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Northeastmom
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Posted: Sun Feb 3rd, 2008 07:15 pm |
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http://ibmom.wordpress.com/2007/10/08/no-secrets-with-college-board-or-act/
Is there any truth to this blog/article? I am shocked. I thought scores were private until an ACT date of seating is released by the student (unless the high school has them on the transcipt).
Last edited on Sun Feb 3rd, 2008 07:17 pm by Northeastmom
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CarolynLawrence
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Posted: Sun Feb 3rd, 2008 07:41 pm |
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This is not a surprise, nor is it something new (or the evil conspiracy that those on the CC think it is).
The College Board and the ACT sell data about most of the students who take their tests to colleges and universities, including their test scores. Colleges and universities use this data to market to prospective students. The way it is done at most colleges these days is they set up a database file for prospects, and then sort them for marketing purposes. In many cases, each contact is marked in the database as well, and when the student applies, the database info. is sometimes used to identify the students most likely to attend.
Students can opt out of the student search program when they register for the exams, but they should be aware that every time they contact many schools, a database file will be opened for them anyhow. Smart students will use this information to their advantage at schools that track interest (an increasing number do) by making sure to send those BRC's back or respond to emails saying that a "custom" website has been created for them. At many colleges and universities these days, that is a good way to show interest. Increasingly, colleges don't LIKE getting applications from "stealth applicants" who have never had any contact with the school until theyapply.
Last edited on Sun Feb 3rd, 2008 07:42 pm by CarolynLawrence
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Northeastmom
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Posted: Sun Feb 3rd, 2008 07:54 pm |
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Carolyn,
The poster said that he/she applied to James Madison. The applicant did not submit ACT scores because they were low. The applicant took the ACT once. Even though her ACT scores were not submitted, when she checked her application status online, she clicked onto the "verify ACT/SAT" and her scores were received by the university. If this is the case, then I am assuming score choice does not really exist.
I always thought that colleges bought names. I thought that they might request things such as names of all students living in Montana with an ACT score over 24, who is interested in majoring in the French horn, or neuroscience. I did not realize that the test companies send out exact scores of their test takers who meet the criteria. Carolyn, do colleges receive all seatings of scores and subscores? Thanks.
Last edited on Sun Feb 3rd, 2008 08:47 pm by Northeastmom
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CarolynLawrence
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Posted: Mon Feb 4th, 2008 04:03 am |
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Colleges can buy different datasets of information from both the College Board and the ACT. I would suspect that most colleges would buy all the scores, not just the combined score, for both tests.
Keep in mind that the only test-optional college that will rip up scores if they happen to get into your file is Sarah Lawrence. The other test-optional schools will ignore them if you ask them to, even if they are submitted or you accidentally enter them on your application.
Additionally, I'd want to ask the poster if he/she attended a school that included test scores on his/her transcript (quite common, and some schools will enter those as "official" scores), or if there is a chance that he/she might have put down JMU as a recipient when he/she registered for the test and then "forgot" they had done so.
I'm always really skeptical of outraged stories like this. There is usually a simple, but overlooked explanation, or at least some missing piece of the story.
Last edited on Mon Feb 4th, 2008 04:04 am by CarolynLawrence
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Northeastmom
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Posted: Mon Feb 4th, 2008 10:34 am |
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Carolyn, I do think that you are right. The waiver to release all scores to Florida publics seems to really be the case though. The OP is going to his/her GC and hopefully they will come back and explain how this happened.
My concern with all of this is that I wanted to know if the ACT's score choice is really "score choice".
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Northeastmom
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Posted: Mon Feb 4th, 2008 07:50 pm |
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| Carolyn, Exactly as you suspected, the applicant's scores were on her hs transcript. She just explained how this happened.
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Wstrdg
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Posted: Wed Feb 6th, 2008 02:47 pm |
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| What benefit is there to reporting ACT scores to the high school? I don't think either of my kids requested that scores be sent to the high school.
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DesperateDad
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Posted: Wed Feb 6th, 2008 03:08 pm |
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| One benefit of submitting scores might be for local scholarship consideration....
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outwest
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Posted: Thu Feb 7th, 2008 04:27 am |
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Our high school sends all scores to the colleges whether the student likes it or not. They are put on the back of the transcript- all of them. The only way for them not to do this is if you don't fill in the high school code on the test. And, as we all know, when the test facilitator says to bubble in your school code and it is 12345 then they all bubble away. My D submitted her sat's and two sat2's to the colleges before she took the German with Listening thinking that she could just not send it if she didn't like her score. Well, you guessed it, it got sent anyway with the midyear transcript. Luckily, she was happy with the score, but her best laid plan was undermined by her high school.
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