I was wondering whether colleges will superscore between the old and new SAT. I took the old test and earned W650 R700 M750. On the new one, which I took just two days ago, I am confident that I will score in the mid to high 700s for the Reading and Writing section, but on some practice tests my Math score slipped below 750. What is the policy for superscoring in this case?
Also, when colleges say they consider the highest score in one sitting out of your results, how does that work between the new and old SAT? Will they go purely by score (an old 2100 would equal 1400 on the new test) or by the new percentile rankings, assuming they differ? Or do they show a preference for one test over the other?
Just one last question: the essay is definitely my weak point, and I think that I will receive an 8-9 at the most on the new test. How much do colleges care about the essay score compared to the section an composite scores? Is it weighed more or less than SAT Subject Tests? Will it be possible to superscore my essay if I take the test again?
Thanks,
Maxwell
To answer your first question, no, most schools will not superscore between the old and new SAT. The tests are too different for colleges to feel comfortable grouping them together for superscoring. Check out the answer to this other similar question for more details. You can also read this article that lists the policies of schools that superscore the SAT, including how they approach new SAT scores.
As for your second question, colleges will consider whichever score is highest according to the concordance tables published by the College Board. According to the tables, a 1400 on the new SAT is actually equivalent to a 1990 on the old SAT. There's no preference for a score from one test over the other.
I wouldn't worry too much about your essay score on the SAT (though keep in mind that on the new test the scores are out of 24 rather than 12! I assume you meant an 8-9 on the old scoring scale.). Since this version of the essay is so new, colleges will not consider it as strongly in their admissions decisions. It's definitely less important than SAT Subject Tests for schools that require those as a part of your application. Superscoring doesn't technically apply to the essay, but if you send in multiple score reports, colleges will tend to focus on your highest essay score.
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I see, thank you for the information. Does this also mean that converting old SAT scores to new ones using said concordance tables is a good way to estimate what the new SAT 25th and 75th percentile scores will be for any particular college? For example, UC Berkeley has a middle 50% range of 1870-2240, so is 1330-1530 a reasonable estimate of what the ranges for the upcoming class will be?
Also, is there a way to find out what an 8 on the old essay translates to on the new essay?
Thanks!