<p>I took the SAT in June as a rising senior and got a 1990 which was lower than I had expected as I had gotten 2000+ consistently on Kaplan practice tests (2) (administered at school, like a real test). I feel like I can do better, but I just took an ACT practice test without the writing part and scored a 30 composite. I feel like I could do better on the ACT as I skipped my 10 minute break and did things in between sections with my extra time (usually ~5-20 minutes) rather than checking answers etc.</p>
<p>The one major factor in all this is that I got low SAT Subject Test scores and so I really want to retake them. I got a 670 in Math 2, 640 US History and 630 Chemistry. Thus I don't want to be studying for both the SAT 1 and the ACT and the Subject Tests. Plus if I decide to the take the SAT 1 in October, then I can only take the SAT Subject tests in November which cuts it really close to admissions and rules out early action.</p>
<p>Which should I study for and take? I plan on retaking Math 2 and taking Math 1 as my Subject Tests with a bunch of studying this summer along with either the SAT or ACT. </p>
<p>I live on the East Coast (Virginia) and SAT is significantly more popular... my sister (currently at UVA) thinks that the ACT is only used here when people get low SAT scores which is frowned upon regardless of which scores are submitted. </p>
<p>I plan on applying to schools like the UVA, JMU, VT, UC Irvine, USC, UC Davis as safety/reach and MIT, Carnegie-Mellon and Stanford as dream schools.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>I’m not sure which college you want to apply early decision but I was kind of in the same situation as you… i had a 31 on my ACT and 1970/1930 on my SAT (i took it twice my junior yr in Jan and March). I took the SAT in October and one SAT II in November. My early decision school accepted november SAT II scores (on the common app, i put the date i was taking the SAT II and left the score blank so that admissions would know my score wasn’t available yet…) </p>
<p>I suggest taking the SAT because iono but for some reason (maybe more familiarity with the SAT) when i took the SAT my senior year, i jumped to a 2180. =) i was really happy because i got over 700 on all sections… but i got denied from my early decision school XD lol but all’s good now</p>
<p>i didn’t study THAT much in the summer but i did read Up Your Score: Underground Guide to the SAT which helped a lot. I also took all the collegeboard tests which i think is the best way to gauge how well you’ll do on the SAT since collegeboard are the writers of the exam. i’ve heard kaplan’s tests are easier than the real tests but i haven’t taken kaplan tests so iono if it’s true.</p>
<p>Good luck studying this summer! Don’t stress out too much thou! Oh, and start working on your college app essays!</p>
<p>I think I’ll do what you did, I’ll just stick with the SAT, study some more and then take it in October and finish off with SAT II’s in November.</p>
<p>I might take a few more ACT practices and see how I do, but I have a feeling that I can get a higher SAT score. My sister had a similar jump in scores as she went from low 1900’s to 2180 when she took it senior year.</p>