<p>OK I’ll say it – what happens if the retake results in a 2290?</p>
<p>Then they have made a tactical error. They should have already sent the 2340, and only sent the second score if it was better. ;)</p>
<p>I’m still suspicious of schools that say they take only the highest score for each student into consideration in all cases. It’s hard to get the 2290 out of your mind when you are deciding head to head who gets what. They may, but why risk it?</p>
<p>Harvard admissions officers I have asked about this, including one since the FAQ post I already linked to, say that Harvard considers the highest score, PERIOD.</p>
<p>Another issue that motivates some kids to retake hoping for near-perfection is bragging rights around the high school. So many times I saw h.s. pairings where two kids were vying to be top dog. One kid got (in those days) a double-800, while another got an 800 and a 730 and you’d think that second kid was chopped liver because of the vocal attention to the double-800. </p>
<p>I also recall two fine cellists that year, a girl and a boy. The girl cried in l0th grade over who’d be first cellist and he gave up the chair to her, then had to look at her back for the next 3 years. In any other setting, he’d have been considered a fine cellist, but she got all the praise. Once he graduated and freed himself up from that school, he went on to become a cellist in a professional symphony orchestra, and a music composer… but in h.s. he said he felt like a musical nobody simply because he was #2. Sad and I’m glad he got beyond it.</p>
<p>If there’s an individual who seems to be taking all the glory over higher scores, that sometimes has been bothering a near-top student for many years. She may want to retake tests just to prove who’s top dog. </p>
<p>I don’t agree with it, I’m just describing it. If there’s a rival in the student’s life, it can irritate some students enough to retake tests to settle an old rivalry.</p>
<p>We told our kids if they got better than 1200 (CR/Math) that they didn’t have to retake the test. So there you go…</p>
<p>Agree with Curmudgeon.</p>
<p>Your daughter should do what feels right to her and follow Cur’s advice.</p>
<p>And folks at Harvard (as well as other places) say a lot of things … but they ain’t always so.</p>
<p>The feedback is as I presumed, by and large, but thanks. </p>
<p>This student did not take any SAT prep exams and did nothing but roll out of bed Saturday morning and take the test - so in the end I believe I should be telling her the scores are truly indicative of her talent and to focus on doing something else either fun or productive. She received a “higher” score on the PSAT with the same no preparation approach, and as others have surmised, beating the game is likely a big source of motivation (but a meaningless one, really. </p>
<p>The unfortunate fact is that she is incredibly independent of mind and won’t listen to anything I have to say. In light of this, I am just grateful she avoids negative behaviors, but still cling to the notion that I can provide helpful advice.</p>
<p>Being rational and being a teenager, no matter how gifted, do not go together. Son did not study for the SAT math subject test, could have done better so we told him to retake it- he ended up retaking the entire SAT I instead and upped his score to 2400. Don’t ask why, but he was wondering on the long out of town trip on a snowy, cold December morning himself- I thought he had signed up for the subject test until days before (I guess he couldn’t take it and signed up too late for the local center). He should have studied for the subject test and done all of his homework senior year. He did not try to improve his ACT 35. But that is ancient history. I hope your daughter does the school work, grades do matter. Isn’t it fun having a stubborn (independent to the max) child? And of course they also know it all. Good luck. Your child will do what she wants to and it won’t make or break her future.</p>
<p>Anybody have an opinion about SAT retakes for these scores:</p>
<p>CR 760
Math 720
Writing 790</p>
<p>Aiming for places like Cornell, W and M, U Chicago, UVA…maybe someplace like Davidson.</p>
<p>Probably looking into political science…definitely not engineering or a hard math field.</p>
<p>Yes, my opinion is no need for a retake.</p>
<p>unless you live in a very asian neighborhood where they care about nothing but scores.</p>
<p>Yep, if you have the headstrong variety of daughter (as I do), it is not worth arguing about. She won’t listen anyway so you might as well save yourself for an argument that matters! My response was in response to “any rational reason?” not really what she should do. </p>
<p>At some of the prestigious colleges, your regional ad counselor sees all of your scores, but only presents the best to the committee. My comment about perfectionism comes from professional bias and friendships with a close friend who works in admissions. It was just an off-hand comment, not my usual measured opinion.</p>
<p>Speaking of retaking, S was sick the one time he took the SAT1, and we seriously considered cancelling his score–you have until Wednesday midnight after the test:</p>
<p>[SAT</a> Canceling Scores](<a href=“College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools”>Canceling Your SAT Weekend Scores – SAT Suite | College Board)</p>
<p>Fortunately, score was very high and he did not even think about retaking.</p>
<p>well then you’ll all cringe at this. A friend’s son, who scored a 36 on the ACT (but did actually miss a couple of questions) decided he wanted to retake it to get ALL the answers right. He’s a good kid, but enough is enough. Some kids just see it as a game.</p>
<p>i don’t think that there’s anything wrong with retaking a test that you JUST WANT TO GET A PERFECT SCORE ON. c’mon, as long as that person isn’t like OMG A 2390 NOW I’LL NEVER GET INTO A SCHOOL. it’s natural to want to beat the game, and some people mite want to have bragging rights. or they don’t really care about studying more, or they enjoy it, or all they’re giving up is a saturday morning. you don’t have to hate on them, as long as they’re not so narrowminded as to think that the SATs are all there is to life.</p>
<p>Perhaps they see it as a game, perhaps they are aiming for the scholarships. BUT, what is going to happen when they arrive at that college campus of choice and they do NOT make the highest grade in each class, etc.? I would be very cautious of a student that cannot live without scoring the highest because it is a game, etc. College just does not work that way–and college years can be an extremely stressful time for some students, esp the ones that may be accustomed to winning at the game. Just my 2 cents!</p>
<p>Some of the top scorers do not have perfect grades- they are bored and don’t always do the busy work- in HS and college. Unfortunate to have lower grades than they easily could, but fortunate to not suffer the stress of needing to be being perfect in all things academic.</p>
<p>What happens if she does worse the second time?
The college may see the first awesome score as a sort of “mistake”.
I would stick with the fabulous score, and use the time to do more fun things than sit in a room for 5 hours taking a test.</p>
<p>It’s not the decision of the mom or the GC or the peers. It’s the student’s decision. They need to start making these sort of decisions for themselves and experiencing the consequences. We can’t orchestrate every step of the way for them.</p>
<p>notre dame - your perspective is helpful. Even the smartest among us human beings always will run up against some one smarter in one way or another or one field or another. Young people need to get a sense of instrinsic achievement - with the understanding that competition is often helpful and vital to improving performance but that in the end what matters is developing one’s own human capital. </p>
<p>I have trouble (and in all honesty, I think many share this with me) putting this SAT thing in perspective. It is just a test - and frankly in some respects a silly one at that insofar it is does to a degree measure test taking abilities. Yet there is an inexorable pull to want to do well on it, and frankly, even the least pushy of parents (I count myself in that group) still find themselves vicariously living - despite our best efforts, through our bright kids. I think I do a moderate job in not taking the SAT or college admission thing too seriously - because it really is about the kids learning to perform at a level and in areas of endeavor that they want - not their parents - but despite frequent internal scoldings not to enter into vicarious behavior as I do on occasion find myself slipping. I am reminded by my own daughter’s entreaties - she has inquired in the finest and most sarcastic form of Socratic method whether it is indeed true that I have already finished college and graduate school, and further whether my nosy questions evince a desire to take those courses of study over again. </p>
<p>Thanks to all for the input.</p>