<p>Kindly bear in mind I'm an international Asian (Singapore represent! Haha) so I'm in an extreeemely competitive pool full of 800s. Planning to sit for October SAT IIs. Deciding which SAT books to order from Amazon cuz they aren't available in Singapore and my American aunt is flying here in 10 days so I need to get the books sent to her address ASAP. (International shipping costs a bomb!)</p>
<p>This is going to be a bit long, but just skip to the last line if you (understandably) can't be bothered! Haha.</p>
<p>Given the schools I'm aiming for - Cornell, Duke, Georgetown McDonough (business), UC Berkeley, NYU Stern (the schools mentioned in the title are high reach schools but of course I want to make that less of a reach with hopefully good-looking SAT2s) - should I retake Lit, which I got 740 for in June, or take Chemistry as a 4th subject?
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For lit, I did about 2 Kaplan practice tests (one timed) before the actual test.** I felt good after leaving the test so I'm not sure I could improve that much more, but my friend who did all the Kaplan tests got a 800 so I'm thinking that a 770+ for Lit with hard work is realistically within possibility. In my apps, I'm probably going to touch on why I love books/lit (although since nearly everyone says that, I'm not going to make it the main focus of my app. However, it is a possible intended major), so I feel that a substantial score for lit would be more consistent with that. For those familiar with the IB Diploma, I also got an A for my Extended Essay (4000 words) in English A1, ie. Eng Lit, and a 6 for IB HL Eng A1. Sooo... I don't really want a neither here nor there lit SAT2 score casting doubt upon the validity of my IB scores and lit aptitiude in general.<a href="I%20understand%20that%20a%20740%20lit%20isn't%20baad,%20tons%20of%20people%20do%20get%20into%20my%20target%20schools%20with%20that,%20but%5Bb%5D%20I'm%20competing%20from%20Singapore%20where%20nearly%20no%20one%20gets%20below%20750%20for%20any%20SAT2!!%20No%20joke">/b</a></p>
<p>For Chem, I have only taken IB SL Chem (got the highest grade of 7 in Nov 2010) but am sitting for IB HL Chem in Nov 2011 which will be near to the Oct SAT II date, so hopefully my Chem will be up to standard by then... **My chem has not been historically strong<a href="got%20a%20B3%20for%20GCE%20'O'%20levels%20in%20sophomore%20year%20for%20those%20who%20understand%20that%20system">/b</a> but I'm determined to work hard for IB HL Chem. But still, that is a PLAN, not already attained proficiency, so therein represents some risk. But I figure adding more SAT 2s will strengthen my app. Right?</p>
<p>For reference, the other 2 SAT II subjects I offer are Math 2 (670 in June, definitely going to retake for 780+), and Biology (710 in June without any prep at all, retaking for 780+).</p>
<p>I know SATs aren't all that colleges look at, but in such a highly competitive pool, such hair-splitting may be the final difference between an offer and a rejection. Already last year was a killer year in apps, particularly for Singaporeans, and the pool is only going to get more competitive this year.</p>
<p>(Re-posting from the SAT Subject prep board for more opinions)
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IN SHORT, would colleges, esp Columbia, prefer three good SAT II scores (~780 for lit, math 2, bio), or a wider variety of SAT II scores (lit, math 2, bio, chem)?**</p>
<p>THANK YOU :)</p>