As everyone probably knows, the College Board started offering the newly
redesigned SAT test in March of 2016, and the Essay portion is now optional. This new SAT (which I am calling the SAT R for now), will impact freshman applicants starting in the
Summer/Fall of 2017 and beyond. UGA will
continue to accept both the old and the new SAT and the ACT, but with the change in the SAT R test, we will not require or use the Essay/Writing component for
either the SAT or ACT for students beginning in the Summer/Fall 2017 term and beyond.
UGA
will continue to superscore the SAT and the ACT (we do not superscore
across SAT and ACT exams though), and we will continue to use the SAT subscores for both SAT tests in the superscore calculation for each SAT type, those being the SAT I and the SAT R. In reviewing the details of the equivalency charts from the new to the old SAT, we have now determined that we will not be able to superscore between the two SAT tests. While we initially thought we might be able to superscore across the two SAT’s, we now see that this is not possible for many reasons, especially due to the difficulties in trying to compare the Critical Reading (CR) and Evidence-Based Reading and Writing (EBRW) sections. Based on our review of the new scores and the concordances, we do not predict this change to have any negative impact on any chances for admission.
In helping students to understand the SAT R, the College Board has provided students with an SAT Score Converter to allow you to translate the SAT R to SAT 1 or the reverse. Additionally, we suggest you look at the data a college provides in their student profile (for example, the UGA First-Year Class Profile), where they provide mid-range data. You can then use data from the College Board Conversion charts to see that our mid -50% SAT 1 of 1810-2060 (2400 range) would be roughly equivalent to a mid-50% SAT R of a 1290-1440 (1600 range). While this is not exact, this is at least an estimate how the new SAT R translates into our past data. Our office will be doing a a great deal of data analysis in the coming months to make sure we use all three score types (SAT 1, SAT R and ACT) appropriately and correctly.
Please remember that in our
review of SAT and ACT scores, we will continue to look at all subscores,
but we will focus on the CR & Math Sections on
the SAT I, the EBRW & Math sections of the SAT R, and the English & Math sections on the ACT.
We
also suggest that you review what steps other colleges will be taking
concerning the new SAT to better understand your options.
Go Dawgs!