Washington and Lee University
Recently the College Board announced a change to its SAT score-reporting policy, referred to as Score Choice. The new policy gives students the option of choosing which SAT scores (by test date) and which SAT Subject Test scores (by individual test) they will send to the colleges to which they are applying. Previously, each time a student requested scores be sent to a college, all of that student's prior SAT and SAT Subject Test results were included in the score report.
At W&L, the applicant review process takes into consideration a variety of academic and non-academic factors, including applicants' SAT or ACT scores, and two SAT Subject Tests. In reviewing applicants' test scores, W&L has a long-standing policy of using in its review the scores that are most beneficial to each applicant.
In regard to the SAT, this means that only the highest individual score from each section of the exam (Critical Reading, Mathematics, and Writing) is used in making final admission decisions. As such, it is to an applicant's advantage to send all available scores to W&L, ensuring that the applicant's best scores on each section are the ones considered by the W&L Admission Committee. Since only the highest score from each section is considered, taking the SAT multiple times and sending multiple score reports will never hurt an applicant's chances of gaining admission to W&L.
Beginning with the March 2009 administration of the SAT, students will have the option of participating in the new Score Choice program, or they may choose to have all their SAT results sent to W&L. Washington and Lee recommends students NOT participate in Score Choice. This will mean that all SAT results will be sent to us, ensuring that our Admission Committee has access to a student's best scores.
Students who decide to exercise the Score Choice option for reporting SAT scores to W&L must be very careful to specify that we receive the results of each SAT administration representing that student's highest score for each section of the test.
Please contact our office with any questions you may have about Score Choice or about our application requirements in general.
