Anyone get into a top school with a lousy 1st attempt and a stellar 2nd attempt?

Test Preparation SAT Preparation
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<p>I was wondering if there is anyone who can attest to the fact that schools most definetely care about your superscore and not individual sittings when it comes to the SAT's. I did pretty lousy (I won't tell exactly, but it was below a 1900) the first time, but I am really working at it to retake the exam again in October. </p>

<p>Is there anyone who has gotten into a top school (doesn't have to be ivy) with a lousy result the first time and amazing the second time around? </p>

<p>I would love some feedback. This is the only thing that is really standing in my way for a decent shot at college admissions </p>

<p>Thanks</p>

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<p>Have you considered applying to some of the schools that are SAT-optional? There are some great colleges that don't require standardized tests, for examle, Bowdoin Bates, Mount Holyoke, and most of the LACs outside the most selective ones on the east coast.</p>

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<p>yeah i was wondering too whether colleges only look at your best scores. Like if you get a 1800 the first time and 2200 the 3rd time. does it matter to say another kid who got 2100,2150,2200?</p>

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<p>Is that a nice way of saying that the SAT required schools are out of the question?</p>

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<p>no, I don't think that's what he was getting at by urging you to look at some SAT optional schools. if you don't want to bother taking the test again, you can still go to a great college.</p>

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<p>I am definetely taking the test again, and I do have some SAT optional schools in mind, but most of the places I am looking at need an SAT and I would hate to think that after one bad test, all of my work has been thrown out the window</p>

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<p>lol I know someone who went from an 1800 to a 2400. It can definitely be done as long as you're willing to work your ass off.</p>

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<p>Thanks for that comment...any idea what they did to do so well? I have a bunch of books for practice tests (Collegeboard, Kaplan, Barrons, Princeton Review)...I am just taking the tests and hoping to improve</p>

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<p>depends on the final score i guess, and in addition to other things like grades and ECs</p>

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<p>
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yeah i was wondering too whether colleges only look at your best scores.

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<p>That's what many of them say in their admission publicity materials. College admission officers who are specifically asked the question generally bring up policies of considering a student's best scores, or, as Harvard puts it, "ONLY your best scores." </p>

<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showpost.php?p=4198038&postcount=1%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showpost.php?p=4198038&postcount=1&lt;/a> </p>

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<p>That's surely the correct answer to the question. Occasionally applicants who submit just one score report with a 2400 on it are rejected, while other applicants who submit score reports with as many as five scores on them (NONE of them all the way up to 2400) are admitted. In other words, don't worry about your test scores too much, and especially don't worry about how many times you took the test. Lots of students take the test more than once. </p>

<p><a href="http://www.collegeboard.com/prod_downloads/highered/ra/sat/AverageScores.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.collegeboard.com/prod_downloads/highered/ra/sat/AverageScores.pdf&lt;/a> </p>

<p>Retake the test if you think you can do better. Work on all other aspects of your application no matter what your test scores are.</p>

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<p>PKswmr76 -could you tell us mote about this kid. what did he do i got a 1850 and i am studying to get a better score on my second time.</p>

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<p>Yes you can get into a top school with a bad 1st, 2nd, or even 3rd bad score. I got a 1900 first time but brought it up a lot and got into a good school.</p>