<p>I am an international student. Most of the schools I have applied consider SAT II scores. </p>
<p>I dont have very lousy SAT scores but both of the scores are above >650. There was a family problem that had occupied my mind on that day. I took only two instead of the three registered and left. All my other records are pretty good. First in class etc </p>
<p>I was wondering should I explain this to colleges so that they don't judge my academic capability on the basis of my SAT II scores?</p>
<p>Are you applying for the Class of 2008? If yes, it’s too late to make any changes. If not, you can just give the tests again.</p>
<p>Do not “explain” anything. There is no way for the college to know if you would have done better if you hadn’t “had a family situation” on your mind. Your “explanation” will sound like an excuse. (Also, if the family situation was such that it messed up your concentration for 2 hours - they’ll never know about the third - a school could reasonably think that you would not be able to handle the rigors of college since everyone has a “family situation” at some time or another.)</p>
<p>Take the tests again if you must, but don’t “explain.”</p>
<p>^ He could’ve explained if it was a medical reason though. That would’ve been fine.</p>
<p>My mum was undergoing a major surgery. It was not just another family problem. She was in a critical condition.</p>
<p>^ Too late pal. You should’ve blended it in your essay or something. If you send it at this hour, colleges will probably think that you just sent it out of nervousness as decision day comes closer…</p>
<p>I hope your mother is doing better, and I’m sorry this happened to her. But, look at it this way. You send your explanation. The conversation for those looking at your application goes like this:
“Gee, poor kid. Maybe s/he would have done better on the tests.”
“How much better?”
“Well, there’s really no way of knowing.”
“We can’t really compare the score s/he might have gotten with other students’ scores, can we?”
“No, we can’t.”
“So we just have to go with the score s/he got.”</p>
<p>No matter how valid an explanation it might be, it doesn’t give the admissions committee anything to work with except the scores you actually received.</p>
<p>If you think your explanation actually makes sense and doesn’t seem to be just an “excuse”, you may. But I recommend you do not.
I personally had a very low SAT II scores, but it didn’t have a bad impact so far.</p>
<p>Above 650 is not bad at all. Don’t worry.</p>
<p>
May I ask how bad? And what do you mean by “didn’t have a bad impact”?</p>