My son just got his first SAT scores back, 790 math, 690 verbal, this score still places him in the 99% of the SAT. He is a junior and wants to retake SAT soon. I think he should focus on his junior year grades instead . He is double legacy at Penn and plans to apply early, he also has strong subject tests, math 2 790, Bio 780. Could 1480 be enough as a double legacy with strong grades?
Hi Karen,
A 1480 would place your son in the middle 50th percentile of Penn scores, but ideally he’d want to be at the average score (1510) or slightly above the average to fully round out his application.
It sounds like he’s applying next fall—I agree that he should focus on his grades first since his Junior year will affect the transcript, but a solid month of studying over the summer or early senior year should be enough to bump him above the 1500s.
Legacy status can be used as a tie-breaker, but it’s not enough to make up for one weak part of the application unless you’re a generous donor.
1480 is certainly not a weak score, but there is somewhat of a mental barrier at 1500. I agree that Junior year grades are more important. Let him focus on grades for now. Then let him study over the summer. I’m sure by this time next year he’ll have scores well over 1500, and you won’t have to worry.