I give Information Sessions at least once a week and it seems the most common questions I get are related to testing, typically from the parents. Clearly, families put a great deal of emphasis on testing. We do require that students submit SAT or ACT scores and we certainly look at them, but I always wish families (especially the prospective students themselves) would ask more about non-test, non-GPA, non-number based parts of the application.
Testing is just one piece of the application and I'd guess it's the best understood part (you can find pretty much everything you need to know online). Why is it that families come all the way to Hanover, NH to ask me about the SAT? Remember, testing is just one of many things we consider.
If you're going to stress about your college application, stress about how you can positively contribute to your community, not about how you can improve your test scores. At least then others will benefit from your stress. I hope that future posts to this blog will help prospective students, families, and their counselors better understand what's happening in the minds of the people reading these applications.
What do you think about testing? Really...I would love to hear your thoughts! Comment away!
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I haven't taken the SAT II's yet. Will submitting me ED application before taking them hurt my chances?
ReplyDeleteGood question. Although we are able to read an application without SAT subject scores, we require them because these addtional data points can be quite helpful understanding an applicant's academic strengths. There's no way to say with certainty if an application without subject test scores will hurt your chances but it won't help and you'll still need to take two subject tests for Dartmouth before you can enroll. Often if we are missing these scores and they'd be helpful to making a final decision we'd defer a student to regular decision to give time to get this new information to us.
ReplyDeleteIf I take them in November, will you wait to receive them before reading my app? Or would you just defer / reject me?
ReplyDeleteIf you're applying ED and taking the SAT Subject Tests in November, you'll be fine and we'll get them before we make decisions on your file. Please just note on the testing section of the Common App the Nov test date for SAT Subj Tests and which subjects we can expect as we process your application.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, I think standardized tests are the enemy. My junior year, I saw SAT and ACT test prep take over the lives of my friends- and I wanted nothing to do with it! I'm lucky enough to be a good test-taker, but I could not see myself taking either test 5 or 6 times and poring over test booklets on a daily basis. It has been really nice to read this and know the actual role of testing. I don't regret my attitude toward them! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI'm really happy this helps Amy. It's important to remember it's real people reading applications and we work very hard to get to know the whole person behind the application, not just the numbers.
ReplyDeleteI have taken the SAT 3 times now and I have gotten very high scores in Math and Critical Reading. However, my Writing scores are low - 670 highest. I know I can do better - I get full marks for the multiple choice every time; it's the essay that lets me down. Should I retake for the 4th time in order to write a killer essay and get a higher score in the Writing section - is it worth it?
ReplyDelete@Rishabh--this is a common question, and a fine one. There's no straight-forward answer. If you believe your writing score isn't an accurate reflection of your writing ability, it may make sense to retake the test, but given that we're looking at the whole applicant, there seems to me to be a high opportunity cost with all the other things you could be learning and contributing rather than aiming for a few more points on the one section of the SAT. We want to know the genuine you--not just a test taker. It's your call.
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