<p>Another take on this - plenty of kids with 800/800 (the writing portion is still not judged that seriously at MIT, at least according to the last comments published on this topic by Stu Schmill) get rejected at MIT and Ivy League schools every year. I think that over 3000 students achieved this score set last year, and yet Harvard admitted a very small number of these students. A student who has pursued outside interests for years (music, sports, a hobby, etc.) with sub-perfect scores (and who will add to campus life) is more attractive to adcoms. If your scores are competitive (at MIT, that means about 700 and above), don’t retake tests, you’ll just seem obsessive, with misplaced priorities.</p>