If your child is gearing up for the SAT or ACT, you’ve probably heard the term “superscoring” floating around. But what is superscoring, and how can it benefit your child’s college admissions chances?

Superscoring on the SAT is where colleges, on their own, take the highest score for each section from multiple tests, piecing together the best possible composite score. If a student takes the ACT more than once, ACT Inc. goes a step further and actually provides an official superscore, using the same method (the College Board does not). Translation? Your child gets rewarded for his/her best performances, even if they weren’t all on the same day.

How Does Superscoring Work?

Depending on the exam, colleges that superscore or the test administrators take the highest individual section scores from different test dates and combine them into a new composite score.

For example, let’s say your child takes the SAT twice:

• First Attempt: 650 Math, 720 Reading and Writing (Total: 1370)
• Second Attempt: 700 Math, 680 Reading and Writing (Total: 1380)

His/her superscore would be the highest Math (700) plus the highest Reading & Writing (720), which is 1420! That’s 40 extra points just for playing the game strategically.

Why is Superscoring a Game-Changer?

It allows students to focus on improving one section at a time instead of having to nail everything in one sitting. Your child can optimize his/her score by incrementally improving it, which adds abundant flexibility during preparation. Superscoring also ensures colleges see your child’s peak performance for each section—no wasted potential.

How to Maximize Superscoring Benefits

1. Aim to Ace – At The Best Test Prep, we always aim to blow the entire SAT or ACT out of the water on the first try. One and done, so your child can move on and laugh all the way to college with a scholarship.
2. Strategic Retesting – Superscoring is best used as a backup. If anything goes wrong, students can improve on one section at a time, zeroing in on weaknesses and dominating individual areas. Nail the math on one test, crush verbal on another—it all adds up to a high final score.
3. Know Your Colleges’ Policies – Most top schools, including MIT, Harvard, and Princeton, superscore. Some don’t, but no worries—we’ll do the research and map out the best testing strategy for your child.

Which Colleges Superscore?

Plenty of elite institutions have embraced superscoring, making it a must-know strategy for ambitious students. Here are some big names:

• SAT Superscoring Schools: Harvard, Yale, MIT, Princeton, Johns Hopkins, The University of Chicago, NYU, and many more.
• ACT Superscoring Schools: Columbia, Brown, Cornell, CalTech, and others.

Pro tip: College policies change. Don’t get blindsided—let us provide you with up-to-date information.

The Best Test Prep’s Approach to Success

At The Best Test Prep, we focus on helping your child access his/her full potential. We’ve assisted every type of student through every type of challenge, and know that each is unique and best communicated with in a unique way. Many of our clients, before arriving on our doorstep, have already wasted time and money on inexperienced, amateur tutors—when they meet our professionals, they know they’re in the right place.

Why You Should Care About Superscoring

If your child is taking the SAT or ACT, superscoring is the closest thing to a legal cheat code in college admissions. It rewards strategy, persistence, and smart preparation—all things we specialize in at The Best Test Prep.

Now is the time to turn test-taking into calculated success. Book a free consultation today! Call (844) 672-PREP.