Thank you for all your comments, I’ll keep them in mind.
I’ve decided I’m not going to tell people about it; making enemies is not what I need right now. Also, I’ll try not to get the whole SAT thing into my head (it’s already started to, but I’ll try).
@OP,
See what I mean? There are already haters on this board knocking your for your achievement.
If it does leak out at your school, better it doesn’t leak out directly from you. Be humble about it publicly.
“If you fail to get in, it means what it did for my acquaintance at Tufts; you are lacking in achievement and character in some way, but you can get a comparable education, if not comparable networking, at many 1.5th and 2nd tier institutions, and you still have graduate school to catch up on networking.”
There is something very seriously wrong with a poster who thinks that getting into Tufts but not Harvard means a person who is “lacking in achievement and character.” Acceptance to Harvard is not a “mark of character.” Their adcom is not the supreme judge of who is good or not; they are merely tasked with picking the freshman class that H wishes to have. Good grief, it’s not like Tufts admits petty thieves or people who kick cats.
One other thing. You mentioned you told two of your favorite teachers, but that you didn’t tell your guidance counselor. Big mistake. Find out who is responsible for college admissions at your secondary institution, and let them know immediately, and immediately begin discussing with them the optimal preparations and methodology for admissions. They may turn out to be clueless, of course, but every guidance counselor’s eyes will light up at the prospect of sending one of their charges to an Ivy, if that’s not something that commonly occurs at your institution, and even if it’s a common occurrence, as with feeder schools (elite and expensive schools that facilitate the education and admission of social elites), with your 2400 you make a good prospect and they will want to concentrate resources on their most promising talent.
Of course, please make sure that your guidance counselor remains discreet; while it’s worth letting him or her, or whoever is in charge of admissions know, you do not want this published in the news, arousing resentment with your peers and suspicion with admissions offices. Sometimes guidance counselors at weak institutions can be incompetent or brainless, and you do not want that fact to become your misfortune. Also, consult with your guidance counselor as to whether it would be wise to let your principal know; if you’re at a middling or poor institution, your principal may have personal and/or political (we got a kid into Harvard! Give us more money, specifically the money that would have been allocated to the high school at the other side of town!) interests in getting you into an elite school, and just as with the guidance counselor, make sure that your principal understands that he or she should be discreet. Even if your guidance counselor says no, retain your own judgment; if your principal understands that you had excellent SATs, he or she would be more inclined to write a glowing recommendation, and if you are only in your junior year, he or she could suggest to you a course of action that would deserve a glowing recommendation, but it would be disastrous if your principal lacked discretion.
These people, of course, will want to publicize both your 2400 and your matriculation into an elite institution, but the important thing is that they, provided that they are smart and that you are smart in restraining them, will only do so after, and I emphasize the word, you are matriculated and at your first year of university. Do not brag, do not let it leak out before you have settled in at your dorms because you do not want to deal with the hassle of news media or social resentment.
But then, why let them know? The thing is, while you are ultimately responsible for your college admissions, there is no reason for you to bear the responsibility alone. By letting your guidance counselor know, and possibly letting your principal know, they can help guide you in optimizing your process towards college admissions to provide the best possible outcome. You’re a high school student. You’re busy with schoolwork, members of the opposite sex (or the same sex if such is your predilection or neither if you are an asexual or aromantic), perhaps fascinating personal projects, and growing up. It cannot be reasonably expected that you would achieve mastery of the subject of admissions, so you’d be best off seeking the advice of experts, even if you’d be better off doing your own research so that you can double-check their work and avoid being constrained by their mistakes. In short, while there are certain people who shouldn’t know about your SAT, especially at this point in time, there are also people who MUST know about your SAT to ensure the best possible outcome in admissions and it appears that you have yet to notify them.
All of that said, I will message and e-mail you a link to this post, so crucial is it that you secure adult help and professional assistance. Perhaps your resume is already good enough to secure an Ivy or elite admissions without difficulty, but more likely it is not, and even if it is, there’s a difference between, say, Penn for undergraduate and Harvard for undergraduate, one is more prestigious than the other and will help you out more in adult life.
Congratulations! That is an amazing accomplishment. Significant accomplishment comes with responsibility. If you are perceived to be boastful or bragging it will be resented. it is better to be humble and perhaps even if asked directly to just say I am pleased with my results and leave it at that. No one should have to hide from their accomplishments but discretion is advised.
Definitely share this information with your guidance counselor and definitely do the research to see what merit aid opportunities this may make available to you.
Nice job!
Lol so what if you get a 2390? Does all of this not apply to that score?
?? Of course it does. The resentment and “You’ll be a shoo-in anywhere!” happened to me with just a 2330. No local news, though. 
@bodangles Yeah, I think generally any score above a 2300 creates those types of feelings. But only a 2400 gets the whole media attention and everything. Although you’d have to call the media first, and that kind of comes off as pretentious to me.
First of all, congratulations on the score! I would now focus on preparing yourself for college, and other future steps. A bright future is ahead. Take the skills learned from prepping for the SAT’s and do something great in life.
