<p>I usually do well in my math and science classes. However, on my SAT1 my math score was 610 and on my ACT my math and science scores were 26. Math was my middle score on the SAT and math and science are my lowest on the ACT. Is this a bad sign for my interest in engineering?</p>
<p>An SAT score isn’t supposed to show how interested you are in a certain subject. You should already know if you’re interested in engineering or not. If you do well in your math courses now, you will probably do ok in higher level math. 610 isn’t a bad score, so I wouldn’t let that discourage you.</p>
<p>I’m not worried about it hurting my interest I guess. What I really meant is if its a bad sign of my ability to do well in this field.</p>
<p>A 610 is above average. Plus, if you didn’t study for the SAT, that will bring down your score, perhaps by a significant amount. I say study a lot if you have time to do it again. Just practice, that’s what test taking is. I mean you know what sort of questions they’ll ask, you know what the topics are. It’s very easy to get a good score on these tests but most people don’t put in the effort or don’t study it properly (though it’s hard to go wrong, you just practice). Science on the ACT is a lot like critical reading, and really doesn’t require an in-depth knowledge of any scientific subject, only the basics. For that reason, I think if you study the science section, you should get a much better score.</p>
<p>With that being said, not everyone can make an 800 on the SAT math. That doesn’t mean that you can’t be an engineer, it just means you’ll have to work a bit harder in that area. Eventually you practice enough of that sort of math and problem solving that it becomes second nature. To some people it just comes easier. It means nothing, what truly matters is how much work you put in. If you really like the idea of being an engineer, then that’s what counts. You beat the average by a lot, so don’t be discouraged by your super robotic alien smart friends who make better scores… they don’t do anything special, even if they say they don’t do anything they’re either lying or they really are highly intelligent. Either way, it doesn’t matter to you. You know yourself, you know your limits and your capabilities.</p>
<p>No. Do nit worry at all. I know plenty of people who had very low test scores but are doing very well in engineering now. Just work hard, stay focused and organized.</p>
<p>Nah, I don’t think so. I think a 610 is good enough. You might have to put in a little more work than some people, but I would think with a 610 you would be capable of completing engineering level math as long as you’re willing to work. In other words… I don’t think a 610 is bad enough to where it’s going to limit your learning abilities.</p>
<p>One’s test scores in the disciplines of mathematics and sciences do not correlate in any way with one’s interest in those disciplines or the applied form(s) of those disciplines (i.e.: Engineering etc.). However, it is presumed by colleges that if one is passionate/interested in certain disciplines, his/her achievements in those disciplines will exceed his/her achievements in other disciplines.</p>
<p>This is sufficient reason to give pause and wonder if you have the math skills you need to succeed in this field in college or in the professional world. It is sufficient reason to work harder on math in general in order to prepare yourself for the workload you anticipate in college. </p>
<p>It is not sufficient reason to give up on engineering.</p>
<p>I am living example of majoring in hard sciences and engineering and not having some super-high GPA…well I did have a high GPA in grad school but that mainly because I had already worked as an engineering for 7-8 years before going to grad school. It’s a little easier to answer exam questions when you have actually done the scenario questions at your job in real life :-)</p>
<p>Now I am not telling you NOT to get high grades, but it is not the end of the world if you are not some 3.5+ student.</p>
<p>I am in my 20th years in engineering/I.T. Now I will admit, high-demand and low-supply is big factor why I was able to do this so long.</p>
<p>To simplify the points:</p>
<p>Very few are born with gifted talents.
I am not Newton. But Newton also had to read books, right? You can’t born with knowing what calculus really does.</p>
<p>One more thing I wanted to point out. Your interest may be in some upper-level courses.</p>
<p>I did “ok” with my Calculus courses…which is a form of “Analysis”, but once I was able to use the C/C++ languages, some if-then-else statements and some loops, the numerical ANALYSIS courses were much easier for me and I aced those courses.</p>
<p>So my point is…you won’t know until you start taking courses.</p>
<p>A low test score may indicate nervousness while taking the test, poor understanding of the material, an abnormally high/low temperature room, lack of interest, poor test-taking skills, and/or many other factors that may affect a test score.</p>
<p>You indicated you perform well in your science and math classes so there’s at least a higher-than-normal level of interest in those courses What you should ask yourself is if you are willing to commit time into studying the tedious, difficult, and/or challenging aspects of science and maths in order to reach the beautiful concepts.</p>
<p>Since everyone has already taken the “your test scores don’t mean anything position,” I’ll go with the other one.</p>
<p>Your test scores don’t mean that you’re going to fail as an engineer or anything like that, but could indicate that you might find it harder than others. If you’ve taken practice tests and scored very high and then something happened on the SAT when you were taking it, it’s not a big deal. If the math is troublesome (and you’ve been exposed to it all before), then you might want to work on strengthening those skills if you’re serious about going into engineering.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I’ll agree with this to a certain extent. some people are just horrible at those standardized tests but not necessarily in those subjects, but nonetheless, they may/will have to work harder than most other students at those engineering classes (Im one of these people so i completely understand)</p>
<p>FYI take Math II SAT II. Math I has a much harsher curve and only tests on basic math… its not worth it. Math II is more relevant to what engineers might see and tests as far as precalc - which WILL help you review on the ACT math. Kill two birds with one stone.</p>
<p>my precalc teacher got a 510 on math back when he took the SAT</p>
<p>I have definitely been thinking about taking some SAT IIs. What’s the difference between the two math subject tests?</p>
<p>@QuesoDe</p>
<p>SAT II MATH LEVEL 2 is level 1 adds some pre-calculus stuff.</p>
<p>Level one covers algebra, basic geometry (volume, area…) , basic trig</p>
<p>Level two - level 1 + functions, geometry, trigs, and some othe rpre-calculus stuff</p>
<p>To really make sense, go on google find sample SAT 2 math 1 and 2 problems. or even visit a book store to look at those review books.</p>
<p>I actually got a higher score on the math 2 than the math 1 (by like, 100 points which surprised everyone) and I took them on the same day. Besides math 2 looks better.</p>
<p>I didn’t read all the posts in this thread so idk if this has been mentioned, but the science section of the ACT is no indicator for how well you are at science. It is just a section that sees how well you can read data and graphs, and it gives you tough time constraints, therefore lowering your score if you can’t met them.</p>