Hey guys,
I received my March SAT score today, and I’m feeling really bummed out.
I got 1380/1600 overall and 96th percentile
730/800 reading and writing and 99th percentile
650/800 math and 90th percentile (the part I’m most bummed about)
and a 5 5 5 on my essay (which I was sort of expecting because it was the last part of the test and I was brain dead)
So, I didn’t study for this test, however, I was expected myself to do a little better, considering how well I did on my PSAT without studying.
Now, I’m worrying myself over college and what will happen if I can’t manage to bring my score up when I take it again.
So, here are my questions…
-Will having this low of a first SAT score look bad on applications to upper tier colleges?
-How can I master the math section (considering that I did awful)?
-Is it likely that I will improve very much if I study a lot over the summer and take it again?
-Is this score as bad as I think it is? Even when I convert it to the old scoring (2020), it looks poor.
-Would taking the act be a better option for me? Is the act as well-accepted as the sat?
-What is some overall advice you have for me and improving my score?
Btw, I’m a 4.0 uw gpa high school junior.
its equivalent to a 2070 on the old SAT
@BucketsUCSC hmm depending on where I look, the conversion seems to change. I just downloaded the official sat converter app and it told me I would have received a 1950 on the old SAT, which is a far worse score.
No, a 96th percentile score is not bad. Yes, the ACT is as well-accepted, it now has more students taking it; we cannot tell you whether it’s better for you, you’d have to take it to find out. You may be able to improve significantly by studying, though it varies by person. Whether or not that SAT score is too low for upper tier schools depends on how pretentious your idea of “upper tier” is.
@usualhopeful I’d personally define an upper tier college to anywhere with an acceptance rate of 25-30% and lower.
There are plenty in that acceptance rate bracket where ~2070 would be comfortably in the mid-50.
They say the new SAT is (supposed to be) easy but I think we need to wait 1 or 2y ears to see what scores are decent ranges for selective schools. That being said I also want to recommend taking ACT
@cameronalexis acceptance rates aren’t a good barometer of prestige for example many cal states have very lttle prestige standard state schools however they have low acceptance rates because a lot of people who are clearly bound for community college apply just cause
look at the percentiles you’re in that 2020 to 2100 range