<p>Our son, 11th grade, took the SAT in Oct, 750CR 770M 710W. This was with a decent amount of preparation. He is Asian and we keep hearing that Asians need stronger scores (than non-Asians) at the elite schools. I was looking into a tutoring company, mentioning that we wanted to take the SAT again, and likely the ACT, and they emailed "these schools may not look favorably on a student with 2-3 SAT's and ACT, and they may want to see all the test scores".</p>
<p>Is it true that schools may look down on an applicant who has taken 3-4 tests (2-3 SAT, 1-2 ACT)?</p>
<p>And even if they request to see all scores, do the schools know if we are submitting only selective scores?</p>
<p>It does not look good if you have taken the standardized test that you submit more than twice. 2 times is generally fine, as most people do take the test twice to ensure they have the highest score they can have. Do not take the same test 3 times.</p>
<p>Maybe it’s a cultural thing, but it baffles me that instead of celebrating a great SAT score that a family instead choses to embrace fear and insecurity ??? I don’t get it. </p>
<p>The I need a 2400 thing? Well that’s just more unfounded fear and insecurity. It seems to be a vicious cycle passed from generation to generation.</p>
<p>It’s a myth that taking the test more than twice does not look good, at least at most schools. There comes a point where you’re probably wasting your time and you need to get a life, but if you feel the need to go at it one more time, go ahead.</p>
<p>About the score you do have, the CR+M score is 1520, well into the national 1% range. There’s really not much to be gained by improving the writing score. If you are going to take another test, taking the ACT might be more useful.</p>
<p>If you can get past the obsession with HYP, he’s going to get into a great school with that score. It’s probably more important to find a school that he’s going to be happy at, particularly if he finds himself not drawn to HYP after visiting them. Do not try to fit a square peg in a round hole, just because everyone tells you round holes are all the rage and you have to have one.</p>
<p>Wabbit: I understand your sincere concerns about your son presenting the best possible package, especially when applying to very selective schools. The fact is there will be Asians admitted with scores less than his and Asians rejected with scores higher than his.</p>
<p>The supposed higher threshold of avg SATs by Asians at top schools is that more high achieving Asians vie for fewer spots – thus colleges can cheery pick those that most interest them – top performers who can contribute to the college community. </p>
<p>When I applied (I’m Chinese) many moons ago to multiple Ivies, I discovered that my SATs put me around the 30th percentile of all freshmen of my eventual HYP college. Definitely there were other Asians who applied who scored better than me but were rejected. Was I a mistake? Nope – April of my senior year, I had zero rejections. I just presented a very strong file – somehow I was interesting to the colleges.</p>
<p>May I suggest that many Asians can seem to be one-dimensional – high achieving but stilted in independent thinking and accomplishment? Piano or violin since 5. Tennis or karate. Math & sci whizzes. Even if this describes your son to a tee, ultimately I’d say don’t worry about the HYP thing. Having “been there, done that” I say it’s overblown. I know many Asian families feel differently. That’s just been my experience. Good luck to you</p>
<p>Keep in mind as well that even if he were to get a perfect 2400 on the SAT, he will still have to compete against probably hundreds of others who have an equal or close score.</p>
<p>There is simply no way to guarantee admission into an Ivy League school, as there are too many qualified (and deserving) students. Do not be ashamed of your son if he is not accepted… thousands of kids rejected by Ivy league schools go on to live happy and productive lives.</p>
<p>Retesting was designed to cure a clearly inferior score. Testing multiple times to earn small score gains, (My opinion), is a large waste of time. Anyway here’s a pretty good data sheet on Jr-Sr year SAT score changes.</p>
<p>Mr. Mom - I typically admire and respect your posts, but I must disagree with your statement “It’s a myth that taking the test more than twice does not look good, at least at most schools.” Last spring, my daughter did a “New england tour” – she visited about 15 “highly selective” schools in three weeks. There were several pieces of advice that she heard over and over and over again by virtually all of the schools … 1) choose AP Calc over AP Stats; 2) make sure that your senior courseload is equal to or more rigorous than your junior year; and 3) please do not take your standardized test more than two times, unless you are positive that the third time will increase all of your scores AND taking the time to study for it does not impact your grades… So many of the schools made this third comment and emphasized that once a student is above the 700 mark, the difference between a 730 and a 750, for example, is so minutely negligible. It is at that point that the admissions officers are looking at the “student” and not the test scores … this is why, some even said to the students in the info session, you will hear of “student X who had a 2350 and got rejected but student Y had a 2250 and got in…” Because at some point, WHO the person starts outweighing any small incremental increase in test scores.</p>
