAT superscores. Here are a few reasons:
- It helps colleges maintain their reputation
Colleges that superscore the SAT are able to report higher test score averages across all admitted students. This helps in maintaining their reputation. - Majority of students take the SAT at least twice
Colleges are aware that many students take the SAT twice or more in order to prepare for college admissions. Research shows that students improve in at least one section when they retake the test. - A single test result is not a reliable measure of your academic potential.
There are a lot of factors that influence your test performance—your level of preparation, your sleeping and eating schedule before the test, and having any personal issues that may affect your concentration on the test.
Why do some colleges not accept SAT superscore?
For superscoring, students need to take multiple tests and send in their best scores. This comes as an addition to the already high cost of college applications. Hence, some colleges decide not to superscore to reduce the financial burden on students. Moreover, submitting SAT scores is optional for some colleges, so superscoring is also not taken into consideration.