<p>Not really ... she had already requested scores be sent to her top schools! Actually, we wondered if we should include an explanation of the first test when she applied. D chose to just let it go. She got into some very competitive schools even without an explanation. </p>
<p>I do agree that there is a point where it might seem a bit neurotic to retake ... such as with a 2370 ... but then again, if it makes the kid feel more comfortable, why not? There is enough stress in the process already. Of course, that can become a vicious circle ... retake to reduce the stress, but get more stressed if it's not what you want! :)</p>
<p>It all makes me secretly glad I had no clue about any of this when I was in high school!</p>
<p>Thanks everyone. I think he's finished. His math and CR are very high -- the writing is low 700's, but I don't think it's worth retaking it just for writing. His essay and english grades should demonstrate his writing skills. Our older son's best scores were in the fall of senior year, so I expected the younger son to take it again in the fall. But after spending so much time on CC over the last couple of years, I do think he's better off using his time in other ways -- even if that just means reading a novel.</p>
<p>In case parents reading this thread haven't seen the figures, here are class of 2006 score distributions. (These are based on the highest single-sitting score for each distinct individual in class of 2006 who took the test.) </p>
<p>As you can see, (single-sitting) scores of 2400 are quite rare, and any college with a larger entering class than Caltech's has to admit some students with lower scores.</p>
I would do the same, with the additional note that I would look at context of how the scores compared with GPA -- if there was a very high GPA in tough courses, a low score, followed by a significantly higher score after an interval of a few months, I'd figure the kid probably had a bad day. </p>
<p>Again, the point is I'd be aware of the overall context.
I would have been happy if my kid could have come near to breaking the 25th percentile at the colleges she applied to... though once she was accepted to most of them I realized that I was far too obsessed over the score. Obviously, weak scores didn't keep her out.</p>
<p>dmd77, I know how ridiculous that sounds!!! It's just that his PSAT writing score was a 78 -- I know he's leaving points on the table, but we've decided it's not worth trying to pick those up. I really DO believe the CC refrain that it's not all about scores -- it's just hard to put that into practice. And I really expected him to retake in the fall, so it feels kind of premature to say, "that's it."</p>
<p>My daughter scored in mid-700 on all 3 sections on her first try. My feeling is that any school that will not accept her with those scores will not accept her if she retakes and gets another 100 points either, so she is done with SAT I.</p>
<p>We went round and round with this in our house. S did very well on the Oct. '06 test (as a jr) after prepping for both it and the PSAT. Scores are strong, but he thought he could pull up the Cr reading a tad (it was low-mid 700s), and probably ace the math (wicked curve pulled his score down 30 pts. for only one wrong). So, I asked my esteemed colleagues here on CC what to do, we pondered the pros and cons, and carefully explored what his goal was (aiming for a merit scholarship at one particular school that likes to see scores just a little higher-- like maybe 20-30 points on the 1600 scale). Anyway, he decided to register for the upcoming June test. </p>
<p>Well, fast forward a few months. Here it is a week away, and he is now in serious summer vacation mode (he's at the lake with friends as I type). He has decided that it isn't worth the time, energy, prepping and hassle to try to pull up the scores by just a little bit. So, he paid me back the $42.50 registration fee and is happily enjoying his summer. I support his decision, as it is just that, HIS decision. Whether it would have made any difference in the long run we will never know. Will the admissions folks pay attention to the fact that he took the SAT only once and did so early in his jr year? Probably not. Will they know/remember that the math curve was harsh that particular time? No. Will it matter in the long run? Who knows. But DS is enjoying the beautiful weather with his friends and made his decision about his future. All the obsessing I did here on CC didn't matter in the long run.</p>
<p>sjmom, Mathson got an 800 on the PSAT writing section and 690 twice on the SAT. The second time he wrote a much better essay, but made more mistakes in the multiple choice.</p>
<p>If a student got 800 Crit R, 800 Writing, 750 Math in April of junior year should he retake the test in Sept/Oct of senior year or leave it alone?</p>
<p>Thanks, actually my S let it go. Those were his scores last year. I stumbled onto this site and just now learned that kids with 2390 take it again. Are they crazy? It is one thing for someone with 2200 to take it again but once you hit 2275 or so I would look askance at the student if I were an ad com. It would suggest an unhealthy obsession.i</p>
<p>Agreeing with all of the parents above (including myself :) ) that there are lots of worthwhile things for high school students to do besides taking standardized tests, I think it's regrettable that some students decline the opportunity to retake a test. A fairly common situation described on College Confidential is a student who takes a test once as a sophomore or very early as a junior, getting a score that's barely within the bottom quartile of the score range for the student's desired colleges. Later the student posts one of the innumerable threads on CC asking about this, getting both "take it again" and "don't take it again" as advice, and sometimes not availing himself of the opportunity to show how much he has LEARNED through his high school studies before the admission application deadline. A student in that position has little--nothing that has been demonstrated to me--to lose and much to gain from a retake.</p>
<p>My Child took SAT at begining of the junior year, and got a 2370. Should he or she retake as a senior? We were told college like to see Senior SAT score. Any truth in it? Would a 2400 improve his or hers HYPMS chance?</p>
<p>In reply to post #37, what the colleges themselves say along the lines of "we consider only your highest scores" means that there is no preference whatever for scores from a particular grade level in school. Some colleges (e.g. Penn and Georgetown) make this especially explicit on their Web sites by saying that they consider an applicant's highest scores, even if those scores come from the (now obsolete) previous two-section version of the SAT I. No member of high school class of 2007 or later could have taken that test as a senior, but the colleges will think the scores are perfectly fine for submission with an application for admission. </p>
<p>Thus there is never a reason to have a test score from the senior year of high school, unless the student simply hasn't taken the test at all before. Some students submit test scores from grades as low as seventh grade, as long as those scores are high enough to make an applicant look college-ready and as long as the family has preserved those scores on the student's permanent record of scores (which does NOT happen by default for scores below ninth grade on the SAT). </p>
<p>A score of 2370 is indistinguishable from a score of 2400 for admission purposes. An applicant who already has a score of 2370 can better spend his time taking any SAT II Subject Tests required or recommended by the colleges he likes.</p>
<p>Tokenadult,
There are some colleges now saying they will only accept scores from the new 2400-point SAT. Harvey Mudd comes to mind immediately, but I know I've seen it elsewhere as DS has been developing his list of schools.</p>
<p>We know folks who have tested again with scores > 2300. Noone got what they hoped for with the retake. On the other hand, I don't think it kept them out of anywhere they applied -- as in 20-30 points on the SAT was not likely to make a difference.</p>