r/ApplyingToCollege • u/Famous-Pass-6473 • 29d ago
Standardized Testing Why do some Colleges care about the SAT?
The SAT is a test that doesn't indicate anything but how well you studied for the SAT. I don't understand why a test that's designed to mess with your head is valued and arguably as important as your GPA. 4 years should not compared with 1 day. Not everyone has the time or affordability to study, and not everyone is the fastest learner to catch on the SAT's dumb tricks. A test should NOT define someone's capability.
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u/Bobbob34 29d ago
The SAT is a test that doesn't indicate anything but how well you studied for the SAT. I don't understand why a test that's designed to mess with your head is valued and arguably as important as your GPA. 4 years should not compared with 1 day. Not everyone has the time or affordability to study, and not everyone is the fastest learner to catch on the SAT's dumb tricks. A test should NOT define someone's capability.
It's a standardized test and is decently predictive of academic accomplishment.
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u/Optimal_Ad5821 29d ago
More so than gpas at the selective colleges that are now requiring the SAT. And less selective colleges SAT scores make no matter that much, for those colleges aren't asking for it.
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u/throwawaygremlins Old 29d ago
Colleges have literally commissioned studies that show that the biggest indicator of college success AT THEIR COLLEGE is… the SAT.
Esp math. The SAT doesn’t even have calculus. Many kids can’t even do SAT math wtf.
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u/emory_2001 29d ago
Because it's the one thing (along with ACT) that is the same for everyone, whereas GPAs may reflect grade inflation or other subjectivity (same reason a lot of universities these days have their own GPA weighting system, to level the playing field). It's called standardized because it's standardized. I've seen reports about universities going back to requiring test scores because not everyone they accepted under test optional was prepared for college level math.
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u/AC10021 29d ago
Absolutely. Because the United States does not have a federally standardized curriculum, what students learn and how well they are taught varies wildly from state to state and from school to school. Having a single test that everyone takes is the only way to compare apples to apples.
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u/Specialist-Cry-7516 29d ago
lmao your the perfect picture of why they do it
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u/Grouchy-Display-457 29d ago
There is so much grade inflation, the SAT is a better indicator of a student's preparation for college. Although becoming test savvy can improve your score somewhat, the RW section in particular tests broad reading overz time better than other measures. Lots of students score 1500+ on their first try not because they bear the system but because they are well prepared for college.
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u/Common_Willow_596 29d ago
There are prob some people who achieved a high score only after months and month of preparation and when they get to college it’s possible they experience a little bit of imposter syndrome because they may not have months to study for a test, but I guess it could show they’re diligent.
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u/Cheap_Office8701 29d ago
Yeah, SAT only test your language/English and math skills. Not important at all. 😂
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u/Grassman_OR 29d ago
Colleges have spent millions of dollars in fact-based research to determine what creates the most successful student for their environment (and for the future). Nearly all of them have determined that the SAT is at least one strong indicator of success.
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u/VcitorExists 29d ago
Nah ur right. Let’s have college admissions be based off of how much a student reaaally wants to go to college, because all that matters is that they, they BELIEVE in themselves
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u/Disposable_Eel_6320 29d ago
GPA school to school isn’t standardized. What does the S in SAT stand for? I wonder if faster learners maybe do better in college?
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u/w0nun1verse College Sophomore 29d ago
Because it’s standardized. Grading can vary widely between schools. It may be very easy to get As in certain schools while not in others. Schools have different grading scales, some are weighted vs unweighted. Also what’s impressive about a 4.0 if the student say, only took normal easy classes vs a slightly lower gpa while taking APs or IBs? The SAT attempts to address these issues by handing everyone the same set of questions under the same time frame. If a 4.0 student gets like, a 1200 on their best SAT that’s a huge indicator of their school’s rigor.
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u/SprinklesWise9857 College Senior 29d ago
A test should NOT define someone's capability.
True. But testing doesn't end in high school. It happens in university as well. So naturally, universities want to know how well you can test. Hence the SAT and ACT.
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u/back_on_my_nonsense 29d ago
And your grades are just a bunch of small tests. You're the reason they care about the SAT. "I'm just bad at learning, that shouldn't be held against me for admission to the place where people learn"
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u/TremendousTesticle 29d ago
Then why do so many ppl score highly with minimal studying? I got a 1540 w 30 hours of studying and not a dime spent on the test and I’m not particularly special. But it only measured how well I studied obv
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u/Common_Willow_596 29d ago
It’s standardized. They just need some extra thing that’s standardized because gpa and grades is not standardized. A teacher can grade easy or hard. Some schools have more grade inflation or some have grade deflation. It’s hard to only compare people based on something that’s not standardized, of course they shouldn’t base things on one test score either. That’s why they need several things to get a better picture of each candidate.
I agree the SAT score can be affected by how much you study for it but so can your grades. Also it’s not like everyone who studies the same amount can all get the same score. some people are naturally better at things including analyzing and understanding things you learn. The SAT does test some cognitive ability. There have been studies showing a correlation with SAT and academic success in college classes. and I think they decided the best indicator is looking at a combination of SAT and grades and for AP classes if an AP score is available looking at that in addition to everything else prob helps as well. Of course it’s not dependent one thing but it helps to look at several things.
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u/tarasshevckeno 29d ago
(Retired college counselor and admissions reader here.) I completely agree with what you're saying.
At the same time, the SAT was originally designed to help predict first-year grades in college. Some colleges (not many) still find SAT scores to be a strong predictor based on their tracking data. Colleges that are more-open to being SAT-optional generally don't find the SAT as much of a reliable predictor.
There's been increasing concern (which I feel is warranted) among colleges that there have been a few policies adopted by many schools in the past 5-10 years that have seriously impacted students's preparation for college and isn't possible to spot on a transcript.
The major policies are what's called equity grading (no grade below 50%) and unlimited re-takes on tests, and no penalties for handing in late work. The disparity between grades and ability are causing many colleges to value SAT tests more since GPA's, which have been inflated for decades, are becoming even less-trustworthy.
I don't know what the solution is, but the pendulum against the policies I mentioned seems to be swinging in the opposite direction.
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u/Ok_Experience_5151 Old 29d ago
The SAT is a test that doesn't indicate anything but how well you studied for the SAT.
Strongly disagree with this. For a couple reasons.
- Many students don't study for the SAT. Some score very well, some don't. Even accepting your claim that anybody can get a high score with prep, that means a high score isn't as meaningful but a low score still is. It means not only did you not prep, you're also not capable of scoring well without prep.
- I don't actually grant that anyone can get a high score with enough prep.
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u/semmick 29d ago
Holy iqlet cope