<p>I am an international student looking to transfer to a top school. I will begin my freshman year this September. For my first year college application I am denied and wait-listed at many top schools, and only got admitted to some schools I do not like very much. I have heard many saying that if one wants to go to a top 20 school, it is better to have 650 on CR, but I only had 630 on CR. However, I have a super score of 2150+. Could someone tell me if I should retake the SAT or not if I want to transfer to schools like Brown, U Penn, and Northwestern? Any help would be appreciated!</p>
<p>You should retake it for 700+. CR is critical.</p>
<p>Thank you TheRealFake</p>
<p>But for international students, CR is pretty hard. Besides, I know some ones who got into great schools with CR lower than 700. But they have some other significant activities and academic performance. I don’t…</p>
<p>Yeah. I have to agree with TheRealFake. If anything, writing isn’t <em>as</em> important, but CR and Math are definitely the ones you should focus on. I myself have a 650 CR, and I’m working on improving it myself (although, by contrast, I am not an international student). I’d aim for 700+ (or 750+ if possible) on math and CR.</p>
<p>Thank you CantConcentrate. Anyone else please?</p>
<p>Here is the importance of college admissions tests in order:</p>
<p>SAT M, CR
SAT II
SAT W
AP Tests</p>
<p>Somewhat dependent on your major. My S was accepted to UC Berkeley but only got a 660 in CR. Since he was majoring in Engineering, they were probably more concerned with his math score (he got an 800) and a 2220 single sitting total. Having said that, you may have to lower your sights a bit and look at schools ranked in the 25 to 50 range, since your CR score will not be as competitive with others at those top-tier schools.</p>
<p><em>puts on sunglasses</em></p>
<p>Your CR score is…critical for college admissions.</p>
<p>yeahhhh</p>
<p>CR is usually the hardest of the three (for most people) sections on the SAT. Therefore, a high CR score looks very impressive</p>
<p>The order of importance is actually the following:
SAT CR, SAT M
SAT II/AP (Depending on your school b/c some don’t even want subject tests and APs demonstrate that you can handle college level courses)
SAT Writing (Colleges still don’t know how to look at this because it doesn’t really test if you are smart, but still do well)
If English is not your first language then CR will definitely be harder, much harder, so your score could be impressive if you don’t speak english well. However you will need to know english to get into those schools that you mentioned. If I were you or anyone else I would strive to do at least 700 on each section. Good luck on the studying.</p>
<p>@strat94 SATII’s > AP’s</p>
<p>I went to this open event where some admissions officers (harvard, stanford, duke etc.) gave some presentations and they said that SAT II’s are “more indicative of proficiency in a subject” than it’s corresponding AP score. The only thing that’s standardized about the AP Test is the test itself. Students taking these classes have had different teacher/class quality and school funding. I’m not saying they don’t matter at all- but relatively speaking, they aren’t of vital importance. SAT, GPA, EC’s, and even SAT II’s are more important.</p>
<p>Blackpaint I went to the same event and after I spoke to the representatives from Harvard and Stanford and they both stated that APs are just as indicative if not more than the subject tests because they are similar to college tests. Very few college professors give all multiple choice tests that require more memorizing then critical thinking. The ap tests have frqs which require critical analysis and thinking similar to a college test. I also know a woman in the admissions office of Columbia who confirmed that with me. There is also a book from a woman who used to work in the admissions office of Dartmouth who said the same thing.</p>
<p>strat94, no I agree with you there, about the AP’s being more indicative. it’s just that they don’t factor into college admissions as much as SAT subject tests, because not all schools offer AP classes (and even then, the same class quality). It’s as simple as that. Colleges would like to have AP classes count for more, but it’s just not fair to kids from different backgrounds. Ergo, SAT Subject tests are required but AP’s are not.</p>
<p>math is really that important???</p>
<p>SAT writing is definitely more important than the Subject tests. I don’t know how it could possibly be the other way around…</p>
<p>^Nope. Some colleges could still care less about your Writing score. Although CB claims that W is more indicative of college success, there has been massive controversy.</p>
<p>if the colleges didn’t give a crap about the writing part, they wouldn’t ask for the writing score</p>
<p>they ask for a lot of stuff they don’t care about. For example most of the recommendations sound the same and are thus useless. They just want to make sure you don’t get like 600 or something really low on the writing.</p>