<p>I think most schools like to say that they’ll only really consider the highest scores, the ones most to your kid’s advantage; whether that’s true, if there is an enormous discrepancy, I don’t know. </p>
<p>My kid was not motivated to study on her own, so for her, a tutor was an excellent idea: it gave her deadlines, he was an excellent, experienced tutor, and he wasn’t me :). My D does not read nearly as much as my other kids do (although she does read a fair amount, and we use pretty obscure vocabulary in the home), but her first score on the CR was 800, due, in part, to the tutor’s concentration on grammar and vocabulary. Her second CR score was actually 70 points lower, because in the intervening two months the tutor really focused on math and writing, which improved 60 points each. So I think the advice to find a good tutor, rather than a generic course, seems right to me, but I also think that a motivated kid can do very well on his/her own, especially in the summer if s/he has time to focus.</p>
<p>Sorry I haven’t gotten back to you…I know we went round and round in circles trying to decide whether it was kosher to send the SAT2’s without the SAT1. I think in the end we did send the SAT2’s along with the ACT, and not the SAT1, to most of the schools. I’m not finding the little sheet we used to keep track, and of course the kid is abroad right now so I can’t look online. I know if you ask the schools they say to send everything, and trust them to take the best overall scores. And actually, from what I recall, your son’s scores are not THAT bad; they sound better than my daughter’s.</p>
<p>A lot of the West Coast schools also require SATII scores; many engineering programs also require SATII scores. S took & sent everything. Didn’t know you could specifically order that the SATI scores NOT be sent if you were sending the SATIIs–thought the schools got all the prior tests for SATI & SATII from whatever date you ordered scores sent. S didn’t bother sending ACT scores, but I believe it showed up on his HS transcript & was consistent with his SATs anyway.</p>
<p>A 690 is a good score, but if he is really motivated to boost it, he needs to put in a lot of time with the College Board Blue Book - looking up the answers he gets incorrect. If he does that, he does not need a class. If he is not willing to do that, he is not really motivated to boost his CR score.</p>
<p>You’re right, glido. It is up to him to decide if he is motivated enough to work on it. The issue with a lot of really bright kids is that some (like my son) lack the emotional maturity to envision consequences of their actions. He is one of those kids who grasped everything easily, never studied, and did not want to see himself as one of those overachieving kids who studied all of the time. Well, now he has hit the wall and has to come to terms with the fact that he will have to study and push himself, or he won’t get what he wants. A life lesson, but I hope he can meet the challenge and move past his stubbornness to work toward a goal.</p>
<p>By the way, getting into an Ivy or similar type of LAC for him is not about prestige, but more about wanting to be in an academic environment that is stimulating. Also, the excellent need-based aid at these schools is really important to us, so that is why we are pushing him to really improve this score.</p>