I’m taking the SAT I test in August, but I’ve done four SAT practice tests so far (from the blue book) and I’ve been stuck at 1480/1490. I have an 800 US History and 730 Math 2, and I plan on applying to Harvard EA.
If I end up with a 1490 SAT score on the August date, that will be my only possible test date that can be used to apply to Harvard EA. I’m an international and my area doesn’t offer any other test dates before Harvard EA’s deadline (and for the August test date, I’m taking the test in the USA). However, there will be one test date before the RD deadline but after the EA deadline for me to retake the SAT, and I might be able to raise my score slightly (10 - 30 points) by then.
Therefore, I ask: would it be better for me to submit a 1490 SAT score in Harvard EA, or a 1500 - 1520 SAT score in Harvard RD? Assuming the rest of my application is competitive, and the SAT II scores (800 - USH, 730 - M2).
^^^ Meh. While that may be true for US students, that’s not necessarily true for international students, especially as Harvard does not require the TOEFL and therefore puts a lot of weight on an international student’s SAT reading and writing scores to judge whether their English proficiency would allow them to handle the workload on Harvard’s campus. In addition, the OP should understand two things about the admissions process:
International applicants do NOT have the same chances as applicants from the United States. Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Stanford and MIT (among other colleges) limit the number of international students to about 10% to 11% of an incoming freshman class -- and most of those international students are from 6 countries: Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, China, Korean and Japan. Please go to http://www.hio.harvard.edu/statistics. From the pull-down menus, select STUDENTS, HARVARD COLLEGE (the undergraduate school) and YOUR COUNTRY to see how many of your fellow countrymen are attending Harvard who are freshman, sophomores, juniors or seniors. Be sure to divide that number by 4 to get an idea of about how many students from your country Harvard admits each year. As you can see, the answer is . . . not many.
Applying SCEA is super competitive -- especially for international students. If you have a 1530+ SAT, or the ACT equivalent, with lots of AP classes and AP tests (all with 4's and 5's) and an unweighted GPA above 95 (on a 1-100 scale) or an unweighted GPA of 3.9 (on a 1-4 scale), and are ranked in the top 1% to 3% of your graduating class, then you should apply to HYP or S in the SCEA round. Pick a school, whichever one is your favorite, and apply, as the odds tend to be better for high-end students in the early round, no matter what Admissions says otherwise.
If you have a sub-1530 SAT or the ACT equivalent, and are ranked in the top 4% to 10% of your high school’s graduating class, then you should NOT apply SCEA, as there is a high probability that your application will get buried by the polly-perfect’s of this world, and there is a greater likelihood you will be deferred.
IMHO, based upon your practice score tests, if your actual tests are about the same, you stand a better than average chance of being deferred. Therefore, you should apply to Harvard in the RD round and apply to other non-binding schools in the early round: https://www.internationalstudent.com/schools_awarding_aid/
@gibby By the logic of your conclusion regarding the deferral, the 40 point difference between a 1490 and a 1530 (assuming good GPA and course load) matter that much to the point where you personally wouldn’t consider ECs, essays, or the rest of an application?
Which I ask because according to an admission officer from an Ivy League school on Reddit, after there is sufficient evidence to suggest a student can handle the work on campus, their ECs, essays, LoR, etc are comprehensively considered (which, according to the AO, are used to fit the agenda of the university).
Therefore, unless a 1490 instead of a 1530 (and assuming sufficient GPA and course load) is an indication that an applicant is not able to handle the course load, I’m curious what brought you to that conclusion.
It is correct that after a certain level, scores don’t matter as much. Having said that, you’re competing against applicants from your country (and may be against other international applicants). So with 1490 or 1530, whether SCEA or RD, your chances are slim at Harvard, especially given they admit 1-2 the most from most of the countries. If Harvard is your dream school, I would apply early and let it be over with it. So you can focus your efforts for the RD on the other colleges.
I would agree with @gibby. At a 1490, the OP would be at the lower end of the 25-75% percentile range of students who have recently matriculated to Harvard in terms of standardized test scores. While a student who scores a 1490 can certainly “handle the work”, probably as well as a student who scores a 1530, the fact is that student will be compared against a disproportionate number of super high achievers in the SCEA round at Harvard, who will also have perfect grades, great essays, LoR’s and EC’s. Now factor the even higher standards for internationals, absent some truly amazing subjectives, it is hard to see a SCEA decision other than a deferral. The better strategy is to apply to a school(s) that are much less of a reach (low reach/high match) where there is a real chance that the OP will have something in the bag before year end, and will have a chance to further improve his/her app’s (test scores, essays) to the super competitive schools like H.
This thread is about a test that hasn’t even been taken yet! And I don’t think a 40 point difference is going to matter. your SAT II’s look good. Admissions will really be about other things.
Apply early if Harvard is your top choice- but think carefully about that. Why is Harvard your first choice?
Be ready to also apply to some schools you have more certainty about getting in and that you would want to attend.
I’m with compmom. But OP is Canadian and there will be a tsunami of kids applying from there. The ECs are mostly entrepreneurial and you need to be very rational about how the competition will affect you. Are you aware of what matters to H, besides the quantitative? Even if you do land a 1530-1600, every bit of the whole picture will matter.
I ended up getting a 1470 (780 Math, 690 RW) on my August SAT. Because of that, I plan on applying EA to Stanford (where it’s a nice school to me if I get an acceptance but also wouldn’t mind getting rejected from), then retaking the SAT in December to hopefully get a 1500+ score and applying to Harvard and other universities in RD by the January deadline. Does that sound logical?
Unless the difference between a 1470 (and especially with the 690 RW score) and a 1520 is negligible, that feels like the best plan.
Are there not other more reachable schools you could apply EA to where you could be content? I guess if you are already a lock in a Canadian university that you would be happy with, you can take a shot at the lottery. I assume you have a good balance of other schools on your list.
@acomfysofa Have you tried the ACT? Like you, my daughter’s SAT score on real and practice tests fell within a narrow range and improved only modestly with practice. She got a better result on the ACT with a similar level of preparation.
@BKSquared Canadian universities with guaranteed admission are my safeties, so I have no problem taking risks with US admissions.
@mamaedefamilia I’ll look into the ACT. The main worry I have is the Math is more complex which would require more study time (from what I heard but didn’t look into it) and the time constraints - especially on the Science section. But the easier reading is a big plus.