As the college application season approaches, getting the SAT score is probably one of the top priorities on their checklist for high school students. The SAT has undergone significant changes in recent years, particularly with the introduction of a digital version of the test. Students in the class of 2025 who were in the midst of this transition may have scores from both paper and digital SAT. In these cases, will they be able to superscore across the two exams?
What is Superscoring?
First, let’s understand what superscoring means. According to the Collegeboard blog, superscoring is a policy that some colleges follow in which they use your best section-level scores, even if they are from different tests. In other words, the colleges will take the highest section scores across multiple testing dates and combine them to create a new, higher composite score. For example, let’s say a student scored a 700 on Reading & Writing and 750 on Math on a December 2023 test and received a 750 on Reading & Writing and 700 on Math on March 2024 test. The student will submit the scores from both test dates and the college will consider the student’s total score as 1500, which is the sum of the higher scores on each test, 750 on Reading & Writing and 750 on Math. This can make up for students’ chances of performing differently on each section on a given test date, giving them an opportunity to fill the gap.
What May Affect this Tradition?
Like mentioned above, the College Board began offering the SAT in a digital format since 2023 and the test has officially gone digital across the globe beginning March 2024. This move aimed to provide more flexibility and accessibility to students, allowing them to take the test on a computer. The shift also involved shorter testing time and more simplified question styles, further benefitting the students. Since the two versions of test have some dissimilarities, students are wondering if superscoring policy will still be effective between the two exams.
Can You Superscore Digital and Paper SAT?
Now, the question arises: do colleges accept superscoring across both the digital and paper versions of the SAT?
The answer to this question ultimately depends on the individual college or university. Generally, the colleges that traditionally allowed superscoring are likely to accept superscoring across both exam types. So it’s best for students to look for updates on the superscoring policies of the colleges or universities to which they plan to apply. Some of the popular colleges that have allowed superscoring are as follows: Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Stanford, Princeton, MIT, UPenn, Georgia Tech, New York University, University of Chicago, Notre Dame, and Vanderbilt.
Should I Keep Taking the Digital SAT?
Many students have expressed their generally higher comfort level towards the digital SAT compared to the older version of the SAT. The new SAT is indeed designed to be more student-friendly, having more straightforward questions, shorter passages and shorter testing time. Although testing preferences may vary from a student to another, it may be worth trying this new form of testing to see if it is a good fit for you. Especially, if you feel your paper SAT score has a potential to grow towards fully representing your abilities, consider taking the digital SAT before you submit your application.
Conclusion
With the transition to the Digital SAT, students may have questions regarding colleges’ updated policies on accepting students’ scores. The question of whether colleges will superscore across digital and paper SAT tests will have varying answers depending on the institution. For this reason, students need to thoroughly research the superscoring policies of each college to plan out their testing schedules accordingly. Whether or not the colleges you are interested accepts superscoring, if you wish to improve your score, it may be worthwhile to consider taking the digital SAT.
Want to Get a High Digital SAT Score?
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