As in-person testing returns to some normality and test centers have begun to offer more testing dates, some students may have several test scores for the SAT or ACT. If you have taken the test more than once, but have scored differently on each occasion, how do you present this to the colleges you are applying to? Should you submit all or can you pick and choose which tests to submit? If you send in all your test scores, how will colleges assess them? Superscore vs score choice; what’s the difference? And which applies?
Superscore
For many colleges, SAT and ACT scores will be superscored if applicants decide to send in multiple tests. While superscoring of the ACT remains a little less common practice than superscoring the SAT, it’s fairly applicable for both (see our list of 130+ top colleges’ score policies in the table below).
Superscore means colleges will look at each test and combine the best scores from each section into one composite score which reviewers will then assess you on. Basically, it’s presenting the best version of your test scores when combining them together. And not only is it beneficial to applicants, colleges also look good (and raise their ranking) if they can present the highest scores.
Let’s take an example. If you receive the following scores on two separate test dates you will be assessed on your composite scores of 1500 (760+740) rather than your second composite score of 1480.
First SAT test score
Reading and writing: 620
Math: 740
Composite: 1360
Second SAT test score
Reading and writing: 760
Math: 720
Composite: 1480
Score Choice
Score Choice, on the other hand, gives test takers complete control over what scores are submitted to colleges, allowing them to present their single best test score taken on one test date. For students who have done better on all sections on one test date, compared to another, and want to be assured that only their best test scores are considered, they can select score choice. Bear in mind that you can’t choose to send your Math score from one test day and your Evidence-Based Reading and Writing score from another test day, rather you have to send your best test score from a single sitting.
Despite the benefits of this option, some colleges don’t encourage it, recommending or in some rare cases requiring students to submit scores from all the times they have taken the test.
How Many Times Should I Retake the SAT/ACT?
While it has its benefits, taking the test too many times may not be viewed favourably by colleges. Harvard for instance states on their website that taking it several times has diminishing returns. We suggest taking it 2-3 times, as students will often score better the second time taking it. However we don’t suggest taking it more than this, it takes time and money to prepare and it can take away from other important activities including your school work and extracurriculars.
Superscore vs. Score Choice Policies
If you are unsure what colleges score submission policy is, here is our table of 130+ colleges and their policies.
| School | Superscore | Score Choice |
| American University | Superscore SAT only | Accepts score choice |
| Amherst College | Superscore SAT + ACT | Accepts score choice |
| Arizona State University—”—‹Tempe | Don’t superscore | Accepts score choice |
| Babson College | Superscore SAT + ACT | Accepts score choice |
| Bard College | Superscore SAT + ACT | Accepts score choice |
| Barnard College | Superscore SAT + ACT | Recommends submitting all |
| Bates College | Superscore SAT + ACT | Accepts score choice |
| Baylor University | Superscore SAT + ACT | Accepts score choice |
| Bentley University | Superscore SAT + ACT | Accepts score choice |
| Berea College | Superscore SAT + ACT | Accepts score choice |
| Boston College | Superscore SAT + ACT | Accepts score choice |
| Boston University | Superscore SAT + ACT | Recommends submitting all |
| Bowdoin College | Superscore SAT + ACT | Accepts score choice |
| Brandeis University | Superscore SAT only | Accepts score choice |
| Brigham Young University—”—‹Provo | Don’t superscore | Accepts score choice |
| Brown University | Superscore SAT + ACT | Accepts score choice |
| Bryn Mawr College | Superscore SAT only | Accepts score choice |
| Bucknell University | Superscore SAT only | Accepts score choice |
| California Institute of Technology | Superscore SAT only | Accepts score choice |
