Should I submit my SAT even if it is below the school's middle 50%?
So my SAT score is 50-100 points below some of the schools that I'm applying to middle 50% score range. My guifance counselor said I should submit my score for scholarship consideration, but I don't want to hurt my chance at getting into these schools. Everything else in my application is pretty strong, but how likely is it that my SAT could keep me from getting in?
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College Vine's founder believes that if your SAT is within 60 pts of the 25% percentile, you should submit them.
https://blog.collegevine.com/test-optional-coronavirus-policies/
What this means as an example is that if the middle 50% is 1250-1410 with the middle being 1360, you should submit anything over a 1190. I personally don't think that anyone with 1190 should submit their SAT score in this scenario for the following reasons.
1.) Since the Top 400+ schools are Test-optional, only the applicants with high scores are going to submit their SAT scores which will result in a SAT inflation for next year's Common Data Set.
2.) More applicants are going to be applying to better schools across the board because of being Test-optional so the thing admissions officers are equipped to focus on these areas: Grades, b.) Course Rigor, c.) the Quality of your ECs, d.) Essays and short answers e.) Strong recommendations. Therefore, if you are an 1190 but have these factors covered, why risk it.
If we applied this logic to your situation you have disclosed that you would have an SAT score of 1150-1200 when the middle is 1250-1410. So you can go either way, take CV's recommendation or take mine and not report.
The downside is that some colleges tie your Merit Scholarship Award to Standardized Test so please check each school you are applying to, to make sure you understand what their Merit Scholarship policy is with regards to being test-optional. Hopefully, most of them will not penalize you for not submitting a test score. Rather than listening to a college counselor, do your own verification research yourself and feel confident that you make the correct choice.
BEST of luck in your decision.
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I had the same problem and my counselor told me to send them. Only time can tell whether it was the right decision. Best of luck!