Industry Data & Evidence: Sought-After Companies use SAT/ACT Scores To Screen and Hire Candidates
Having a Strong SAT/ACT Score Can Help You Far Beyond College Admissions
This email note is written by Tigerway’s Founder Larry Cheung.
Tigerway Students, Parents, and Public Readers,
I wanted to take a moment to revisit the topic of test optional for standardized tests in University admissions in the U.S.
By far, whenever I do educational webinars with one of our Program’s long-standing College Counseling Partners Jack Delehey, we always get the following question:
“Larry, how do colleges view the SAT or ACT now that a lot of them have made them test optional. Do students who submit them have an advantage compared to those who don’t?”
In this email, I wish to share with you data and information that is generally unavailable elsewhere publicly online to reiterate my stance on this topic.
First off, the breakdown of my opinion on how SAT or ACT scores factor into admissions looks like this:
The more selective the school, the more important it is to have the opportunity to demonstrate strength on all aspects of your application. All factors become important, and omitting any particular data point means one less data point for evaluation.
Several specific States in the U.S. use SAT/ACT scores for objective scholarship considerations. It would be a large opportunity cost to omit scores for this reason alone.
Higher SAT Scores allows for admission officers to paint their incoming class in the best possible light on their home pages and also adds value to their ranking on U.S. News & Reports. As a result, there is a systematic bias for selecting and admitting students who can add to a college’s highly marketed university rankings.
More important than the obsession of just “getting into” college, however, is the question of how a person spends his/her time planning their career as they approach securing internships and full-time employment.
Many times, it will pay you to think 3-5 (or more) steps in advance, and not only focus on the immediate short-term goal.
If you want to secure a job in some of the more lucrative career paths after graduation, do know that Wall Street, Management Consulting firms, and other extremely selective firms ask for SAT/ACT Scores as part of their process.
Here’s an example of a Wall Street Mid-Market firm asking for SAT Scores before allowing a candidate to proceed to their final round interview for their internship pool.
Here’s an example of a Private Equity firm asking for SAT Scores before allowing a candidate to proceed to the next round of the interview for experienced full-time roles.
Here’s an article of the WSJ reporting on elite companies asking for candidate scores
Parents and families who think long-term about improving their children’s critical skills such as Math and English prepare their teens to succeed in years well beyond college.
In today’s admissions environment, Colleges have given students a choice on whether they want to make the same commitment to excellence that previous student cohorts had to undergo.
It’s never been easier to stand out, in my view.
At a time when Colleges are increasingly loosening their standards, all you have to do is put in the work.
Further reading and resources:
- on Substack recently wrote this excellent piece on the SAT's place and purpose for middle-class families.
Jack Delehey’s College Confidence Group is a forum based community where Jack and I answer broad, general questions for parents with college-bound teens.
Tigerway is a proud Founding Member of the National Test Prep Association (NTPA) where the NTPA consistently communicates with the College Board’s SAT Exam Team and ACT Exam to understand the future of academics and standardized testing.
Connect with us Today - get your Grades, SAT/ACT Scores, and increase the likelihood of admission offers into the most selective U.S. Universities:
Text us directly on our website: https://www.tigerwayprep.com/
Or book a call with our program officer Jasmine Ngo to get priority status on the private coaching waitlist where our private coaches help students academically and with individualized college strategy.