| California Polytechnic State University—”—‹SLO | Superscore SAT + ACT | Accepts score choice |
| California State Polytechnic University—”Pomona | Superscore SAT + ACT | Accepts score choice |
| Carleton College | Superscore SAT only | Accepts score choice |
| Carnegie Mellon University | Superscore SAT only | Requires all scores |
| Case Western Reserve University | Superscore SAT + ACT | Accepts score choice |
| Chapman University | Superscore SAT only | Recommends submitting all |
| Claremont McKenna College | Superscore SAT + ACT | Accepts score choice |
| Clemson University | Superscore SAT + ACT | Accepts score choice |
| Colby College | Superscore SAT + ACT | Recommends submitting all |
| Colgate University | Superscore SAT + ACT | Accepts score choice |
| College of New Jersey | Superscore SAT only | Accepts score choice |
| College of the Holy Cross | Superscore SAT + ACT | Accepts score choice |
| College of William and Mary | Superscore SAT only | Accepts score choice |
| Columbia University | Superscore SAT + ACT | Accepts score choice |
| Cooper Union | Superscore SAT + ACT | Recommends submitting all |
| Cornell University | Superscore SAT + ACT | Accepts score choice SAT; requires all ACT |
| Dartmouth College | Superscore SAT only | Accepts score choice |
| DePaul University | Don’t superscore | Accepts score choice |
| Dickinson College | Superscore SAT + ACT | Accepts score choice |
| Drew University | Superscore SAT only | Accepts score choice |
| Drexel University | Superscore SAT only | Recommends submitting all |
| Duke University | Superscore SAT + ACT | Accepts score choice |
| Emory University | Superscore SAT + ACT | Recommends submitting all |
| Florida State University | Superscore SAT + ACT | Recommends submitting all |
| Fordham University | Superscore SAT + ACT | Accepts score choice |
| George Washington University | Superscore SAT only | Accepts score choice |
| Georgetown University | Superscore SAT only | Requires all scores |
| Georgia Institute of Technology | Superscore SAT + ACT | Recommends submitting all |
| Gonzaga University | Superscore SAT + ACT | Accepts score choice |
| Grinnell College | Superscore SAT + ACT | Accepts score choice |
| Harvard University | Don’t superscore | Accepts score choice |
| Harvey Mudd College | Superscore SAT + ACT | Recommends submitting all |
| Howard University | Superscore SAT only | Accepts score choice |
| Indiana University—”—‹Bloomington | Superscore SAT + ACT | Accepts score choice |
| Johns Hopkins University | Superscore SAT + ACT | Recommends submitting all |
| Kenyon College | Superscore SAT + ACT | Recommends submitting all |
| Lehigh University | Superscore SAT + ACT | Accepts score choice |
| Lewis & Clark College | Superscore SAT + ACT | Accepts score choice |
| Loyola Marymount University | Superscore SAT only | Accepts score choice |
| Marquette University | Don’t superscore | Accepts score choice |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Superscore SAT + ACT | Accepts score choice |
| Miami University—”—‹Oxford | Superscore SAT + ACT | Recommends submitting all |
| Michigan State University | Don’t superscore | Accepts score choice |
| Middlebury College | Superscore SAT + ACT | Recommends submitting all |
| Mount Holyoke College | Superscore SAT + ACT | Accepts score choice |
| Muhlenberg College | Superscore SAT only | Accepts score choice |
| New Jersey Institute of Technology | Superscore SAT only | Recommends submitting all |
| New York University | Superscore SAT + ACT | Accepts score choice |
| Northeastern University | Superscore SAT + ACT | Accepts score choice |
| Northwestern University | Superscore SAT + ACT | Accepts score choice |
| Oberlin College | Superscore SAT + ACT | Accepts score choice |
| Occidental College | Superscore SAT + ACT | Accepts score choice |
| Ohio State University—”—‹Columbus | Don’t superscore | Accepts score choice |
| Oregon State University | Don’t superscore | Recommends submitting all |
| Pennsylvania State University—”—‹University Park | Don’t superscore | Recommends submitting all |
| Pepperdine University | Superscore SAT only | Accepts score choice |
| Pitzer College | Superscore SAT + ACT | Accepts score choice |
| Pomona College | Superscore SAT + ACT | Recommends submitting all |
| Princeton University | Superscore SAT only | Recommends submitting all |
