Looking for some good news? If you’re taking the Digital SAT or the Enhanced ACT, the existence of Supserscoring should bring a smile to your face. Not to sound like a dinosaur, but when I was in high school, Superscoring didn’t exist….and I sure wish it had!
What is Superscoring, you ask?
If you’re a parent or a high school underclassman, you may not even have heard of this advantageous option! So please allow me, a test prep expert and private SAT/ACT tutor for over 15 years, to explain how Superscoring works and which colleges use it.
This blog post reflects important changes to the ACT since its 2025 update (when it became the Enhanced ACT)!
Article Contents
1. Watch this article as a video
2. How does Superscoring work on the SAT?
3. Does the ACT allow Superscoring?
a. How does Superscoring work on the Enhanced ACT?
b. What is “weak” Superscoring?
4. Can you Superscore between the old and new ACT?
5. Why do colleges Superscore the SAT and ACT?
6. Which schools do Superscoring?
7. How to take advantage of Superscoring
8. Conclusion
Watch this article as a video:
How Does Superscoring Work on the SAT?
When a college allows Superscoring, its admissions committee will look at your highest scores for each section, across the (likely) multiple dates you’ve taken the test. Then, for admissions purposes, your total score is considered to be the sum of each of your highest section scores!
For instance, let’s say you do your research and calculate that the universities you’re applying to tend to have median SAT scores hovering around 1400. Your target score is therefore 1400. You proceed take the SAT in November, March, and May.
In November, you reach a 730 in the Math, but only a 470 in Reading and Writing (I’ll refer to this as “Verbal” from now on, for brevity’s sake). Whoops, that overall score is not high enough for your desired college!
You take the exam again in March, really working hard to learn ALL of the strategy and content you can to raise your Verbal score, and you DO: to a 680! However, you were SO zoomed in on Verbal prep that your Math score declined to a 690. So this test date’s total (1370) still comes in shy of a 1400.
You take the test again in May, but this time, you’re so overwhelmed with finals and AP exams that BOTH your scores sink to the mid-600’s. Dang!
At first, you might think you’re in trouble because NONE of your individual test dates hit the total score you need! But wait: Superscoring is here to save the day.
With Superscoring—if the practice is permitted by the colleges you’re applying to—only the highest Verbal and highest Math scores matter in your application to that school. So in our example, your Superscore would consist of the 680 in Verbal that you got in March and the 730 in Math that you got in November. Together, those add up to 1410. So, in test prep lingo, you “Superscored to a 1410.” And there you have it! Your SAT is successful, and complete.
Does the Enhanced ACT allow Superscoring?
In some cases, yes. Here’s the nuance: it’s not the makers of the ACT or the SAT who actually decide whether they will Superscore you. It’s actually the specific colleges you’re applying to. Each school on your list determines whether they Superscore the SAT, the ACT, or both tests. And more colleges Superscore the SAT than the ACT.
Although there are some schools that WILL Superscore for the SAT and NOT for the ACT, generally speaking, more and more colleges ARE Superscoring these days. That rising tide lifts all boats—the ACT’s and the SAT’s alike.
And, further good news for you: since 2021, the ACT has offered a new, one-stop reporting option that makes it way cheaper for you to send your Superscore to those colleges that do accept it.
Even for those colleges that DO allow Superscoring on the ACT, though, those numbers are calculated differently from how they are on the SAT. Let me explain.
Superscoring system for the new ACT
As we learned earlier, when it comes to the SAT, Superscoring adds your two best section scores together (across multiple test dates) to produce the total score.
But in order to Superscore the ACT, you average the three required sections to produce your composite Superscore. Specifically, you take the average of the English/Math/Reading sections, while the optional Science section comprises a separate score entirely.
What is "weak" ACT Superscoring?
Some colleges will still opt NOT to use this one-and-done ACT Superscore report…and will instead spring for a special option known as “weak Superscoring” for the ACT. Basically, this means that they’ll consider your highest English, Math, Reading, and Science section scores...but they will NOT take the extra effort of adding them up and dividing by 4 (you know, averaging them) to come up with a new, Superscored composite score.
Can you Super score between the old and new ACT?
Fortune smiles upon us again: yes, you CAN Superscore across the previous and the revised formats of the ACT! According to the ACT organization, your Superscore report will consist of your highest English, Math, Reading AND Science scores throughout your test dates (and those four sections will be averaged to make your Superscore) if you get your Superscore report BEFORE September 2025.
Come September 2025 and beyond, the Superscore report will calculate your Superscore composite from your highest English, Math and Reading section scores ONLY. Science will be an entirely separate score from your composite. But your highest section scores themselves will be taken across test dates and across both new and old versions of the ACT.
Why Do Colleges Super Score the SAT and ACT?
Now, this post has mostly been a parade of good news, but we must take a brief detour into Realityville for a moment: colleges do not Superscore just to make your life easier…nor does Superscoring benefit ONLY you.
See, if a college allows you to take multiple SATs and ACTs and mix together the highest section scores, you’ll (in most cases) end up with a higher overall score, right? But….so will all of the other college hopefuls in your application pool that year!
Overall, because of this Superscoring en masse, a given college’s “average SAT” or “median ACT” score will rise, which improves THEIR admissions stats!
If a school can flaunt the fact that their incoming class has a 25th-75th percentile SAT score range of 1480-1560, that makes the institution look pretty impressive...which means more applications, and more application fee money, for that college in future admissions cycles.
Which schools Superscore?
This is a case-by-case question—and year-by-year, too, as colleges’ policies can change over time. To learn whether YOUR top-pick schools Superscore for the test, you can either:
1) Head over to CollegeBoard.org;
2) Search CollegeData.com; or,
3) Proceed to an individual school’s website and search for their standardized testing requirements. (This is often clustered under the “Apply” tab!)
How to take advantage of Superscoring
Ultimately, if the schools on your list Superscore, it DOES mean you no longer have to tear your hair out over acing every single section in the same sitting. But there’s a second effect: if your target colleges Superscore, you’re not optimizing your odds if you only take the SAT or ACT once (unless, of course, you’re that lucky rarity who happens to get a perfect or near-perfect score the first time you try!).
Since ALL applicants will be able to raise their Superscore by taking the test 2, 3, or 4+ times and getting a higher score on individual sections of the test each sitting, you’ll be at a disadvantage if you don’t give yourself those multiple opportunities to boost your section scores.
(Wondering how you can possibly cram multiple test sittings into your already-jam-packed 11th/12th grade schedule? Here’s my guide to drawing up the testing timeline that will get you to your target score on time…or I can use my expertise to craft that timeline for you!)
Also, please note that when a college allows you to Superscore the SAT and/or the ACT, their median score ranges tend to be higher, since students didn’t have to give an Olympian performance on a single test day to get that score that they’re reporting.
In the end, there are pros and cons to the practice of Superscoring, though it ultimately doesn’t matter what *I* think... all that matters is what your dream college requires, and which test and approach are going to help put your best foot forward on the testing front!
Conclusion
Today’s post has aimed to help you make informed decisions about your testing strategy. If you find yourself confused by any of the fine print of Superscoring, or if you need more help actually preparing to take the SAT or the ACT, we can make a customized study plan together that takes into account YOUR strengths, weaknesses, target score, and schedule.
