Another "retake or not to retake" (with details!).

Test Preparation SAT Subject Test Preparation
1

So, I just received my October SAT II Chemistry result: 720 (61 percentile). Should I be retaking this in December? I’m quite confident that I can get at least 750+, if not 770+. However, I’m not sure if it’s worth it - in terms of finance and time. Is a 720 going to hurt my application? I mean, if improving my score is only going to have a very slight impact on my application, then I wouldn’t consider wasting my time retaking.

Details:
Country: Australia
Applying for FA: Yes (though, I know that I won’t qualify for FA at some, if not most schools)
Schools: Your typical reach schools (HYPS & Duke), UCLA, UCB & UMich.
SAT I: Average for reach schools (2250+).
GPA: We don’t have GPAs in Australia, but class rank is top 4%.
Major: Undecided (but considering Biological Sciences).
ECs: Again, probably typical of HYPS admits - some medical experience, overseas volunteering, etc. (nothing extravagant).

2

Bump.

3

Yeah as a prospective science major your chem score should be higher than a 720. If you refer to the percentile tables that the collegeboard releases https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/digitalServices/pdf/sat/sat-percentile-ranks-subject-tests-2014.pdf, a 720 puts you in the 61st percentile, meaning that 39% of test takers did better than you. Considering the list of schools you’re applying to and the fact you’re from Australia, you better hope that your ATAR is like 99.80+ haha

4

If you’re aiming for HYPS, you really should.

5

Thank you!