SAT/ACT......

He can take it later. A good score is better than a quick score, but not as good as a good and quick score.

The fact that he is a B/B+ student this year and that was an improvement from last year, tells me that when they look at both years combined, he won't be looked at by the top academic schools. Those are the schools that would really want to see a score posted.

However, kids historically score better on the second sitting of these tests. The test won't be offered again until next fall, and I think the last chance for a counting score for seniors is maybe December. So I would recommend he take the June test now, with the idea that the for the fall sitting he will have one under his belt and will post a better score in the fall.

He also has to consider that he hasn't taken either test yet, so if he plans to take both tests twice, he would need to take them all in the fall, when he may also be writing essays for college applications and scholarships. That will get busy.

One college coach told my son that the SAT seems best suited for kids that score well on standardized tests, where the ACT seems best for kids that do well in classroom, but not as well in the tests.

Take as many times as you can ....you only count the best scores. ....Blpkfrnks is right about the ACT ...plus more and more schools are putting emphasis on the class rank and GPA.

He might want to be sure to take the ACT plus writing rather than the ACT.

I agree that also taking the SAT is a good idea. Does he have time to take any SAT subject tests? Some colleges require those I think.

Fall of senior year is incredibly busy.......school visits, applications, essays, etc. Agree that he should get started taking ACT/SAT asap.

CYN2010, the information given here is right on. I wish I had known about the differences in SAT/ACT. Maybe son would have done better on the ACT.

Your son is doing well improving his grades, what schools don't like to see are grades getting worse as student progresses in HS. Best wishes for you and your son.

Agree 100% about the ACT/SAT differences.

I have a college Freshman and a HS Jr. Both of them, on an "equalized basis", scored better on the ACT. Unless you son is great at taking standardized tests (PSAT, Stanford 9s, SOLs, etc.) focus on the ACT (as long as the school he is interested in accepts the SATs).

Back in my day, Midwest schools (where I grew up) looked at ACT vs. East Coast schools looked for SATs only.........my how times have changed

jbbaseball,
Good to see you back around these parts.
I hope your oldest son had a great first year in college.

After a poor showing in December, my 2010 son picked up 130 points after taking his SAT for the second time in May. He mentioned it seemed very much easier the second time. I think the combination of experience and being taught more material helped.

It's funny how academics keep coming into play. An old coach once told me he looks for a competitive kid for his program ....one that wants to do everything to beat you on the field, in the classroom and in life ....it always stuck in my head. I love the kid who strives for # 1 off the field, they usually stick around the longest.

Does anyone know the number range colleges look for in SAT and ACT scores when recruiting? I would suspect that most coaches evaluate the whole athlete(school grades, athleticism, test scores)when recruiting, but would like to hear from some of you veterans on the subject. Thanks for your help!

3up-3down-

Sorry, been busy and just saw your May post. Son had a solid academic year. Started on the bench, but worked his way into the starting line up by the end of the season. Hit .340 in 53 ABs, highest Freshma BA. At end of season meeting, coach told him the 2B job was his to lose going into next year.

WILLY's MOM-
Your question is so tough to answer. So much is driven by the school and their admissions requirements.
As a quick comparison in VA, what Coach Raccuia at Radford would look for in test scores would be SIGNIFICANTLY different than what Coach O'Connor from UVA would look for. Sorry, can't give you a better answer.

That answer differs with each college.

First of all, the coach will look for talent first. If he sees someone of interest, he will want to know if (a) he can get the kid through his admissions department, and (b) whether the kid is likely to stay in school once there.

The tougher the school, the higher the numbers need to be.

Also, some schools are more lenient than others when it comes to athlete admissions. I'm told that Stanford won't even put a thumb on the scale for an athlete, while others will but a brick on the scale.

The best advice for a kid is, do your absolute best, no excuses, no expectations of favorable treatment. Don't eliminate yourself from consideration at any more places than your God-given talents and limitations make necessary. When the time comes, others will make the evaluation for you. It's not something for you to worry about at all if you've done your best all along.

Thanks for your time in input. Here's a little bio... B+ student at highly competitive, academic driven high school in NW; has been in communication(via mail) with several east and west coast schools since last August. Great baseball player but suffers from test anxiety, even after prep - hence looowww SAT & ACT scores. Team Captain, varsity starting shortstop since freshmen year, all conference honors, mvp, etc... the kid just can't test!! He's very competive athletically, wants to play at the college level and has been told he has the ability and perserverance to achieve his goal. He is interested in Santa Clara, Univ of Oregon, WSU, USD, Pepperdine and Univ of Portland (these are the schools who have seen him play and will looking at him again this summer). We just don't know how heavy those standardized test scores will way on him being given consideration by those schools' admissions dept. Any ideas?

quote:

Originally posted by WILLY'S MOM:
Does anyone know the number range colleges look for in SAT and ACT scores when recruiting? I would suspect that most coaches evaluate the whole athlete(school grades, athleticism, test scores)when recruiting, but would like to hear from some of you veterans on the subject. Thanks for your help!

Welcome to the HSBBW!
Good question, but I agree with the answer by jbbaseball, all situations are differnt.

