SAT (or ACT) have you ever needed your scores after admittance to undergraduate university?

[Azalea]

Has anyone ever asked you for your SAT or ACT scores other than to get into college as a freshman?  I am starting to wonder if my oldest daughter should bother taking these tests. She is 15 and taking 8 courses - 4 at community college, 2 AP's from PA homeschoolers, plus Derek Owens physics and OSU Spanish. Unless we win the lottery, she will transfer to our very nice state university as a sophomore or junior. She will need to live away from home so that will be $16,000 per year, plus tuition is $9,000 per year. 

 

So I'm wondering why my daughter would bother spending her entire summer preparing for these tests if she will never need them. She really does have other things to do... What am I not considering???

 

Thanks!

 

[Elisabet1]

You could need them. Here is how it goes...some schools use them for placement. And if you want to transfer before you have a years worth of credits you might need them.

 

I transferred from a university in one state to one in another state, after more than 2 years of college. I had taken a couple years off in between to work. Apparently, the new university required everyone to take some sort of placement or proficiency test. I think there might have been something called a TAAS test or something that everyone new to the university had to take. However, my SAT scores were there so I was not required to.

 

Then, after graduating, I wanted go to back and take classes at the community college for something completely different. I was streamlined in because I still had the SAT scores. 

 

Oh..and I saw that a lot of schools use the ACT and SAT scores for placement.

[Azalea]

Thank you for your response! 

[creekland]

I voted other.  I have not needed mine, but my middle son informs me that some med schools want scores listed on apps.

 

Also, one thing for you to consider... many scholarships are based upon SAT/ACT scores.  Check your state u to see if this could apply in your situation.

 

We are paying far less for each of my older boys to go to their private schools than what you list for your state school.  However, both had high scores for their respective schools, so gained a bit of merit $$.

[Crimson Wife]

Yes, there are employers who request SAT/ACT scores as part of the recruitment process. The reason is that colleges have special admissions pools for certain groups (athletes, uberwealthy "development" candidates, etc.) and because of rampant grade inflation, they may still wind up with a decent G.P.A. (communication was notorious at my alma mater for being a super-easy major). Employers request SAT/ACT scores so that they can weed out the students who don't have the brains for the job.

 

Now I presume that these employers would probably accept GRE scores from a student who had only those and no SAT or ACT scores. But I have no personal experience trying to do that.

[Azalea]

Thanks, I certainly never considered that an employer would want SAT scores. 

[TheBugs]

When I was a freshman, SAT scores on the English part of the exam determined whether you could take an advanced writing workshop or not. And I believe Math determines whether you need to take a placement test or not to determine which math course you would start with as a freshman.

[dewdropfairy]

IME, I haven't needed them outside of college admission. But that was a long time ago. You could be limited in scholarship and educational choices without them. I see no reason not to go for it. I didn't spend even one day in "preparation" and still had a score high enough for admission to a selective college. I was a bright student but not a brilliant one. I think a solid educational background is the most important test prep you can have and it sounds like she's getting that.

[umsami]

I never have…but I went on to grad school, so maybe that plays a part? When I applied for admissions for a post-bac program (pre grad school), they wanted a copy of my college transcript.

 

 

[Lori D.]

Has anyone ever asked you for your SAT or ACT scores other than to get into college as a freshman?  I am starting to wonder if my oldest daughter should bother taking these tests. She is 15 and taking 8 courses - 4 at community college, 2 AP's from PA homeschoolers, plus Derek Owens physics and OSU Spanish. Unless we win the lottery, she will transfer to our very nice state university as a sophomore or junior. She will need to live away from home so that will be $16,000 per year, plus tuition is $9,000 per year. 

 

So I'm wondering why my daughter would bother spending her entire summer preparing for these tests if she will never need them. She really does have other things to do... What am I not considering???

 

Thanks!

 

 

Since she's working at a very advanced level already, I don't see why she would need more than a few hours of prep in the 2 weeks before testing, and then the 4-5 hours that the test itself requires. Not that big of a time drain, in order to have a test score "in your back pocket" in case she needs it later for:

 

- scholarships (many are based on ACT/SAT scores)

- overseas admission or special program (SAT is taken internationally, so is seen as a sort of "standard")

- college admission

- entrance into special honors programs

- possible employer needs

 

Also, since you know where she'll be going to school, you can do the online registration for DD, and just skip all those pages of questions when you do the online registration, also saving you time. BEST of luck, whatever you decide! Warmly, Lori D. (who lives with 3 men whose motto is: "Better to HAVE it and NOT need it, than NEED it and NOT have it!") ;)

[Butter]

I needed ACT scores to get into the nursing program.  That was after 2 years of pre-reqs in college.  Many of the people applying to the nursing program took the ACT the spring or fall just before they applied to the program (applications were made in December).  I had already taken it so that was one less thing I have to do in the application process.

[SeaConquest]

Yes. I've been asked by recruiters in highly competitive fields like investment banking and management consulting. I was also asked for my scores when applying for selective internships in DC and for post-grad fellowships.

[Azalea]

 (who lives with 3 men whose motto is: "Better to HAVE it and NOT need it, than NEED it and NOT have it!") ;)

 

Thanks Lori D., I think you and your men may be right!

[Azalea]

I needed ACT scores to get into the nursing program.  That was after 2 years of pre-reqs in college.  Many of the people applying to the nursing program took the ACT the spring or fall just before they applied to the program (applications were made in December).  I had already taken it so that was one less thing I have to do in the application process.

 

Thanks Butter!

[Azalea]

Yes. I've been asked by recruiters in highly competitive fields like investment banking and management consulting. I was also asked for my scores when applying for selective internships in DC and for post-grad fellowships.

 

More good points! Thanks!

[Barbara H]

Quite a few state universities require SAT or ACT even from transfer students. They may also give student automatic exemption from particular courses, such as first year composition and scores are also often used as a placement tool for math courses. At fifteen when she's doing well with such a rigorous schedule it seems there are also fairly decent odds she may score well enough to get some scholarship money. Some schools give automatic scholarships based on ACT or SAT scores.

 

Finally, and this may sound really far fetched... but life isn't always a straight line and it can be tough to predict the future. Having the scores established can keep options open later. I recently worked with a homeschool mom who was able to get ACT to find her twenty year old test scores. The scores placed her out of two courses that are required for the degree she's working on so it saved her some time and money.

[Azalea]

More to think about, thanks! You all have convinced my daughter she needs to study for the tests.

[SwallowTail]

If she is bright, why study?  She can just do a practice test or two to get a feel for it. 

[Caroline]

I used my SAT score to replace the basic teacher certification test when I was in my mid-thirties. I only had to take the subject specific test. Saved me both time and money.