<p>I'm sure plenty of other have this problem, but it's freaking me out. Here's my sat breakdown
CR: 780
W: 780
M : 670
It's pretty obvious where my weakness lies. The first time I took the SAT, I got a 650, with a raw score of 45. The second time, I got a 670, with a raw score of 50 (the curve was pretty brutal, which is frustrating, because I know colleges don't see raw scores). The problem is that it's really hard for me to understand how "good" my overall score is when my CR and W scores are in or well above the 75th percentile for some of the schools I'm applying to while my math score is below the 25th. I'm a senior, so retaking at this point isn't an option. At high-caliber schools (not ivy...think Rice or Tufts) where I'm applying for a cog sci degree with good grades in math classes, how bad is this going to make me look? Deal breaker for an unhooked student?</p>
<p>I think you are a viable candidate for the schools you mention with your scores. </p>
<p>That makes me feel better. It’s just frustrating, but math has never been my strong suit. Thank you!</p>
<p>A 2230 is a good composite for those schools and many people have a weak section on the SAT.</p>
<p>I’m in the same position. I’m retaking in January to see if I can boost my math score above a 700. I’d like to think the holistic admissions and strong overall applications will outweigh one subpar SAT score.</p>
Just an update: I was rejected from those two schools, as well as several other peer institutions. I would recommend future applicants in my situation to retake and try their hardest to get above a 700 if they aren’t applying ED. I was ultimately accepted to Northeastern (no merit $), McGill, Occidental (17 K/yr in merit), and UCSD (but to last-choice residential college).
Do you think I should retake? 740 math, 730 Cr and 610 writing. Im just bad at writing. and my only chance to retake would be to cancel one of my subject sat scores. I want to apply to undergrad business schools, like NYu stern, Notre Dame, USC and a few more. Any advice would help.
@SternBusiness Yes, you should retake, although you should retake with the understanding that schools will care about your writing score less than your math score (soon, there will be no writing score…). If you’re having scheduling issues, could you try the ACT too? And why are you pressed for time? You have May (sign up deadline for the May SAT is today!), June, and October if you’re applying ED; you’ll also have November, December, and possibly January for RD as potential test dates.
@lpreston A 1450 CR+M won’t stop you from getting in anywhere in the country. I am sure the reason you didn’t get in was not the scores.
@APScholar18 I mean, they were by far the weakest part of my application. They were good enough where I wasn’t tossed in the bin immediately but I’m sure they really didn’t help when it came down to the wire. My grades, rank, course load, ECs, essays…they were all great. I mean, I wasn’t an Intel science winner and I didn’t take 20 APs, but for my school I was a very accomplished student. I knew that I wasn’t getting into Brown…but I got rejected from schools that are much easier to get into. At this point, with so many kids applying, you can get rejected for almost any reason. There’s definitely a handful of girls just like me applying to these schools, except some of them are more well rounded…so why would these colleges pick me over her?
@lpreston you have to realize that the process is to some extent random. Sure you thought your essays were great ( I am not saying they were not ) but essays are subjective to an admissions officer. At least from what I have heard from counselors that charge thousands for advice is that SAT scores are more to show a student is qualified than a decider. A 2200+ (1450+) generally is fine for any college/ program aside from probably Harvard and Yale. Not saying it wasn’t because I don’t know you but maybe your accomplishments in general were not as good as you thought. Although I will say your score was a bit lopsided. And a 1450 would have looked better if you had a combination in which both scores were over 700.
@APScholar18 I mean, that’s what I’m saying. I really do think the lopsided score hurt me, particularly because that math score is sub-700. And I know that I didn’t have the accomplishments to be Ivy material, and I knew from the beginning that I would be rejected from Brown. And yeah, I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t have an international award and I haven’t racked up 20 AP exams. However, I KNOW from the relative success of my peers (I live in a pretty homogenous community; we’re all pretty similar) that I had the potential to get more than Northeastern sans merit aid/honors college. Writing is really the one thing that I’ve consistently been good at my whole life, so perhaps I didn’t have enough extracurriculars. I don’t know. All I’m saying is that my math score was below the 25th percentile for Tufts, and I’m pretty sure that put my application pretty low in the pile.
@lpreston I agree that a M 670 probably hurt you. Northeastern’s Honors and Merit $$$ are designed to attract specific students, and I believe they are very sensitive to sub-700 SAT scores, unless you are bringing something else to the table. My D had a 2140 but a 680 M subscore and did not receive any merit aid (even $5k/yr would have made a difference). For the 680 she skipped 3 questions and got one wrong, not sure what the raw score was but I think it was 50 also. This is just not a great way to evaluate a student’s potential in college. She got a 5 on the AP Calc exam and is excited to continue in Calc, Linear Algebra and Discrete Math. She just couldn’t crack the SAT Math subsection.
Tufts Engineering (CS) did not seem to mind, she’ll be there in the Fall. But then again, she’s a girl interested in CS, so I guess that’s somewhat unique.
What I have noticed is that seemingly peer-level “top” students in my daughter’s HS that did not do well on the SAT (sub 2000) were completely shut out of what I would otherwise consider match schools (Northeastern, Skidmore, Kenyon). There does not appear to be much wiggle room if you are not a great test taker.
I feel like being “balanced” (Math and critical reading at 720/730 each) would be better than being lopsided (670/780). I think that it suggests there is a deficit in my learning or than my A’s in math classes were flukes. If I applied as an English major I would be less worried about it, but I applied for CS.
@lpreston did you take advanced math like AP Calc and the Math II test?
@APScholar18 I’m in AP Calc AB right now. I got an A- semester one, and I’ve gotten straight As in math throughout high school (they were standard courses, no other APs/honors though). I’m slow, though, which is one of my bigger issues on the SATs. I did not take Math II but I seriously doubt that I would do well. I took the Math I exam to try for a specific scholarship and I got a 650 after a solid month of studying. I did not send that score to colleges. Math is not hugely difficult for me, just slow, so it’s pretty frustrating that I get mediocre scores on these exams. I don’t go to a “pushover” or “easy” high school, either, but I feel like that’s the impression my test scores versus my grades give.
@lpreston where are you going to college?
@APScholar18 I’m enrolled at Northeastern. I did not get into any schools during the regular decision round (aside from a UC, which runs on a unique schedule).
@APScholar18 I think as long as CR+M is at or over 1450 your SAT scores will not hold you back, but both should be 720+. Not sure what you are asking; you are missing a word in that sentence…
College admissions are ridiculous. In some instances (individual applicants who get shut out almost everywhere) there seems to be no rhyme or reason and it is an unlucky game of chance.
Getting a 720 on sat 1 math won’t magically put you over the edge, either. I just think that the 660-690 sub score really puts you at a disadvantage. With a 650 you are looking at your state flagship.