By Miles Kelly | January 19, 2024, at 10:00 a.m.
In the last twenty years, superscoring has been more widely accepted and has gained popularity as a way to boost scores on standardized tests like the SAT and ACT.
Superscoring involves combining a student’s highest Math and Reading/Writing scores from multiple tests.
What Is Superscore?
In the past, many students and parents wondered if schools would look down on superscores or even punish students who took the SAT and ACT multiple times. However, that idea has long passed.
Nowadays, colleges and universities expect students to take these tests several times, and most of them allow, and even promote, the use of superscores in the college admissions process.
What Does Superscoring Mean in College Admissions?
During college application, high school students should have at least two test scores from the same test (either SAT or ACT), and many students prefer to take their preferred test three times.
Most students should also sit for an administration of the other test as a backup score.
Superscoring is a way of improving a student’s SAT scores.
For example, if a student took the SAT twice and scored 1200 both times, but with different scores for each section, then the two scores can be combined to create a higher score.
This is called a superscore.
How to Calculate Your SAT or ACT Superscore
For instance, if the first SAT score was 1200 with a 640 for Reading and Writing and a 560 for Math, and the second SAT score was also 1200, but with an even 600 for Math and 600 for Reading and Writing, the superscore would be 1240.
Colleges would take the highest scores from each section, which in this case would be the 640 for Reading and Writing and the 600 for Math.
This can be beneficial to students, as those extra 40 points can make a difference in how college admissions view their applications.
Which Colleges Superscore the SAT and ACT?
In the past, the ACT didn’t offer superscoring, but it has caught up over the last decade.
Nowadays, the vast majority of schools will superscore both the SAT and the ACT.
Here are just a few in-state examples:
Clemson University superscores both the SAT and ACT.
The University of South Carolina superscores both the SAT and ACT.
The College of Charleston superscores both the SAT and ACT.
Wofford College superscores both the SAT and ACT.
Furman University superscores both the SAT and ACT.
A recent question that has been raised is whether students can superscore their paper SAT tests, taken in the fall, with the new Digital SAT test that will be given in the spring.
According to the College Board, the two tests WILL be able to be superscored together, which is great news for students.
However, the universities will have the final say on this matter. If we hear of any schools refusing to apply for superscoring, we will let you know.
