Everyone knows the importance of test scores in college admissions but fewer understand the importance of the SAT^® superscore, a little-known scoring tool used by many “top” colleges.  Understanding the role of superscoring can help students better prepare for the SAT^® and take full advantage of this useful scoring tool.

What is an SAT^® Superscore?

Well, the concept is pretty easy. To calculate the SAT^® superscore, colleges will select your “highest” Reading (EBRW) and “highest” Math scores from ANY sitting. What that means is that colleges do NOT consider you single-test scores but combine your “highest” section scores from multiple sittings, often resulting in higher overall score.

For example, if you took the SAT^® in March and scored 620 Reading (EBRW) and 720 Math your single-test score would be 1340. If you tested again in June and scored 720 Reading (EBRW) and 620 Math, your single-test score would also be 1320. Now here is the important part. The superscore (the highest combined score from both sittings) would be 1440 or 100 points higher! That is great news for SAT^® takers

March SAT^®            Math 720    Reading   620    TOTAL    1340

June SAT^®              Math 620    Reading   720    TOTAL    1340

SUPER SCORE   Math 720    Reading   620    TOTAL     1440

Which Colleges Superscore SAT^®?

Not every college superscore, but many institutions use this scoring tool when evaluating applicants.  Here is just a sample of some “top” colleges that use the SAT^® superscore:

Boston College

Boston University

Columbia University

Duke

Georgetown

Harvard

Johns Hopkins

MIT

NYU

Notre Dame

Princeton

Stanford

USC

Vanderbilt

Villanova

Yale

For a complete list of colleges that use the SAT^® superscore (also referred to as the SAT^® Highest Section Scores), check this list of participating schools.

Since policies can change, definitely check the website or call up the school you’re interested in to make sure you understand how they consider SAT^® scores during the admission process.

Test Prep and Superscoring

Now that you better understand the competitive advantage of superscoring the SAT^®, let’s talk about how you can modify your test prep to ensure that you are submitting the best scores to colleges.

1. Always take the SAT^® at least 2-3 times to attain the highest SAT^® Superscore. That just makes sense. If you have not taken the test multiple times, then you cannot combine highest section scores from different test dates.

2. Target Reading (ERBW) or Math for different test dates. For example, if you already scored very high on Math (700+) but lower on Reading (ERBW), on the next SAT^®, target your test preparation heavily on improving your Reading score.

3. Start testing early in the junior year. In order to take full advantage of superscoring, you need plenty of time to prepare and take multiple tests. Students should ideally start testing no later than March of their junior year (and even earlier, if possible).

Final Advice

At Kranse, we understand that students often need to take the SAT^® more than once to submit the best superscore to colleges.  At Kranse, we want our students to be fully prepared for every test date, which is why we offer a 540-day access to our SAT^® prep program. We know that students need awesome test prep support throughout the entire re-testing process (not just for the first sitting). How many other test prep companies can say the same thing?

Enroll at Kranse Institute and save 30% off enrollment with discount code COACH30 at www.kranse.com.