<p>So I have taken the SAT twice, and the ACT twice (but once was freshman year so I don't know if that really counts)
1st SAT: 770 M 700 CR 610 W (essay 8) (2080)
2nd: 770 M 720 CR 750 W (Essay 8) (2240)</p>
<p>Also, the following SAT IIs:
760 spanish (though i took it three years in a row, after spanish 2, 3, and 4)
800 Math II (first try, freshmen year)
800 chemistry (taken twice)
800 physics (taken twice)
720 biology M</p>
<p>obviously, for those schools with score choice I would only send probably the 800s, especially since i am looking at engineering as my major so those three work well</p>
<p>ACT: 35 composite</p>
<p>I go to a private college prep school, and I have the hardest schedule in my class, though my grades aren't great ( I am probably not top 5%, but top 10% for sure out of a class of ~80)</p>
<p>im looking at schools like yale, cornell, stanford.... and duke as well as duke really appeals to me</p>
<p>I was wondering: 1. do my relatively low scores and grades significantly hurt my chances?
2. does the fact that i retook some tests quite a few times hurt my chances?</p>
<p>what are your UW and W GPA?
what are your ECs?</p>
<p>Your stats are great, although the fact that you come from such a small high school class my not favor you when it comes to your rank. Just send the SATIIs and the ACT.</p>
<p>If you don’t submit your SAT reasoning scores, your test scores are high, not low.
I don’t think the retakes will hurt you at most schools.</p>
<p>What could hurt you is if your classmates with stronger applications apply to the same schools you do. If the top 10 all apply to Duke, your chances may not be good. If you’re the only one to apply to Duke, your chances will be better. </p>
<p>Send your Spanish score along with the 800s. It may fulfill a language requirement at some schools, but there is considerable variability amongst schools in this regard.</p>
<p>well, our school does not use a traditional 4 point scale, so it is hard to say what my GPA is… i think that weighted would be above a 4, unweighted would probably be around 3.8 or 3.9
extracurriculars: Varsity soccer/baseball for 2 years each
multiple math competitions, chemistry olympiad, couple physics competitions, orchestra section leader (viola) for 3 years by the time i graduate, 12 years of piano playing, writer for school paper, multiple leadership roles
2 summer internships working in medical research
another thing i’m afraid will hurt me is i have little to no volunteer experience</p>
<p>I would think that you scores are around the 75% percentile, which is quite high –> really, no need to worry :). What decides who is admitted and who is not at the end is often the subjective factors like extraccuricular achievements, personal character (which can be conveyed through essays and recs), and other small factors that may be beyond your control.</p>
<p>Having volunteer experience is never a requirement. In fact, a few superficial volunteer hours here and there is not impressive in any way.</p>
<p>And, like others said, send the ACT with the SATIIs.</p>
<p>does the fact that i retook some tests quite a few times hurt my chances?</p>
<p>You did not retake any test too many times. Taking the SAT or the ACT twice is very common (in fact, I think that few take it only once).</p>
<p>How did you manage to get so many SATIIs in there - did you just take a test with 3 options after freshman, sophomeore and junior year? I don’t think ACT in 9th grade counts. Since some colleges do not accept score choice, there may not be a way to always hide your SATI. Did you study for SAT at all? You can probably get 2300, at least superscore if you take another test in October.
What are your classes junior and senior year and leadership positions?</p>