WTF??? I mean, I get you should tell your parents, since they raised you and deserve to know stuff, but why in heaven hell or earth would you want to tell this to others? The SAT is literally complete crap and boasting about this to others makes absolutely no sense. If they ask you, you can tell them, but why would you be such an egomaniac so as to initiate a discussion with others about your fucking SAT score? It not only shows a scary narcissism, but also that you have no idea what in life is important.
Sorry if I’m being a bit strict, but this is what I really believe and I am quite astounded at this discussion so far.
^ Yeah, that’s unduly harsh. There is nothing in OP’s post to suggest that he has been boasting. In fact, his question was whether he had erred in NOT letting at least some important people know. He has been getting a lot of “advice” here that seems uncalled for. His original question was reasonable and pretty mild, even humble. Nothing suggests that he has lost perspective. But think about it: if you are a junior or senior, it seems likely that the subject of college admissions and SAT scores might come up among friends and classmates occasionally, don’t you think? In trying NOT to brag, he just as easily risks coming off as coy and evasive.
So to OP: nice job. Tell or not tell whoever – their responses reveal more about them than about you. But yes, be sure to put in on your applications! And tell your counselors.
When so many students DO go on the news for getting a 2400, its not crazy to ask if he/she should as well. And btw, people brag about much more trivial things.
Someone with a 2400 SAT score should be smart enough on his own to know whether it is tactful to gloat over it or not. I personally would tell my friends if I scored that high at the very least. But you have already told CC…Congratulations! Only about 1 in 3,000 people score that high. Your IQ must be 152+!
@j6ma9l No…SAT score and IQ don’t correlate very much. That’s one of the biggest lies pervasive in high school…that SAT score is a testament to intelligence, which is not true. I would say its due to more hard work, one’s environment, financial situation, quality education, etc. I scored in the 99th percentile and I’m sure my IQ isn’t more than 110.
I just read about the presidential scholars program (http://www2.ed.gov/programs/psp/index.html) on another board. I imagine that you will be selected for this program and that it will get you the recognition you crave and deserve.
JuicyMango is correct. The SAT is quite silly indeed. I could have a lot more to say about this but I will restrain myself.
Anyways, congrats to the OP. Though I’m not sure why posting here is necessary.
“JuicyMango is correct. The SAT is quite silly indeed.”
JuicyMango never said that.
Actually JucyMango is incorrect. Believe me. I know. Correlations between SAT scores and IQ scores are well documented, a fact that makes people uncomfortable. A fact never-the-less. Makes sense right? Both are measuring similar attributes in similar ways. The immense prep students undergo has corrupted the validity of the SATs but they are still correlated with IQ. The correlations are strong and the findings are about as robust as any in science-but that is still group data. Individual results may differ. Your results may differ. Never-the-less, the SATs are far from perfect and there is a clear ceiling effect. Psychometrics aren’t great.
I’d advise the OP not to parade the scores. People who do that make me want to gag. And I do gag when I read articles about students who got “perfect” scores-why is anyone writing an article about such students? It isn’t as if they got 100 on a Unit test in World History-which I’d view as more worthy of an article. I also gag when I read about people who made high scores their biggest goal-and who got tutored and took all kinds of classes and tests multiple times in order to get top scores.
So OP, do all the things your parents taught you even when you see those around you getting attention for doing the opposite. Take the high road. Keep quiet. Be truthful but don’t brag. Shy away from conversations you see are heading into the "so What did you get? " territory. Submit your scores and go to a college that offers you what you want in a college. That is the point isn’t it?
It is possible that the OP has sat silently and seen others lauded for something tied to a high score or high ranking and come to understand that peer appraisal and reception can change when such things are known. In those instances it can be difficult to stay silent if you knew your information or contribution to the conversation could be a game changer for you.
I do think the counselors should know, and OP, we all hope you certainly took necessary measures to make it known to the colleges to which you applied.
However, OP should know that sometimes when this information is known by the student body, people begin to hound the high-scoring kid, and to change how they interact with him, and to act like he is not the same kid he was before he shared his high score. OP references such apprehension at the opening, and this can be a real concern.
OP, If you’re fine knowing you have done all you can to represent yourself to the colleges, everything else is extra, superfluous, really. Your counseling office should have matched you to certain scholarships in your region, and hopefully you’re already on the radar of some schools that are great fits for you.
@lostaccount : “It isn’t as if they got 100 on a Unit test in World History-which I’d view as more worthy of an article.”
Hmmm.
@bodangles LOL are you joking? Like any score on a test as crappy as the SAT can be really that impressive? Please. Also, how was my post irrelevant? Despite all my mental exertions I cannot fathom how you came to that conclusion. Similarly I cannot fathom how you got to the conclusion that I was acting superior. I will be very grateful if you can explain yourself with respect to these two comments.
@Waiting2exhale Maybe I should have made it more explicit, but I was in the first statement agreeing with JuicyMango, and in the second offering a comment of my own.
@lostaccount Thank you for making a sensible comment with more composure than I could have ever mustered myself. Maybe you’re right about the SAT - IQ thing but that would mean that IQ doesn’t really measure what it’s supposed to measure: intelligence. In any case, your advice to the OP is what I would have said if I were more mature. Thanks.