Why SAT scores matter…kinda-3 Reason you should care about your score.
I offer a SAT preparation program to high school students near me. By “I” I mean me…and some really talented math and English instructors. Whenever I am promoting it, or talking to my clients about their scores and efforts, the same questions pop up from students and parents. “Is this a good score?” “Why does it matter?” and “Will preparing pay off?” While standardized test scores do not define you as a person and I caution students and parents to get too worked up about it-they do matter. Kinda.
I chalk up the repeat offending questions to the climate around college admissions of late. The test changed in 2016 in order to align testing more closely with high school curricula. In addition to the changes to the actual test, the ways colleges admit students has also changed. College admission was once weighted more heavily on standardized test scores. Now, when I’m wearing my college admission consultant hat, a standardized score is just one data point a college considers-that is if they consider it at all. There are now schools who do not even require standardized test scores from applicants. There are other schools with “test score optional” policies that allow students to present themselves with or without scores, whichever way may fully capture their potential.
These changes have given some students and parents the impression that scores don’t matter anymore. In reality, they do-just in different ways.
While schools have gotten more liberal with what they consider in their applicants, a raised score can impact you in ways you may not think of initially. For example, a student who took the SAT preparation course I referenced came to Bloom with a lackluster score. Because of deadlines, we applied to the schools on her list with her initial scores. Did it impact her admission to the school’s on her list? No. Her hard work paid off in a different way, however. Through her preparation work, she was able to raise her score 100 points over her lowest attempt. Her reward was being kicked up into the higher scholarship bracket for one of her schools. Her return on investment-$8k of college tuition. Not too shabby. For many students and families, that is a sum of money that can determine whether or not a student is able to afford a school on their list.
The process of preparing for standardized tests teaches you lessons beyond the test. Yup-old person sage advice coming into play. But-it’s true. The process of preparing comes with skill development in the areas of hard work, dedication, breaking down and managing large study projects, cause and effect, and character development. Trust me-there is more of a reward than a number. Things that go deeper and mean more than the number on a page.
Your score does not reflect your ability and potential. In several years time, you may not even remember your score. It is a means to an end. A snapshot of your learning at a very specific time. It does not define you, but can open doors to places that may become extremely defining and meaningful in your life. So even if you are just preparing for that brief four hours of your life it takes to complete your test, the opportunity it affords you can be life changing.