<p>Wabbit – your son’s test scores are phenomenal and honestly, they may look MORE promising to a college because he took it in his junior year and only once. If he takes it a second time, he may go up in one of the three categories but he could also go down.</p>
<p>Actually we agree more than you think. I completely agree that once you pass a certain threshold, there’s no real point in continuing to take the test. </p>
<p>That said, what I was trying to say is that it’s a myth that schools penalize kids who take the test 3 or 4 times. Most schools don’t really care, but they will tell you you are wasting your time, by and large, which is correct.</p>
<p>Most kids in your son’s position shoot for a superscore of 2300+. With hard work and motivation, your son could get there, given his current SAT score breakdown. I say this because his Writing score has 90 points to go up…and that’s typically the easiest section to max out. Perfect 800s on the Writing section are very common.</p>
<p>This begs the question whether an improvement of 100+ points on an SAT superscore is worth the time, effort, and money to prep for another run at the SAT. There is a very real opportunity cost to chasing a higher SAT score. His time might be better spent participating in extracurricular activities, doing school work, or having a social life. He also might be happier doing these other things. With a 2200+ score, your son is already in the “acceptable pool” of applicants at the most competitive colleges. What admissions advantage would he get by having a higher SAT score? Only admissions officers would really know.</p>
<p>That being said, I do understand why y’all want to push for higher standardized test scores. It’s one of the few aspects of your son’s app which can still be bolstered in a “quantifiable” way.</p>
<p>Most families and students think that SAT scores are more important than they really are. On account of holistic evaluation of your son’s application at highly competitive universities, SAT scores won’t be the deciding factor in an accept/reject/waitlist decision. The make-it-or-break-it factors will probably involve special honors/awards, essays, and extracurricular activities. After all, lots of students applying to top-tier colleges have near 4.0 GPAs, 2300+ SAT/34+ ACT scores, 5’s on multiple AP tests, walk-on-water recommendation letters, and a top-ten class ranking.</p>
<p>I’m sure that your son will end up matriculating at a great school…regardless of whether he decides to take the SAT again.</p>
Asian students with a wide range of test scores are accepted to the colleges you mentioned. For example, the scores of Asian students who posted in the Stanford RD thread are below. The most surprising result to me is how few Asian students posted rejected decisions. Perhaps this relates to a cultural difference?</p>
<p>A quote from a article about the Stanford admissions process in this month’s Alumni magazine is below:</p>
<p>*"Here is where Shaw uses phrases such as “intellectual vitality” when describing what Stanford looks for in an applicant. “It’s a holistic evaluation,” Shaw says. "Of course academic credentials are important, but we’re also looking for evidence that this young person has a passion, that he or she will bring something to our community that is unique. We want to hear a ‘voice’—that’s a critical component.</p>
<p>…69 percent of Stanford’s applicants over the past five years with SATs of 2400—the highest score possible—didn’t get in."*</p>
<p>I think many on this site overemphasize test scores and underemhasize the non-stat portions of their app. I think acceptance at the listed schools is far more likely to come down to non-stat qualities like “intellectual vitality”, “passion”, and bringing something unique to the community, as described in the quote than a 1520 M+V vs 15## M+V SAT score. </p>
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If the schools request all scores, send what they ask. Don’t try to fool them.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies, everyone. I do understand the importance of other factors, btw, but taking another 2 or at most 3 tests hopefully won’t detract from the time available for ECs…rather it is my hope that the time taken comes from his video gaming hours!</p>