The new SAT kicked off in March of 2016. It brought some welcome changes such as only four choices in the multiple choice section, no penalties for wrong answers, and less cumbersome vocabulary. However, a complete redesign of the exam brings with it some challenges for the initial rounds of test takers. The new exam is scored out of 1600 and the old exam out of 2400. In the new exam the optional essay is scored separately and the old exam included the essay score within the overall 2400. For a few years it may be challenging to know what to aim for to achieve an acceptable score for the university of your choice.
The Score Converter
Statistics given out by universities and colleges will still reflect the old scores. Using comparison charts to determine what your new score is equivalent to can help you determine a goal score or analyze whether or not the score you achieved is high enough. Then College Board website offers a score converter. You can put in an old score and it will tell you the equivalent new score, or vice versa. Simply go to the webpage and scroll to the bottom. Enter the appropriate scores and the converter will tell you what your score would have been on the old or new test.
College Admissions
As you are looking at college admissions, convert their statistics that come from the old test score into new test scores. This will give you a better understanding of what you need to achieve. As you look at statistics and convert scores, keep in mind that the score conversion may not exactly line up with admissions statistics in the long run. As more people take the exams colleges may find they need to adjust the scores they are willing to admit either higher or lower. Time and more and more people taking the exam are the only ways to know exactly what will happen for college admissions.
Ambiguity
If you want to know exactly what to expect, it may be better for you to take the ACT this year. Until there have been several rounds of admissions with the new SAT there will be some ambiguity. In a year or two it will be easier to decipher admissions trends and how they coordinate to the new SAT scoring system.
Aim For Your Best
Ultimately, if you perform very well on the new SAT you are likely to be admitted into the institution of your choice, just as though you had taken the old SAT. It is the more middle of the road scores that may be hard to determine whether or not they will be acceptable. A score converter can help you plan for the future and set goals.
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