Does it matter if you do badly on an SAT II as a freshman?

Test Preparation
1

<p>I recently took the Biology E test and I don't think I did too well. I don't want to cancel my scores, but will it really matter if I do badly my first time taking it? If a school requires to send all SAT scores, can I just omit this one? Also, I used Barron's to study and I got a 640 in a practice test from the book. I heard Barron's overprepares you and you'll get a much higher score on the real thing, but I really don't feel I scored well.</p>

2

<p>First off, you may surprise yourself and end up doing better than you first thought. It’s pretty common for people to underestimate themselves and feel insecure after taking a test. That’s why you should generally never cancel a score unless you had a major health issue. I suggest waiting it out and seeing how you did. </p>

<p>Now, if your grade comes back lower than you wanted it, it’s not going to make or break your future. Even if you are planning on applying to competitive schools, you can retake the test (Jr year if you take AP Bio works out nicely). Or you can just decide not to retake the Bio SAT and take a different subject SAT instead. You have the option of not sending specific subject scores. </p>

<p>Keep in mind, some schools require you send all your test scores even if you used Score Choice. General wisdom says these schools only consider the highest scores and it reflects well on the student if their grades improve over time. However, it wouldn’t be particularly surprising if certain competitive schools, that use a thorough weeding-out process for admissions, might use this as another criteria for screening out applicants. That’s why some of the people here are adamant about getting perfect/near perfect scores. Getting into Harvard, Stanford or MIT is hard. On a positive note, most schools want to see more than just high standardized test scores in their applicants, and you can feel better knowing that your personal talents, activities and attributes can go a long way in impressing an admissions officer. </p>

3

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I think you know the answer to that…</p>

4

<p>There is a thread on CC that lists the top schools and their policy on score choice. </p>

<p><a href=“The list of top Schools that DO and DONT accept score choice. - SAT Preparation - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/947736-the-list-of-top-schools-that-do-and-dont-accept-score-choice-p1.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Here is a link to a page explaining the different policies and a link on the CB website to a lengthy list of schools and their score-use practices. <a href=“http://www.optionssolutionsed.com/sat-score-choice-what-sat-scores-do-you-send”>http://www.optionssolutionsed.com/sat-score-choice-what-sat-scores-do-you-send&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;