Recruitment and Test Scores for 8,9,10 graders

I have a non softball senior doing the college process now. A few things I learned:
Some hi level schools will request every sitting of sat or act. They trying to ascertain which students tested several times each semester looking for the unicorn superscore. The schools then can better assess the students average ability (on the tests).
As said elsewhere, take both tests. most schools will take either. Most students will show better results on one or the other. My DD1 did much better ACT but only took it once. Regret she did not take it earlier and prep for second sitting.
JADs DD story is instructive (it is posted here somewhere, hat tip JAD). After first test, assess which test is a better fit. DD should prep like it is the WCWS. It makes a big difference.
Lastly, schools downplay testing relative to days past (tho I personally believe it is more important than they let on). But first impressions are important and a 75+ percentile score for your target school is quick and easy for a coach to grasp.
In the larger realm, make sure she is working at the edge of her performance envelope and still doing well. Colleges want to see a student being challenged eg: a "B" in AP physics will trump an "A" in basic level.
DD1 so far has gotten positive responses on her applications. We are waiting til Apr1 for the top 3. I hope the things we learned working with her will help DD2.
Best of luck to yuor DD!

diamond14 said:

Some hi level schools will request every sitting of sat or act. They are looking for students who test several times each semester looking for the unicorn superscore. The schools then can better assess the students average ability (on the tests).

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while it is true high academic schools request ALL scores,
I am not following your logic at all.

seems like a school would give more consideration to an applicant that sat for the test once (or maybe twice) , scored very well, and doesnt need to “superscore”, over an applicant who has taken the test 6-10 times over two years and superscores their results to achieve the same “best score”.

to me, one example shows a good core knowledge, and the other shows more of a measured determination over time.
both are quality attributes, but personally, id give an advantage to the applicant who scored well without so many tests taken.

Update:
I think I may have (1) misunderstood your comment and (2) may have not been clear in my original post.
I believe that what you are saying is what the schools are attempting to ascertain. Reversion to mean. Thus they are seeing the whole picture not just a cherry picked set of scores. Going to edit my word choice in original post.
Mite be like Walton committing a kid based on two radar gun readings as opposed to watch whole game.
Corlay,
Not my logic. I am not an admissions officer. I am sharing what I have learned over the course of DD1 application process. I am sure every school has its own filter for making decisions. I passed along this so others could research policies and decide what works form them when preparing for the application process.
FWIW, there was just an article last week in WSJ that found many colleges spend less than 10 mins on application review. After all the time DD1 (and us) put into her application (not to mention the prior years of work), it was a bit disheartening to those who are not scoring the 98 percentile.

OP- you are on a good path as it is much easier for teams to showcase players on the higher end of the academic scale.
Mont schools look at standardized scores and GPA before deciding if they are going to watch DD play. Best of luck!

JAD said:

Not sure why anyone would want to take the PSAT past 9th grade. Take the regular SAT and ACT to see if your DD performs better on one or the other, then focus on preparing for that test. There is no limit on the number of times a student can take it, and you only have to report her highest score when talking with coaches. Some schools also "superscore" which may help.

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Isnt the PSAT where the national merit scholarship awards come from?

chinamigarden said:

Isnt the PSAT where the national merit scholarship awards come from?

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I never had a DD who came close to qualifying, so I have no idea! LOL

chinamigarden said:

Isnt the PSAT where the national merit scholarship awards come from?

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yes - absolutely.

PSAT is an important test, and should not be overlooked.

A high level performance on the PSAT can yield a full-ride scholarship at many schools. If a good softball player can manage that, I'd suspect that would be pure gold come recruiting time. I've never heard of any actual downside to taking the SAT or ACT multiple times. Some schools will take the highest section scores achieved from different tests. For my non-softball older DD, she took the PSAT for practice during her sophomore year in HS as a school-run event. She then took the ACT at the end of her soph year, the PSAT in the Fall of her junior year, and she'll take the ACT again and the SAT this Spring. It's no longer about getting a high enough score to get in; it's getting a higher score so she can qualify for more tuition waivers and outside scholarship dollars.