<p>My march SAT I score was a 2310(with a relatively even breakdown, no section below 750). The thing is, I really want to retake (1) because I know I can do a lot better (2) a lot of people in my school have higher SAT scores than me. However, I was reading on CC that colleges look down on people who retake 2300+ SATs. I don't think it helps that I'm an ORM. This is really stressing me out. Any advice? </p>
<p>If that was your first time, sure, study and retake it</p>
<p>this was my 2nd time 
my 1st time was freshman year</p>
<p>You have better things to do with your time then.</p>
<p>A 2310 looks no different to an Adcom than a 2250. The only thing that will hurt you would be if your GPA was horrid (I doubt it is) or your ECs/Essay. Focus your effort on something else.</p>
<p>OMG. Are you for real? Please, please – spend the extra time ensuring your grades are the best they can be, or spend some extra time on one of your extracurriculars – or, get some extra sleep. Firefox is right – the difference between a 2350 and a 2250 is maybe two questions?? Colleges know that any one kid can fluctuate 100 points or more on a given day on the same test. Don’t compare yourself to your classmates. make sure your profile/resume is the strongest it can be in telling the admission reps WHO YOU ARE and what you can contribute as a student at their college. Your test score is already high enough to make the “score cutoff” for the highly selective schools – now they are going to move on to the rest of your appliation. Where do you stand on everything else – that matters more.</p>
<p>You’re fine, relax. If you retake it, the admissions officers’ll think that you do nothing but hit the books all day. Hopefully you don’t come across as neurotic in your essays and recommendations, lol. Good luck! </p>
<p>If you feel you can do better significantly (not 10 or 20 points), nothing should stop you. For admission purpose, 2310 is a great score for all schools. However, you may need a higher score for competitive merit scholarships at many schools.</p>
<p>thanks for the reply guys! after reading your replies and talking further with some other ppl im leaning towards not retaking it guess ill just deal with my SAT score and try to make up for it in other ways…
is it possible to retake my SAT I just for my RD schools(which allow score choice), but not my ED school(which doesn’t allow score choice)?
@xFirefirex: what would u call a “horrid” GPA, for some1 who took the absolute hardest classes possible?</p>
<p>I say, celebrate! You’re done.</p>
<p>What colleges probably like is a student who is confident enough getting 2300+ on his or her first SAT (not counting the freshman year one) and stopping there. You do not want to conform to that ORM stat-crazed stereotype who retakes SAT’s more for their ego than college admissions.</p>
<p>Concentrate on your classes and activities. </p>
<p>My D got 35 at her first ACT attempt and she does not want to retake although she was 1 or 2 questions away from 36. While my friend’s D retake after 35 to get 36 in her second attempt as she knew that was just one stupid mistake that caused her that point. Also, she received the Presidential Scholarship. It is totally up to you. No one knows you better. My D never got full scores in her practice but 35.5 (rounded to 36) a couple times. So her chance to get 36 in retake is probably less than 50%. She was getting 2300-2350 in SAT practice but scored ~100 point less in the real test. She would retake SAT if she did not get the ACT 35 at the same time. ACT 35 turns out to be the threshold for the top scholarships at a couple schools she was admitted.</p>
<p>@RunningForLife I would say a bad GPA for someone who takes all honors/AP would be anything below a 3.7. Looking at the Princeton website (so Harvard, Stanford, Yale, Columbia, etc… would probably have stats very similar), they accepted under 5% of applicants that applied with a 3.7. However, they accepted almost 7% of applicants with a 3.8 scaling all the way to about 11% of applicants with a 4.0. This stat says that of everyone that applied with a 4.0 (let’s say it’s 1000), 11% of those students got accepted (about 110 students).</p>
<p>So it shows that this is only one factor. With a 3.7+ GPA and a 2250+ SAT score, you’re a competitive applicant anywhere. It’s just a matter of Letters of Rec, ECs, and Essays that will set you apart.</p>
<p>It sounds as if you attend either a strong magnet high school or an elite private school, if a significant number of your classmates posted higher scores than you did. My recommendation is not to worry too much about taking the test again, but to select a list of colleges that all your “rivals” will not also be applying to. Harvard is unlikely to accept more than a handful. If everyone is applying to Harvard, but not many to Yale, apply to Yale. If finances are a serious matter, look into schools that might offer you a great scholarship. Figure out what you are looking for, and then formulate a plan. If you fall in love with, say, Princeton, don’t try to run the table and apply to all Ivy League colleges. Apply ED to Princeton (or anywhere else), and let them know that they’re your first choice. Once you know which college is your top choice, work down, based on other criteria. Urban college, like Harvard or Columbia? Go ahead and apply to them, then add Penn, University of Chicago, NYU, BU, et al. There’s no point in applying to Dartmouth. I strongly suggest figuring out where your classmates are NOT applying, among the most selective schools, and focusing on them. Nobody looking at Pomona or Rice or Vanderbilt - attack, hard! I hope that your school has excellent college counseling, and they can try to steer the talented kids in separate, appropriate directions. They’ll have better luck pushing each of you with one college than a dozen kids at a dozen colleges.</p>
<p>is it possible to retake my SATs just for my RD schools, and not my EA/ED school? The school I’m applying to for EA/ED requires all SAT scores, so I don’t want to take it again for them(3 times and retaking a 2310 might come off as bad). However, the schools I’m applying to RD mostly allow score choice, so is it permissible to take it again November or December of my senior year and then send the better score to my RD schools? Do I have to send the scores to my EA/ED school if I take it again in November/December? </p>