Another "chances" question

Colleges and Universities A-Z Florida State University
1

<p>Hi,</p>

<p>My daughter just received her latest ACT scores and (regardless of what all her friends have told her) has determined that the ACT is not easier than the SAT! She won't be submitting the ACT scores to any schools.</p>

<p>Therefore, in order to get her apps in by the early deadline she will submit her SAT from last spring: 1210/1760. According to her guidance counselor, this is on the low side of the middle fifty percent for FSU (and even lower for UF). However, her grades are good (3.5 unweighted with mostly honors and nine APs. Should be well over 4.0 when weighted because most of her Bs were in regular non-honors classes). She also has decent ECs and volunteer hours. She is a good writer so I've no doubt that her essay will be fine.</p>

<p>I guess our question is, should she hold off, take the SAT again and apply later--hopefully with a higher SAT-- or is she better off taking her chances with a sub-par (or barely par) SAT and an earlier application? </p>

<p>Considering that she has taken the ACT twice with the exact same score both times, I'm not convinced that she will do any better re-taking the SAT (she did take a review class before she took the SAT last spring).</p>

<p>We visited USF in Tampa two weeks ago (her safety school) and she "didn't hate it" so failure to get into FSU (first choice) or UF (second) won't totally devastate her, but any advice on improving her chances for FSU would be very much appreciated.</p>

<p>FWIW she wants to major in economics and international relations (which is why she says FSU is choice 1) and her brother will start FSU this spring (which is probably the real reason she wants to go).</p>

<p>Thanks,</p>

<p>LTG</p>

2

<p>APPLY EARLY. Her scores are enough to get the application in early. Apply for summer. Waiting until the second application period will up the scores needed as they get pickier by that time. She can walk up to the Oct SAT test and see if there are spaces available. She can also indicate that she will be repeating the SAT on the application. I would apply now and NOT WAIT.</p>

3

<p>Thanks Sunny,</p>

<p>That’s what I thought – any incremental gain in her SAT score probably wouldn’t offset a later application. She’s a smart kid, but crumbles under the time pressure of the college admission tests. </p>

<p>I hadn’t thought about indicating to FSU that she will retake the score – do you think that would hurt her chances if her score didn’t improve? As it is now, she has only taken the SAT one time, so only the 1210 shows on her score report. </p>

<p>Thanks again,</p>

<p>LTG</p>

4

<p>She should list on her priority application October SAT data and submit her current score. They will consider her highest score from October but she has to supply her earlier SAT to be considered at the first round.</p>

5

<p>I will NOT hurt to indicate a plan for a retake. If she gets in, it is based on current score, and other than trying to get the higher bright futures, it does not matter and she does not HAVE to retake it. If she gets deferred, then she will go for it, and submit the score anyway. Apply early, submit current score, and plan to retake unless she gets in before the retest date.</p>