| Purdue University—”—‹West Lafayette | Superscore SAT + ACT | Accepts score choice |
| Reed College | Superscore SAT only | Recommends submitting all |
| Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | Superscore SAT only | Accepts score choice |
| Rice University | Superscore SAT + ACT | Recommends submitting all |
| Rochester Institute of Technology | Superscore SAT + ACT | Accepts score choice |
| Rutgers, —‹New Brunswick | Superscore SAT only | Recommends submitting all |
| San Diego State University | Superscore SAT + ACT | Recommends submitting all |
| San Francisco State University | Superscore SAT only | Accepts score choice |
| San Jose State University | Superscore SAT + ACT | Accepts score choice |
| Santa Clara University | Superscore SAT + ACT | Accepts score choice |
| Scripps College | Superscore SAT + ACT | Accepts score choice |
| Skidmore College | Superscore SAT only | Accepts score choice |
| Smith College | Superscore SAT only | Accepts score choice |
| Stevens Institute of Technology | Superscore SAT + ACT | Accepts score choice |
| Swarthmore College | Accepts score choice | |
| Syracuse University | Superscore SAT + ACT | Requires all scores |
| Texas A&M University—”—‹College Station | Don’t superscore | Accepts score choice |
| University of Arizona | Don’t superscore | Accepts score choice |
| University of Chicago | Superscore SAT + ACT | Recommends submitting all |
| University of Colorado—”—‹Boulder | Superscore SAT + ACT | Recommends submitting all |
| University of Connecticut | Superscore SAT + ACT | Accepts score choice |
| University of Florida | Superscore SAT + ACT | Accepts score choice |
| University of Illinois—”—‹Urbana-—‹Champaign | Superscore SAT + ACT | Accepts score choice |
| University of Maryland—”—‹College Park | Superscore SAT + ACT | Accepts score choice |
| University of Massachusetts—”—‹Amherst | Superscore SAT + ACT | Accepts score choice |
| University of Miami | Superscore SAT + ACT | Recommends submitting all |
| University of Michigan—”—‹Ann Arbor | Superscore SAT + ACT | Accepts score choice |
| University of Minnesota—”—‹Twin Cities | Don’t superscore | Recommends submitting all |
| University of North Carolina—”—‹Chapel Hill | Superscore SAT + ACT | Accepts score choice |
| University of Notre Dame | Superscore SAT + ACT | Accepts score choice |
| University of Oregon | Superscore SAT only | Accepts score choice |
| University of Pennsylvania | Superscore SAT + ACT | Accepts score choice |
| University of Pittsburgh | Superscore SAT only | Recommends submitting all |
| University of Rochester | Superscore SAT + ACT | Accepts score choice |
| University of San Diego | Superscore SAT only | Accepts score choice |
| University of San Francisco | Superscore SAT + ACT | Recommends submitting all |
| University of Southern California | Superscore SAT only | Accepts score choice |
| University of Texas—”—‹Austin | Don’t superscore | Recommends submitting all |
| University of Utah | Don’t superscore | Accepts score choice |
| University of Virginia | Superscore SAT + ACT | Accepts score choice |
| University of Washington | Superscore SAT + ACT | Accepts score choice |
| Vanderbilt University | Superscore SAT + ACT | Recommends submitting all |
| Vassar College | Superscore SAT + ACT | Accepts score choice |
| Villanova University | Superscore SAT + ACT | Recommends submitting all |
| Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University | Superscore SAT + ACT | Recommends submitting all |
| Wake Forest University | Superscore SAT + ACT | Accepts score choice |
| Washington and Lee University | Superscore SAT + ACT | Recommends submitting all |
| Washington University in St. Louis | Superscore SAT + ACT | Accepts score choice |
| Wellesley College | Don’t superscore | Accepts score choice |
| Wesleyan University | Superscore SAT + ACT | Accepts score choice |
| Whitman College | Superscore SAT + ACT | Accepts score choice |
| Whittier College | Superscore SAT only | Accepts score choice |
| Willamette University | Superscore SAT + ACT | Accepts score choice |
| Yale University | Superscore SAT + ACT | Recommends submitting all |
Do you still have questions about superscore vs score choice? If you would like to speak to an expert to develop your own personal testing and application strategy, contact us today for a complimentary conversation with the team.
Sophia Minhas