<p>is a 790 on the math II really that bad?</p>
<p>not trolling b/c i read somewhere that an 800 is only the 87th percentile or something. I know i could have goten an 800 that day but I messed up and made a few careless errors....so should I retake the 790?</p>
<p>You should retake :)</p>
<p>The difference between the 790 and 800 to you may be important as you see it as a “flaw”, but to admissions officers it’s completely negligible. </p>
<p>Don’t waste the money =]</p>
<p>Haha retaking for a 800 is only worth a minus in your budget 
Even a genius makes mistakes, so who care?</p>
<p>If you are rich and have a huge surplus of time, and you don’t need another chance for Reasoning tests, go for it. The point is that you have to feel safe when you are waiting for the decisions.</p>
<p>But I doubt anyone applying to MIT would feel having a surplus of time. I am already living 26 hours a day.</p>
<p>admissions arenot simply based on SAT 2
btw there is no diffrence btw a 800 and 790.
even if its 750 i wouldnt retake</p>
<p>From Matt’s blog, [url=<a href=“http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/apply/standardized_test_requirements/whats_the_big_deal_about_402.shtml]here[/url”>http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/apply/standardized_test_requirements/whats_the_big_deal_about_402.shtml]here[/url</a>], emphasis mine:
</p>
<p>I got a 790 on Math 2 also. Don’t worry about it.</p>
<p>If it makes you “feel better”, then retake it. 1 hour and $10 to make you feel better for the next year (you’re a junior right?) and have no regrets is definitely worth it if you must. </p>
<p>But it won’t make a difference in admissions, as already said.</p>
<p>So the thing is that most people who take the Math II Subject test are probably good at math (otherwise they would have taken Math I), and are applying to colleges that require or want subject tests, so you’re competing with a much more competitive pool which is why the percentile for an 800 is pretty low. The difference in percentile too between a 790 and 800 isn’t that big anyways, so it’s not as if a 790 is very different from an 800.</p>
<p>I think tha now it is gone, you shouldn’t retake, but in my opinion 800 has another effect.</p>
<p>Admissions at MIT has been very adamant that you do not need an 800 to get accepted. Many officers have said that they see no difference between scores above 700 or so.</p>
<p>On another take of the issue, you don’t want to be that guy who tries to explain getting a B in calculus or a 790 on an SAT subject test. It tends to put you in a bad light.</p>
<p>I got a 710 on the Math 2 and I was accepted so I don’t think a 790 is really something to worry about.</p>
<p>The question is always what does the score tell the admissions office about the student. A 760 says that you can do math pretty well; a 790 says that you can do math pretty well, an 800 says that you can do math pretty well. Being well qualified in scores and grades is a necessary but not sufficient criteria for admissions. If you want to spend time on improving an application that you will fill in in 10 months time, then there are a lot better ways to spend your time than in retaking an SAT2 test.</p>
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Great advice</p>