A Bit of Advice

Test Preparation
1

<p>I just got my scores back. I'm not all too thrilled.</p>

<p>ACT: 29 (personally the real deal was so much harder than any practice test I had taken, and a 28 in science, I thought I had nailed that, anyway)
SAT II Bio: 630 --> 660 (I put so much time into this, this is absurd)
SAT II Math II C: 720 (this I expected, due to time issues)
SAT II Chemistry: 730 (waiting on rescore of May one which I think I did better on)
SAT II Math I: 680 (ran out of time back in Nov)
SAT: 720M, 700WR, 580CR (bubbling mistake)</p>

<p>My early decision list so far is looking like this:
1. Brown University
2. Dartmouth College
3. University of Pennsylvania (very distant from the two above)</p>

<p>How are my subject tests? Do they look bad for any of those schools? What would you do for these? I have my AP tests as well. Could I make up for some of that there?
What should I do for the SAT and ACT? [Honestly, right now, I think I have a better chance at the SAT than I do at the ACT.] What score should I aim for to be in the running for those schools?</p>

<p>For some reason, I'm just not good at these tests.</p>

<p>As for other things that may weigh out these things on my application, I have around 300 total volunteer hours between my mosque and the local hospital. I'm also interested in publications, even though I don't want to make a career out of that, so my extracurriculars are heavily focused around that. I've been editor of the school newspaper for two years, section head for my yearbook, i'm doing the index senior year for the yearbook, and i'm one of the editors of the yearbook as well. I'll probably have three rock-solid recommendations and I think I'm a good writer, so I think my essays will be good. My high school unweighted GPA is a 3.89/3.9. Weighted, it will probably be a 4.27. I've taken the toughest classes offered at school. I will be taking four more APs next year. My rank is somewhere in the top-15 students, that's top 4% or so.</p>

2

<p>A safe SAT II score for the ivies is 750+, but your scores are good. I've heard that the subject test won't keep you out if everything else is in order.</p>

<p>On the SAT you are 70-80 pts. below the 25% range at these schools (around 1370). Unfortunately, you won't be able to retest and send the scores in time for ED/EA (They ship on Nov. 2).</p>

<p>Your ACT is in the same range as your SAT, but if you live in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, or West Virginia, you can take the test on Sept. 15 and qualify for ED/EA.</p>

3

<p>Well, with the SAT, I can even use the November scores for ED. I just need to rush the scores.</p>

4

<p>Even if you don't live in those states you can still go to one of those states to take the test.</p>

<p>I know of kids who have done this.</p>