Superscore and Score Choice Demystified

As standardized test season moves along, you may be asking some questions about your child’s scores. Do colleges have to see all of the scores from the tests your child took? Is there a way to take the best scores from each test? This is where Superscore and Score Choice come in. Take a look below to learn more about your options for reporting scores.

What is

Superscore?

With Superscore, students can submit multiple tests, and the college will take the top scores in each category. If your child rocked the Reading section in October but dropped the ball in December, the college will honor the higher score. This method can be beneficial since students sometimes struggle to reach their maximum potential in each section on test day.

However, not all schools Superscore, so make sure to look at the school’s website when making decisions about score reporting.

But beware: Superscore doesn’t mean your child should take the test as many times as possible—if the scores are all over the place over the course of five or six tests, this inconsistency might look bad to a college.

What is

Score Choice?

Score Choice allows you to choose which test dates to send into colleges—unlike Superscore, students cannot choose individual sections.

For the ACT, you must pay $12 to send a score report for each college on every individual test date. The SAT gives you the first four for free, and you pay $11.25 for each additional college.  

Most schools allow Score Choice, but be sure to check on their websites. For example, some top notch schools like Yale and Stanford require your child to submit all scores.

Your child might elect to use Score Choice if a test day did not go as planned and the poor scores might look like a serious outlier to an admissions representative.

If you’d like help navigating the test prep season, contact us today!