The SAT (SAT I and SAT II subject exams) are commonly used for college/university admissions in the US, normally as one prong of a multipronged evaluation, alongside GPA, essays, letters of recommendation, etc.
Are the SAT exams used for anything else on a significant scale? I did fairly good on the SAT I (the main exam, and the one that people associate with the term “SAT”) 15 years ago, earning above 1300. I did manage to get into college. Now that I have a BS and several years of work experience, is my 1300 SAT worth anything? E.g. is there any program, organization, employer, or any system whereby I could use my score as part of the criteria necessary to gain a benefit? For example, are there any employers that use SAT scores as part of their evaluation of a candidate’s qualifications? E.g. if I had earned a 1000 SAT instead, but somehow managed to make it into and through college and into the working world the way I ended up doing, would I be in any worse position in terms of qualifications possessed as of right now, or does achieving a bachelor’s degree render your SAT score utterly worthless because it measures something that is no longer relevant for a college graduate?
I believe the older scores can be used as proof of sufficient smarts to get into Mensa. At some point in the past the test changed sufficiently that they haven’t accepted the scores from the years since.
Or maybe I’m confusing it with the ACT. I’m not a member of Mensa.
Some mentally challenged people in my university want to use it to place students in classes (“He has a 1400*–let’s exempt him from Freshman English”) despite the fact that the SAT is designed for that.
(I know the new scale doesn’t top out at 1600 anymore. I’m a dinosaur, hear me roar)
You’re allowed in with 1300 before 9/30/74 or 1250 from 9/30/74 to 1/31/94. After that you’re SOL, go do Stanford-Binet.
ACT is 29 before 9/89, no joining if you did it after that. I don’t roll with ACT because I’m pure West Side.
Mr. Red Salamander: In my college, entry math and English tests were required. Passing them would get you into 1000+ level classes, below that and you’re get into various remedial classes, sorted by your score. A certain score on the SAT would exempt you from sitting for the exams, and put you directly into the college-level classes if you wished.
I’ve only ever been asked for my SAT scores twice in my life: Once by MENSA and once on my grad school application. An SAT Prep place I applied to work for had me re-take the current one, since I took my SATs in 1979.
If you get high scores in the PSAT, you can qualify for one of three scholarships (National Merit, National Achievement, and National Hispanic Merit). That is the reason I went to the University of Florida, I got the last scholarship and got a free ride through undergrad. But, it is not in all universities, only some offer those scholarships.
SAT I can be used instead of the TOEFL if your first language isn’t English. Which makes sense, the whole test is in English, you’d think if I ace that test I shouldn’t have a problem with the language. This is also how I avoided the TOEFL in all the places I applied, I had scored high enough on the verbal part of SAT that they couldn’t complain. I actually didn’t apply to a place that required me to take the TOEFL despite my SAT scores. Their loss.
Finally, as mentioned above, because of my SAT scores, I was placed in second semester freshman English class instead of first semester course (and English isn’t even my first language). Also, because of my math scores, I could have entered directly into pre-calc instead of taking the general math class before it. Since I had taken up to Calc II in high school, I declined that offer.
Here are Mensa qualifying test scores. A high enough score on the SAT test prior to 1994 qualifies you for membership. Similarly, They don’t accept ACT scores from later than 1989.
I once worked as a temp for a university-run scholastic summer program for 7th and 8th graders which used SAT scores for qualification. Obviously kids that age don’t usually take the SAT, but these kids took it in order to apply for this program – it’s possible that other universities had similar programs. This was in the early 90s.
I didn’t realize my SAT score from '86 was good enough to get me into MENSA. Cool. I was also a National Merit Scholar due to my PSAT/NMSQT score, but I did not come close to 1600 on the SAT.
The even better news is that they don’t seem to care if your brain has deteriorated since taking the test a dozen or more years ago. In my case, it’s been more like 35 years, and I’m pretty sure my brain ain’t what it used to be.
In Florida, your SAT or ACT scores can be used in lieu of the Grade 10 FCAT scores, which are required for high school graduation. If a student doesn’t pass the FCAT after three attempts, they can still graduate by submitting their SAT or ACT scores. This is kind of stupid because the SAT/ACT are harder than the FCAT, so if you can’t pass FCAT, you probably won’t score well on the SAT or ACT either. But the option is there. Cite. (Warning: PDF file for download.)
I went on a job interview about 15 years ago and was asked what my SAT scores were. I laughed and said, “I don’t know–that was, like, 30 years ago! Good in English, lousy in math, is all I can tell you.”
Some companies request them when doing hiring. These tend to be highly competitive, high paying consulting jobs that will also make you take a mini-SAT to proceed through the interview process.
There are several regional programs like this. The Duke TIP program is one of the largest (in area).
FtGKid1 took the SAT for this, did very well and got a free copy of A Brief History of Time. There was an state award ceremony and all that. [Met the only other faculty member of my department with a kid that age and our best friends (whose kid of course was friends with ours). There’s a small world effect when you get into this stuff.] He ended up not doing the college class thing.
He ended up taking the SAT again a couple years later for something else but I don’t remember why then “for real” senior year.
