CATES Blog

What is Score Choice? What is Super Scoring? What’s the difference?

When you are taking the SAT exam many hours go into studying and preparing for the exam.  You take mocktests, work on practice problems, and formulate your perfect strategy to beat the test. Then you take the SAT test and, for many people, the work ends here. Don’t be one of these people. You still have a couple strategies you can consider.

One of them is Score Choice.  The College Board, the company that creates and administers the SAT, allows you to implement Score Choice if you so choose.  Essentially, Score choice allows you to elect which SAT score you can submit to colleges.  If you take the SAT multiple times, Score Choice enables you to select your best score and submit that score, and that score alone, to colleges.  There are some schools that require you to submit all your test results and your college counselor will know which ones, but Score Choice allows you, whenever possible, to put your best foot forward.

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How do I choose the right test center to take the SAT?

When taking the SAT, it doesn’t matter which test center you choose, since you’ll either know the material or you won’t, right?  Well, not quite.  While it’s true that you’re not going to magically remember what a function is the minute you set foot on a well-run testing site, a poorly run site can really shake you up.  This aspect of taking the SAT is often under appreciated, and you should take it seriously.

At certain public school testing sites in Manhattan, for instance, you’ll have to walk through a metal detector and you may need to wait in the gym for as long as an hour before the test begins.  These aren’t the kinds of distractions you want to have on the day you finally take the SAT.

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What are the major steps of the preparing for and taking the SAT exam?

First things first.  In October of your junior year, you’re going to take the PSAT in school, however if you want to start your work earlier, take a free diagnostic PSAT at CATES Tutoring.  Because the PSAT exam, like the SAT exam, is administered by the College Board, it should give you a pretty good idea of how well you can expect to do on an actual SAT exam.  Unlike the SAT, however, the PSAT won’t be sent to colleges (though a high PSAT score could help you secure a National Merit Scholarship).

Even if you’re happy with your PSAT score, you want to take at least three full SAT practice tests before sitting for the actual SAT.  (CATES Tutoring offers practice SAT exams almost every weekend.)  You’ll also want to meet with a tutor, who can help clarify material you find confusing, and help you develop a personalized study plan.  Junior year of high school is one of the most overwhelming times of your life, and having a tutor who knows the ropes and tricks of test prep will help you maximize the time you have, and get the SAT score you want.

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