What You Need to Know About Superscoring

• What is a Superscore?

According to the Princeton Review:

Many schools (and the common application) will ask you to list the score and test date of your best individual test scores—such as your best ACT English, best Math, best Reading, and best Science scores—and then calculate a “super composite” or superscore based on these scores. Therefore, if you worry that some scores will rise as others fall when you take the ACT again, the “super composite” will reflect your best results. 

• How Do I Calculate my Superscore?

SAT: Sum of your highest Math and Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores.

ACT: Highest average of Science, Math, Reading, and English section scores.

• What is an Effective SAT Strategy?

Check out College Board’s reporting tool Score Choice to help you decide by test date which scores will be visible on the score reports that the College Board will then send to colleges. For example, you could have the option to eliminate your lowest test score from a given report for a specific group of colleges that don’t require you to send all test scores.

• What about an ACT Strategy?

When it comes to the ACT, a record is created each and every time you take the test. You have the power to tell ACT which test records to release to schools and ACT will send only the test dates you request. Decide which and how many dates to send based on your scores and the school’s guidelines about super scoring. If a college requests all of your scores, it’s up to you to ensure that all of your test records are properly released.

• Which College Superscore?

Check out this comprehensive list courtesy of Princeton Review.