Big SAT polilcy change

July 7, 2008

By U.S. News & World Report Magazine

Attention, high school juniors: Starting next spring, you can determine
which of your SAT scores a college gets to see. The College Board's
current policy is that if you send one score to a school, that colleges
also sees the scores from every time you took the test. But starting in
March 2009, studetns will be able to hide SAT-taking blemishes.

Some counselors worry that the new policy will give a boost to kids who can
afford to take the $45 test multiple times and sign up for tutoring sessions.
The College Board says the average score gain on the first SAT retake is 40
points and "there's no advantage to takin the SAT more than twice, and our
fee waivers let low-income students take the test [free] twice."

Admissions offices will have to figure out how to handle the new policy. The
University of Southern California, for example, opposes the new option because
it obscures the context in which a score was earned, and may still require
applicants to submit all SAT attempts.

J.D.'s comment: Before you apply to your dream school, know which test(s) they want. Because each school is different and may require different things at different cut off dates.

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