Do I need to improve my SAT with a 34 ACT?

Test Preparation
1

<p>Hi everyone,</p>

<pre><code>At the end of my Sophomore year I took both the SAT and ACT. I got a 1930 on the SAT and 32 on the ACT. I recently took the ACT again and got a 34 this time. It is my dream to go to one of the IVY's, specifically Yale or Princeton. My main question is, I know that I can use my ACT score to apply, but do I also need to raise up my SAT(which I can do to at least 2200) score now that I have taken it?
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<p>Also, these tests were just feelers for me to see where I was at, but I stupidly selected my top choice schools as the recipients of these scores, even though they both ended up being pretty low. Do I now have to come up with an awesome SAT score as well?</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

2

<p>You don’t need to take the SAT again. They will use the ACT.</p>

3

<p>No, scoring higher than a 34 won’t give you any more advantage.</p>

4

<p>^If you don’t think a 36 has an advantage over a 34, you’re crazy. That said, killing yourself with studying for an extra point or two isn’t worth it.</p>

<p>But yes, just submit your ACT. A 34 is competitive at any college in the country, and you don’t have to submit your SAT. Work on the rest of your app right now. It’s a bit late, but working on your ECs will definitely help at Ivies, and you want to make sure you have straight A’s too. Your test score isn’t what you need to worry about at this point.</p>

5

<p>Hopefully, you took the ACT WITH Writing??? If so, a 34 is great for any college. The only reason to retake would be to enhance your app for merit money someplace.</p>

6

<p>

A 34 is nearly a perfect score. I don’t think a person who is initially rejected at a school will be instead accepted if his/her ACT is 2 points higher LOL.</p>

7

<p>^Perfect is better than nearly perfect. No school will ever choose a 34 over a 36 if everything else is equal (and yes, I know everything else is never equal). Two points is usually the difference between the 50th and the 75th percentile. To say it’s nothing is ridiculous. What we <em>can</em> agree on is that the difference is small enough that it’s not worth putting in long hours to improve. There’s a big difference between those two statements.</p>

8

<p>May I refer you to Brown’s website, which shows an admissions breakdown by ACT/SAT score? Of course, we have no idea what the Subject Tests are nor the rest of the app, but a 36 is admitted at 2-3x the rate of a 33-35. Just something to think about.</p>

<p>[Brown</a> Admission: Facts & Figures](<a href=“Undergraduate Admission | Brown University”>Undergraduate Admission | Brown University)</p>

9

<p>A 34 ACT is equivalent to a 1490-1530 SAT. Based on previous SAT score I would think it would be highly doubtful that you’d a higher score on a SAT retake.</p>