<p>My son is a rising senior with a 2130 SAT (700V, 680M, and 750W). He made a 5 on AP calculus B/C, and I think if he did even a little prep (he has never done any prep), he could get his math score up to a 750, which would put him at 2200, and at the very least, help him with merit aid. </p>
<p>He is balking at taking the SAT again, and the deadline is rapidly approaching to sign up for the October test. Any ideas how I can convince him to try again? He wants to go to W&M (we are in-state), but has almost no EC's, so I have considered frightening him by saying he may not get into W&M without a 2200. I seriously don't think he will have a problem getting in because the in-state boys acceptance rate is pretty high.</p>
<p>He probably doesn't need to prep - he just needs to read the questions more carefully. My son got a 680 in both 7th and 8th grades. When he looked at the question and answer service results - he realized that every wrong answer had been a silly misreading of the question. Even as a junior his two wrong answers were because he misread or forgot to do one step of a question. Result was a 760 instead of the 800 he is perfectly capable of. I don't know the ins and outs of merit aid at stae universities, but honestly anyone looking at that AP score is going to know he can do math. I'd encourage him to take the test again, but I wouldn't sweat the prep. If you can, try to get him to look through his wrong answers from the last test and see why they were wrong. I'm sure he knows the math.</p>
<p>You can advise, but utimately let your son make the choice.
His scores are wonderful and you should be very proud
It is very stressful to take these tests over and over for what may be a minimal return</p>
<p>The merit aid thing is a good approach--this is a very practical concern. Definitely tell your son to try again for this reason. His scores are good right now so that isn't the issue and shouldn't become an issue.</p>
<p>At the same time, I think that you need to figure out how much you're willing to pay for his college education, and how much the colleges are likely to give him (if he qualifies for need-based aid).</p>
<p>If the college of his choice would be beyond what you would pay, then now would be the time to make it clear to him that he would need to do whatever it takes to fill the gap. That could be loans, merit aid, etc. </p>
<p>More than likely, he, too, knows that his chances are good of getting into W&M without retaking the SAT. So, unless he needs $, he'd have no reason to go through the stress of taking the test again and of prepping for it. If, however, the $ is important to you, then let him know now about any financial restrictions, then let him decide whether or not to retake the SAT and do anything else to qualify for merit aid.</p>
<p>I am instate VA as well, and I know of many kids from Northern VA not admitted to W&M and UVa who were accepted to more "selective" schools! I saw you live in the Norfolk area. Perhaps the acceptance rates are different in different regions?</p>
<p>A couple of thoughts: First, the 5 on the BC should look very impressive to adcoms. But for scholarships, it may be a good idea to re-take the SAT. You and your son should check into these.</p>
<p>Second, Calculus is not helpful on the SAT. It is even possible that your son learned algebra long ago and thus had forgotten some of it when he took the SAT without prep. A little review would be useful. As well, the SAT has tricks. If he didn't prep, he was not prepared for these tricks. If he retakes, he will be more on his guard. </p>
<p>Third, mathmom is right. It is very easy to make silly mistakes. When my S took the SAT in 7th grade, the mistakes he made were of arithmetic!</p>
<p>If his class rank is good (at least top ten percent) his admission chances should be pretty solid. Unless he is at the top of his class, it doesn't look to me like his current score is too promising for merit aid (this is just a guess - I am not familiar with the school). IMO, what you could realistically tell him is that another Saturday shot down the tubes to the evil SAT could be worth thousands of dollars.</p>
<p>I would guess that he needs to review a bit of math he covered a few years ago, plus a bit of practice. The incentive to do so? A heart to heart about the realities of student debt. Bribery? In our case, I contributed to my son's car fund - others have bought show tickets and other desirable items. It is bribery, but it the merit comes in, its a good investment.</p>
<p>William and Mary is not going to know that your son got a 5 on the BC Calculus exam because that particular college does not have a place on its application form for students to list AP scores.</p>
<p>Of course, your son could include a resume with his application and list his AP scores on the resume. But there is no guaranteeing that William and Mary will look at it.</p>
<p>he definitely needs to follow the Xiggi method. Every year there are kids on cc that can ace calculus but barely pull a 700 on SAT Math -- they just forgot all the little stuff, particularly algebra 1 since it was eons ago, or some Geom tricks (e.g., area of triangles incsribed in a circle with radius 1). </p>
<p>Test scores are big arbiters for merit money, particularly at the public schools. Try bribes.</p>
<p>btw: List the AP grades to the 'Other' section of the app.</p>
<p>William and Mary has very limited merit opportunities and the students receiving them appear to have HYP credentials. I do understand in-state makes the school affordable, or certainly moreso and that in-state admits have an easier path , also (as it should be). How confident can y'all be that he's such a lock? </p>
<p>I guess I'm just VERY conservative when it comes to both admitssions and merit. IMO and based on the schools we researched, a 1380 is not going to make him competitive for large awards at selective schools with large being defined as 1/2 tuition or greater and selective being defined as USNews top Fifty LAC's or Research Universities. I agree with Blue and the other posters who suggest that he's perobably making the math more difficult than it is . Xiggi method and he MIGHT find the ACT math more straightforward. My D did anyway (740 SAT, 36 ACT)</p>
<p>And while we are being conversative, make sure that your son applies to a good spread of schools. Geographical diversity is not such a bad thing in a college application!</p>
<p>we know w&m doesn't have much merit aid. We are looking at U of South Carolina. A 2200 is a great score for their McNair scholars program, which is basically a full ride. Right now, his score is good enough to get 4000 per year for four years, plus in-state tuition status.</p>