The SAT: When it is important and when it is not important for US College Applications

Most high school students I meet spend a significant amount of their time preparing for the SAT and worrying about their scores. I believe it is important for applicants to have a strategy for the SAT, because the options surrounding the SAT are more complex than many people initially think.

So is the SAT important? A simple answer is ‘yes it is and its importance has been increasing’. The average SAT score for top schools is above 2100, and continues to rise. The National Association for College Admission Counseling survey data shows that the importance of standardized testing across all four-year colleges and universities has increased over the past 15 years

If your school offers the PSAT, you should consider taking it, because it is a great way to practise early on without it counting towards your SAT score. You may also want to take the SAT more than once. Certain universities will either take your single highest test score or take the best scores for each section. The SAT also now offers Score Choice, so you do not have to submit every test score to all the universities you are applying to. Make sure you understand what the policies are for the universities you are considering and plan ahead to give yourself enough time to be able to retake the SAT once or twice, with sufficient time in between to study and practise.

So when is the SAT not important? Now several colleges have gone SAT optional. Over 28 of the top 100 liberal arts colleges in the US, as ranked by U.S. News and World Report, have made it optional for applicants to submit SAT scores. These colleges rely on your performance at high school to assess your academic potential. There are several reasons why colleges are joining the SAT optional movement, which include the belief that the SAT can favor certain groups of applicants’ e.g. more affluent applicants that can afford to take expensive test preparation courses. So if you are not good at taking standardized tests, but your high school performance is strong, you may still have a very strong chance of getting into a leading college.

Some universities, such as New York University and Colby College, have a variety of options; for example you can submit SAT subject tests in lieu of the SAT I.  Check these policies in advance, so that you do not spend time studying for tests that you may not need to take.

More recently, more colleges have begun to accept the ACT with the optional writing test in lieu of the SAT I and SAT II subject tests e.g.   University of Pennsylvania, Tufts University, Duke University and Yale University.   Why does this matter? Well you could save time because now you have to study for one test versus studying for the SAT I and two to three SAT subject tests. While one test is not easier than the other, there are some key differences between the tests in terms of test format, content, and scoring that might make either the SAT or the ACT a better match for a given individual. I recommend starting off by taking some practise tests for the SAT and the ACT to see if one test suits you better than the other.

A strong SAT score on its own will not get you into a leading University. At most selective universities, high test scores characterize most of the applicants and most admissions decisions are therefore based on other criteria. Most US Universities follow a holistic admissions process which means that they look at both academic and non-academic factors – such as leadership, teamwork etc. So don’t spend all your time focussed on the SAT!