<p>You know, in a lot of ways I'm glad that I didn't look at score breakdowns at most schools until after I applied everywhere. I sort of broke down in tears when I got my first sitting of the SAT (720 V 570 M) and was pretty sure that I didn't have a chance in heck to get in anywhere (just from what I heard). However, there were a few people who told me to "chin up" because my score was alright, and I'd more likely that not get in to lots of schools. They knew I standardized tested really badly and that my rank (5-6/288) and the other stuff would show through. However, even with that, I overlooked tons and tons of schools I was interested in because of my scores, and I came this close to not applying to the school I'll be attending because of my scores (Reed). So, I think if I'd seen how hard it really is at schools, I would have been even more miserable with my score. Even so, I ended up retaking and really didn't change much (620 M 680 V) and then took the ACT and hit right about that range (31). I always like to think I would have done better with prep, but now that I'm into the one school I'd never thought would be possible, all is well. </p>
<p>Now that I look at my scores, I cringe at how "bad" I thought they were. I never wanted SAT "mania" to hit me, but it obviously did. I think my eyes were finally opened when both my friends (27 ACT 960 SAT for one and 1100 SAT for the other) were both so proud of their scores and got into schools they loved. Here I was obsessing about 97-98 percentile scores and here they were actually getting out, applying, and feeling happy. There really is a place for everyone. ^_^</p>