[tmlfan123]

I looked back a couple of pages and I couldn't find a thread with this topic.

I took the SAT in January. Now, I'm from Canada, so I don't know a whole lot about the SAT and how it is treated by American universities and colleges. I kind of had the impression it was just another thing that they would look at when deciding on whether to accept you or not. Has this been your experience? Does a high end score make a university take notice, offer scholarships, or anything? Also, is there a "minimum" score for Ivy League schools?

[Nate]

ACT tends to matter more than SAT now for most American schools. I do assessment work for a private university, and know for a fact from my data that more than half of the admitted freshmen didn't even take the SAT.

Yes, a high test score will definitely help you get a scholarship. It won't be enough on its own, but it can definitely be the deciding factor. On the ACT, I'd be shooting for a 30 composite score (out of 36) at least.

[SccHarpGirl]

I've heard that schools in different areas prefer different tests...New England prefers the SAT, the south prefers the ACT? But I'm not sure if that's true. I took both tests, and I wound up doing better on the ACT than on the SAT.

Unlike Canadian admissions, which tend to be nearly exclusively based on high school grades and averages, US admissions are a composite of high school transcript, SATs, essays, and other things like volunteer hours and extracurricular activities. The SAT is just one piece in the puzzle, but it's a pretty important one. Good SAT scores will help you especially if you're applying to more prestigious schools. I'd say a good target score to shoot for would be anything over 1800, though if you're applying to top-tier (like ivy-league) schools, it's a good idea to have an SAT over 2000. A good score will definitely help you if you're applying for scholarships, but it's unlikely to be the sole deciding factor.

When are you taking it?

[tmlfan123]

Originally Posted by SccHarpGirl

When are you taking it?

I took it in January.

[surferdude9375]

Honestly, it does not matter which you take because schools in the USA have to accept both as far as I know. They might prefer one over the other but going the other route has no negative effects.

My biggest advice is to take the SAT (or ACT if you prefer to take it also) two or three times. You will probably get a better score in at least one section every time you re-take it (up to a certain amount). Plus, the way the SAT works is you have verbal, math, and writing subscores. You can take the best subscore out of all the times you take it and combine them to make your best possible score. The ACT on the other hand is a one time go if I remember correctly. I took the SAT three times and the ACT once and I can say for sure the ACT was "easier" and more accurately reflected what I thought of my academics.

I think the SAT/ACT score has to do a lot with admission and scholarships but is usually a result of good high school academics which helps the process also.