Testing & Grades
Standardized tests, GPA, class rank, and how US colleges read international academic records.
15 terms in this category
SAT (Digital)
The SAT is a standardized college admissions test administered by the College Board; since March 2024 it has been fully digital, shorter, and adaptive.
PSAT / NMSQT
The PSAT/NMSQT is a practice SAT administered to US high school sophomores and juniors each October, with a second role as the qualifying test for the National Merit Scholarship Program — a US-domestic recognition that international students are not eligible for.
ACT
The ACT is a standardized college admissions test accepted by all US universities, offering an alternative to the SAT with slightly different structure and content.
Superscore
Superscoring is a college admissions practice in which the school combines a student's highest section scores across multiple SAT or ACT sittings to form one composite 'super' score — rewarding students who retake the test and improve different sections at different times.
TOEFL iBT
TOEFL iBT is an English proficiency test used by US universities to evaluate international applicants whose first language is not English.
Advanced Placement (AP)
Advanced Placement (AP) is a College Board program of college-level courses and exams that high school students can take for college credit and admissions credibility.
International Baccalaureate (IB)
The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) is a rigorous 2-year internationally recognized high school curriculum for grades 11–12, respected by US universities as strong evidence of academic readiness when the student earns a full IB Diploma of 24+ points out of 45.
Predicted Grades
Predicted Grades are teacher-assigned projected final scores for IB Diploma or A-Level students, submitted to universities in the fall of senior year before actual final exams take place in May/June — US admissions committees treat them as if they were real final scores.
Test-Optional
Test-optional is an admissions policy under which a college does not require SAT or ACT scores, but will still consider them if submitted.
Test-Blind / Test-Free
Test-blind (also called test-free) is an admissions policy under which a college refuses to consider SAT or ACT scores at all — even if the applicant submits them — relying entirely on grades, essays, activities, and other parts of the application.
GPA (Unweighted / Weighted)
GPA (Grade Point Average) is a summary of a student's overall academic performance, typically on a 4.0 scale in the US system — with 'unweighted' counting all courses equally and 'weighted' adding bonus points for Honors, AP, or IB courses.
Class Rank
Class rank is a numerical position showing where a student falls academically within their graduating class — e.g. '15 out of 420' or 'top 5%' — traditionally reported on US transcripts but now omitted by most competitive high schools that prefer not to distinguish among strong students.
Academic Transcript
An academic transcript is an official record from a high school listing every course a student has taken, the grade earned in each, and the overall GPA or class rank — submitted to US colleges through the Common App as the foundational document of an application.
IELTS
IELTS (International English Language Testing System) is a standardized English proficiency test accepted by most US universities as an alternative to the TOEFL — a 4-section exam scoring 0–9 in each section and averaged into an overall band score.
Duolingo English Test
The Duolingo English Test (DET) is a computer-adaptive English proficiency test accepted by most US universities as an alternative to TOEFL or IELTS — cheaper, shorter (1 hour vs 3), takeable from home, and increasingly popular for international applicants since 2020.