Are my SAT scores high enough for Ivy admission?

Test Preparation
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<p>I'm interested in applying to some rather selective schools (Yale, Harvard, Stanford, etc.) But my SAT score is a 2240 (CR:730 M:790 W:720) out of two sittings. I know the average for these schools is typically a 2250. Will a 2240 (1520/1600) be a hindrance to my application?</p>

<p>I'm a good student and will be graduating within the top 1% of a respectable public school. After junior year I have taken 8 APs and gotten 5s on all of them (7 more this year). My SAT IIs are Physics:750, Biology:760, and US History:790. The rest of my application is fine.</p>

<p>So, I don't necessarily want to be chanced. I'm just wondering if this 2240 (1520) will hurt my college application and ostensibly make the difference between acceptance and rejection/deferral. I'll be taking the SAT again, but I don't know how much time I should set aside to study for it. Also, this upcoming SAT will be after the Early Action deadline. What do you think?</p>

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<p>You are more than fine. Good luck</p>

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<p>Yes, your score is competitive. At this point, they’ll care more about the rest of your application.</p>

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<p>Sorry to be snarky, but with a 790 in math I would have expected that you would know how averages work. A tiny bit less than half of the school has your score or lower. Does that mean your scores are a deal breaker? How would that work???</p>

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<p>@IxnayBob yes, I know how averages work (Sorry to be snarky, but what you described is actually the median). However, the reality is that many of the scores below the average account for sports scholarships or students with limited access to educational materials or facing some type of adversity. For Caucasian, middle-class students with modest athletic records, SAT scores usually have to be higher than the average to get accepted. All that aside, I’m not asking whether my scores are good, but rather if a higher score alone could feasibly make the difference between acceptance and rejection.</p>

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<p>Feasibly? Yes. Realistically? Who knows.</p>

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<p>Rocky, your writing score might improve substantially by just doing grammar practice questions…and I’m sure you could potentially score 800 on math with a little less carelessness. Personally, I don’t feel that your SAT scores would be what ‘break you’ (purely hypothetically, of course) at this point. </p>

<p>Some schools consider Nov SAT for EA…this is a tricky one; you don’t have to take it, but if you do study and decide to resit the SATs one faithful SATurday, your results should most likely go up. </p>

<p>Idk, I was in your place after June SATs, and even being Asian I really didn’t want to retake a 2260(1530/1600). But my parent’s forced me to. I guess it’s really a question of whether you feel you did YOUR best.</p>

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FWIW, a median is an average, although I know that mostly it refers to the mean. </p>

<p>All that aside, your point about recruited athletes, URMs, etc. is well-taken.</p>

<p>I think the highly selective schools will not rule you out for your SATs. The scores are sufficiently good for you to be considered. Good luck!</p>