<p>Those are my top 3 and I took Lit and World History as well, though both of those scores were in the 600s. So, do you guys think I should sign up for SAT II's again this December and if so, which ones out of the 5 I have already taken should I reattempt and exactly what kind of score should I shoot for??</p>
<p>I know SAT II's aren't everything in college admissions but I certainly don't want them to be the clear reason that I'm deferred/rejected to Harvard. All thoughts, advice, and criticism is greatly appreciated!!!:)</p>
<p>I don't think it's average, I think those are terrific scores. Harvard really believes that 600+ is a fine score. This is why Harvard admissions looks more random on the outside in terms of its decisions because people between 600-800 are accepted. (Of course, students who are lower have something going for them.)</p>
<p>Innocentstalker1, you are so incorrect. Both WindCloudUltra and I are current undergrads and probably know a little bit more about Harvard's admissions process than you do.</p>
<p>all right, let's be brutally honest. those are terrible (read: NOT terrific) scores. math iic of 780 is like 85% percentile, which means that 15% of the test takes did better than you. for unhooked Harvard applicants, you need all your subject test scores to be 750+</p>
<p>i exaggerate by saying "terrible". but you need to check out the percentile listed in your sat score reports. if you are getting consistently below 90%, then you have a problem. as to the "current undergrads", please do not give false hope? those are not subject test scores that will help you get in early. i would actually say they hurt you somewhat</p>
<p>From what I gather, colleges don't really care about percentiles on SAT II subject tests and they are used mainly by CollegeBoard to gather information for future curve setting, test makeup, etc. i.e. a 780 on Math II will be seen the same as a 780 on Lit</p>
<p>Where did you read that subject test scores need to be 750+??? xjayz is a current Harvard student so I'm inclined to agree with him more unless you have some facts/ statistics to back up your assertion.</p>
<p>my claim is perfectly unsubstantiated, and you are free to believe whatever you want. but if i were you, i would retake the SAT IIs in december or january and hope for the best in regular decision round. a 700 on the physics test is NOT good. a 780 on the math IIC when 12% get 800s is NOT good. i'm not too sure about us history, but from a lot of the chances threads, a 720 is NOT good</p>
<p>btw, a 780 on lit is infinitely better than a 780 o math ii. that's because the lit percentile for 780 is like 99%, as opposed to 85-ish for math. i know that percentiles are taken into account in admissions. for a lot of the language tests (chinese, korean), 30~40% get 800s. that means the 800 is worth somewhat less than an 800 on the lit exam</p>
<p>As a person who has worked over the summer as a student rep for admissions, your scores are just fine. Sometimes the hype on CC is that you need 750+ on everything to be accepted when plenty of accepted students do not score that high.</p>
<p>OK thanks guys!!!:) So, which ones should I retake then?? My only comment is that I absolutely refuse to retake Math Level II since I feel that a 780 is a perfectly fine score. I'm currently taking Calculus III at a local community college, received a 5 on the AIME, etc. so if Harvard still looks down upon on me because of my Math Level II, so be it.</p>
<p>I think it might be a good idea to retake physics. I don't know about USH, though. Actually 700+ scores are fine, from what I know. The colleges just use SATs to screen out the obviously unqualified, and after that pay more attention to other details.</p>
<p>yeah, technically 600+ scores are fine. evil<em>asian</em>dictator's scores are very fine. They will not form your decision, but they will support your case and keep you in consideration for longer. I would not recommend taking SAT II's again, because your senior year grades are what need focus right now.</p>
<p>I have two questions regarding SATII's, I hope its not considered threadjacking, if it is, just tell me and I'll create a different thread. :)</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Does taking more then 3 (the required) SAT II tests strengthen chances in any way? Is it better to take more then 3 if you are prepared for them and score well?</p></li>
<li><p>Does taking an SAT II test and scoring well in subjects that you may have not have had a strength in your classes offset to some degree your mediocre grades? For example, if you got like an 80 in math and science in freshmen and sophomore year, does getting a 700+ in like Chemistry or Math 2 a good indicator and maybe even offset that grade?</p></li>
</ol>
<ol>
<li>No.</li>
<li>Maybe. It might mean you had a hard teacher in those respective subjects. However, you have to realize most students have good grades and good SAT IIs.</li>
</ol>
<p>for SAT IIs, PERCENTILES ARE MEANINGLESS. 30-40% get 800s on Korean and Chinese because they are native speakers. If you aren't, and you diligently study chinese for four years and get a 720, that IS VERY GOOD. Percentiles for SAT IIs mean nothing because everyone comes from a different skill level. the POINT of having a scaled score (250-800) is so that scores are comparable. evil's scores are very good.</p>
<p>i stand to gain nothing by suggesting the OP to retake his SAT IIs. in fact, i potentially lose because his higher scores would make him more competitive than the rest of us EA applicants. if you think that i derive my pleasures from bashing other people's stats, then you are an idiot</p>
<p>i firmly believe that the OP stand to gain more from criticisms than encouragements. he has already applied EA. my shots of reality will not make him withdraw his application. but it might encourage him to retake and potentially increase his scores and thus his chances of admission</p>
<p>and to those who think 600 is enough for subject tests, i laugh</p>
<p>innocentstalker seems to have an incorrect view that SAT IIs count for everything in the applicant pool and admissions officers choose a kid with higher SAT IIs when it comes down to the end. This is not the case. If you have 600+ SAT scores, you WILL be considered a viable candidate for admission. Of course, having low 600s can hurt you IF they see that there is really nothing else that can bolster your application. At the same token, having 700s (or all 800s, too), won't really help push your application to the top. They will acknowledge that you are a strong candidate, but that would not mean much in the context of the applicant pool.</p>
<p>
[QUOTE]
all right, let's be brutally honest. those are terrible (read: NOT terrific) scores. math iic of 780 is like 85% percentile, which means that 15% of the test takes did better than you. for unhooked Harvard applicants, you need all your subject test scores to be 750+
[/QUOTE]
</p>
<p>Hahaha... innocentstalker, do you actually believe that the admissions comittee thinks this 20 point difference is significant?</p>
<p>That's ONE QUESTION away from the threshold for 800! That's accidentally marking the wrong circle, or forgetting the second solution of a quadratic! You think the admissions committee believes this is evidence that you're worse than 15% of the testtakers?</p>
<p>Geez... standardized tests are important, but I'm sick of people thinking they create an indisputable ranking of intelligence. The admissions comittee certainly doesn't think so.</p>
<p>If evil does want to retake a test (which is OK, though not really necessary), I actually wouldn't recommend taking one of those tests over again. If you took the Physics twice, and didn't like how you did either time, maybe it's not the test you should take. You could look into other ones to take in January. However, I wouldn't really recommend it- you'd have to study for a whole new test, which is terribly annoying, in a time when you should be focusing on school (and on, well, having fun every once in a while).</p>
<p>Let me introduce u all to a term that not many people know and that ALL Ivy league schools use to either accept or reject u (it is not absolute but it comprises 70% of their choice). It is called academic index and it is AI=(sat1math+sat1verbal)/2 +(sat2+sat2+sat2)/3 + a number that derives from ur ranking. This is pretty much the formula and it is very useful. More details in "A is for admission", written by a dean of admissions at Datmouth.</p>