<p>I'm in my summer before senior year and I have taken the SAT twice in junior year. My scores were 2090 and the second time, this May, was 2180 (Reading 720, Math 730, Writing 730). Just wondering if you smart people think that it's worth the effort for me to retake it. And no, I have not taken the ACTs and I don't really plan on taking them because I'm lazy like that. Advice please?</p>
<p>Since I don't see that a particular section is really low or anything, no. Your scores are pretty even (which is GOOD), and I'd say that even if you retook it the chances are you won't improve that much. And since no one section is "lagging" behind others, I don't really see the necessity to retake it, unless you're absolutely sure you can improve scores in all three sections. :)</p>
<p>Enjoy the summer. Go out to the beach! I wouldn't spend a summer in the company of prep books to try to score higher than a 2180, which is pretty good.</p>
<p>I like that advice. :) Just wondering if you would still say the same thing if I told you I am planning on applying to MIT, USC, Johns Hopkins, Yale, UPenn, Harvard, University of Chicago, and UW Honors? I know that most colleges want to look at the "whole package" and I do have a solid 4.0 and a pretty good extracurricular package. I'm just not really clear on how much colleges care about the SAT scores, and MIT, Yale, and Harvard are obviously very picky universities.</p>
<p>Bump. Anyone else have advice?</p>
<p>Korean I presume? </p>
<p>Take it again, if you want.</p>
<p>If I was in your position, I would take it again.</p>
<p>angryasianman, i am in the same exact position... i got a 2180 my second time, and im applying to tough schools like you. i really dont want to retake it but the higher the better for schools like MIT, etc. i was going to take the ACT and focus on that, and hope the 2180 is good enough...</p>
<p>its a solid score, but if you want to be a slightly more competitive and you believe that one more sitting could increase your score go for it. But its a good distribution, no weaknesses or anything...so at the moment this is nothing bad.</p>
<p>Without a doubt, take it again</p>
<p>
[quote]
Just wondering if you would still say the same thing if I told you I am planning on applying to MIT, USC, Johns Hopkins, Yale, UPenn, Harvard, University of Chicago, and UW Honors?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Take it again.</p>
<p>Everyone who applies to MIT, Yale, Harvard, Penn, etc. basically has a 4.0 and the "whole package"--everyone who stands a snowball's chance at acceptance. </p>
<p>(I'm going to exclude USC and UW because they're not so competitive and you'll probably get in easy.)</p>
<p>If you were to apply to all of these schools, <em>maybe</em> you'll get into ONE, if you're really lucky, two. All of these schools reject 2400s like it's nothing, and believe me, you don't work your ass off to get a 2400 without having the "whole package" too. Harvard rejects 50% (probably even more these days) of their 2400 applicants. </p>
<p>With these schools, the higher your score the better. A 2180 is great score compared to most people (98th percentile), but don't let that blind you to the myriad of applicants who have far superior scores against whom you'll be competing. Think of it as a scale: on one side is your SAT score and the other is your chances of acceptance. As your score gets heavier and adds more weight, your chances of acceptance go up. You already have a 2180, which means with a lot of studying, you could get it in to the 2200s or 2300s, which will increase your chances at these schools considerably.</p>
<p>Godfathers advice is excellent - go with it,</p>
<p>Take it again if you're pretty sure or at least should be able to increase your score somewhat significantly. I dunno, if you raise your score by like 20 points it's a waste of time, and your scores are all in the 700+'s, so unless you can improve it pretty well don't retake.</p>
<p>I've looked through the questions I've missed and on every section the ones I missed were all the "difficult" questions and most of them I missed because I made stupid mistakes that I KNOW I could definitely get right on a perfect day. So, if I were to actually bog down and study (something I was unable to do during the school year), I know I would be able to get close to a perfect score. The problem is that I want a better score, but I also don't want colleges to think I'm wasting my time taking the SAT again. Like you guys said, 50% of 2400s still get rejected, so how much of a difference does it make if I take it again and say get a 2300? Also, to apply to MIT and Harvard, I have to take the SAT II Math II test so that I will have three SAT IIs. So, do you guys think I should just not take the SAT I and take the SAT II Math II in October, or should I take the SAT I in October and the SAT II Math II in November, or would taking the Math II in November be too late?</p>
<p>To Art of Mind:
I'm not sure what you mean by being Korean, like there is something wrong with being Korean. But no, I am Taiwanese American. I was born here and raised here.</p>
<p>Bump. And for all of you guys who say that I SHOULD take the SAT I again, do you think it would be better for me to take it in October or November? (remember next year is my senior year)</p>
<p>Take it again, definitely. It'd be wise to have at least a 2250 (preferably 2300) for the schools you're applying to. Take it in October and take the subject tests in November.</p>
<p>Def take it again, especially since you're confident that you'll come close to 2400. 2180 is good, but not for HYPMS and similar schools. Schools don't mind too much 3 SAT attempts, but after that it detracts from your app. You probably should take it in Oct just to get it over with. November would be free for college apps.</p>
<p>But I still need to take the Math SAT II and what if I told you I took the SAT once in freshman year because I was being retarded? They don't look at any SATs before junior year right? Especially if it was really early in your high school career?</p>
<p>They get them, yes. But, honestly, it doesn't matter how many times you take it. Usually admissions officers are given your best scores and never see your others anyway. Even if they did, it wouldn't matter.</p>
<p>So if the only source of your trepidation is "will taking the test 3 times hurt me", then by all means retake. It won't hurt you.</p>
<p>But I took it once in freshman year as well when I was a retarded freshman.. so this would be my 4th time if I took it again in October. :( Are you sure they won't look too closely at a stupid mistake like taking it before your junior year?</p>
<p>Just gonna bump this.</p>
<p>No, it's not a big deal. Just take it again if you feel you can do better. Do you really think admissions officers give a damn how many times you take it? The only reason they suggest to take it only twice is due to "diminishing returns", but if you can improve drastically on a fourth take, then by all means do so. A 2300 on your fourth try is better than a 2180 on your third.</p>
<p>Ok. Thanks for the advice, man!</p>