I can tell you that my son did very well in school and on the field, his first ACT/SAT with no preparation was not what I would say his best effort, but no one seemed to care, even the tougher academic school programs, so he never retook the test.
Things have changed since then, tougher standards across the board, but I still think that when one player lacks one thng, they must make it up in different areas. In the end it is all up to the coach and he is the ultimate one who will determine if he will recruit your son based on the information that you provide. If you might not meet all academic requirements, he has probably already inquired if the player can pass admissions.

There are so many variables in testing/colleges, etc. These answers are applicable generally without consideration of the variable of being a recruited college athlete. If you throw this in to the mix, then it can really get complicated because it all depends upon the talent level of the player, the need at the college for his position, the type/caliber of program looking at the player, etc. If he is an absolute stud, then many programs would probably find a way to get him in to the school with moderate grades and test scores - only a few elite schools would also need him to be a stud student as well. And even the best athlete usually will get little to no interest if he is failing school - well known fact.

I for one have always gone first to the variable over which I/my kid had the most control - his grades and scores. Obviously, he had to have the talent level, too, and he worked hard on that too, but you really never know who will want your talent level, position, etc. So, long story short, we focused foremost on the grades, etc. If he did not have even generally good grades, we knew even the best athletic program in the moderate range academically would not bat an eye.

Now, first off, to the original poster, I hope he took the June ACT, and then retakes it in the fall. Scores should improve, the general results are that they do improve, and fall of senior year is a very busy time to start the testing process. If he takes the ACT with writing, he will not need any SAT subject tests. So since he is taking in June and then in the fall of senior year, I would stick with just the ACT test - forget the SAT. I have not heard of any college who will not accept ACT results. His grades show improvement, and although not improved to the A- range, it still shows solid grades with improvement. That will make a difference to colleges - and will be acceptable to many. They may want to see fall grades, so make sure he keeps the upward trend going!

Now to Willy's Mom - first thing colleges consider most important is GPA, generally second in line is standardized testing. From there it varies - some will look at community service, some may consider essays or recommendations more important, and so on. So, go to some site like Peterson's or Princeton Review and see if your son's GPA matches up with the schools in which he has interest. Coincidentally, Princeton Review site will also show you how each college ranks their criteria - that is, GPA, standardized testing, essays, E/Cs, and the like - see where your guy fits best - but I will say that the criteria below the first two fall way below the first two in importance for most schools - GPA and standardized test scores usually far outweigh other considerations. Also take a look at the standardized testing range for the college admissions at each school. Generally, recruiters will give you a range GPA they will want to see - many say 3.5 unweighted, but I know there is wiggle room on this number if you consider the school, the need for the player's position, and the caliber of your player.

oops, in last paragraph meant to say those criteria below the GPA and scores will be far less important.

Something I have found very useful is to look at the common data set for the schools that he is interested in. Most of the guidebooks are based on this information - might as well get the most up to date information available for free rather than pay for someone else to print it. Here is how to get the info for University of Oregon.

Google "university of oregon common data set"

This will take you to this link:

http://ir.uoregon.edu/cds

Click on the most recent year and a huge spreadsheet of information about the school becomes available.

Click on the tab CDS-C at the bottom and you will get information about who they admitted in the past.

Look at the answers to question C-9. You can see that the middle 50% of the students admitted to U of O are in the 500s for both Math and English. This gives your son an idea of what he would have to shoot for in order to be admitted into U of O without any athletic help.

Scrolling down a little, questions C-11 and C-12 are all about GPA. In the case of University of Oregon, you can see that the middle 50% of their admissions had a high school GPA between 3.25 and 3.75. Assuming that a B+ average is a 3.5, your son is right in the middle from a GPA point of view.

While not all school participate in the Common Data Set program, a very high percentage do. While athletics may be able to improve your son's chances of admission, if he can get in without any help, that certainly makes life easier on both the coach and your son.

at peterson's college search.......you can run a detailed college search generating a list of schools using selectivity (admissions) and gpa. very helpful to have this list.......and you can contact the schools on the list.

WOW - Did I ever come to the right place!!!!! Thank you sooo much for sharing your experiences and sage advice. The schools I mentioned in my earlier post will be watching him over the next month or so. Should he/we share his June ACT Test score with these interesed coaches, with the understanding that he will be taking it again in October?

Hi again... Considering these standardized test scores can be somewhat subjective depending on who is looking at them, what would be a looowww test score in your opinion?

For me, I would look at the 25th percentile number as being an easily found number to act as the low end. If the students scores are significantly below the 25th percentile numbers, then the school is probably going to be challenged to get them in.

So what is really low? It really depends upon the school. Looking at some Pac 10 schools (out of 1600 as most schools are not using the writing score).

ASU 950
Stanford 1330
UCLA 1280
OSU 940
Oregon 990

So, translated into ACT scores... Stanford and UCLA would accept with a score of 29-30 and the others would be "okay" with a score between 20-22. Got it. Thanks!

take a look at the ncaa clearinghouse site..............

d1 has a sliding scale for test score and gpa.

it will make more sense after you see the table.

it might be worth your time to check with ACT to see if he is eligible to request extended time to take the test (for his October testing date). see their website for info. on test accomodations.

The extended testing time might be the ticket. Thanks for the suggestion. In the meantime, I'll check the ncaa clearing house site.