<p>LOL, I bought SAT prep books and didn't even look at them until the night before the exam. Of course, that didn't result in very satisfying scores (2000s for SAT I, 700-750 for SAT II). I'm totally fine with my SAT IIs, just not my SAT I. Anyway, I got into NYU with those scores, but with a gpa lower than yours. I truly think you should stop stressing about SATs. The more you stress about it, the worse you'll do (My first SAT score was not satisfactory, so I freaked and I did even worse on my second one LOL). But since you have the prep classes already paid for, go ahead, but don't think low SAT scores (unless they are low like <1800) mean it's the end of the road for you. Maybe other parts of your application (like your ec or essay) may be able to balance it out. However, I may not be able to say the same for the ivies you mentioned b/c they are very unpredictable. </p>
<p>Also, is the 10 grand in US dollars or in Wons? b/c there is a huge difference there.</p>
<p>Take it easy, I'm from Canada too and I didn't even seriously DECIDE that I was going to apply to US schools until mid August. At that point, I started reading the PR SAT books and making a list of schools. Took the SAT first in October (2160), SAT Math II and Physics in November (800/780), and SAT again in December (2280). Wrote all my applications pretty much in about 2 weeks at the end of the year.</p>
<p>Results?
Rejected at MIT, Stanford, Caltech, Berkeley (as an international though)
Accepted at Cornell, Carnegie Mellon, Rice, and UCLA
All for Electrical and Computer Engineering</p>
<p>The moral of the story? You're fine. Don't stress out about it and just relax. Write them as soon as you feel comfortable, even October if necessary.</p>
<p>10 grand? what a waste! instead of wasting the money on SAT prep (im sure if you just read the book you'll do fine) your parents should be saving that money for college! schools don't give out many funds for internationals... but as long as they're willing to pay it and you'll work hard, i guess it's ok??</p>
<p>OMG, that is HORRIBLE LOL! Really which part of the SAT I do you have a problem with? If it's CR, then READ LOTS OF BOOKS (that's usually the best way to prepare for CR)! If it's math, take a prep book and practice the problems. Lastly for writing, most schools don't even consider that. Honestly, I don't really see how it's that necessary to spend 10 grand on that.</p>
<p>Sorry for the big reaction, I'm just a very frugal person and don't usually spend much money.</p>
<p>At first I thought you meant to say 1 grand, but it turns out that it is really 10 grand. This is ridiculous. I would strongly advise you to tell your parents right away not to pay that sum. You can do Kaplan or other test help tutoring in the U.S. for around 600-800 bucks a month. Or, if that is somehow not an option, I still would doubt that you would score much higher on your SATs for this extensive tutorials. Btw, I had no clue that SAT prep courses were this expensive in Korea.</p>
<p>Take the ACT? The ACT is more curriculum-based (and since you're good at doing school work, I figured that'd be to your advantage); I found that I did much better on the ACT the first time I took it compared to the first time I took the PSAT.</p>
<p>i agree with aisgzdavinci, please please please try to cancel your summer prep course. </p>
<p>if you're determined, study yourself! i took a sat prep course for 600 dollars and i felt sooo bad afterwards. studying yourself is the best way, don't let some prep school rip you off. they know every parent is most worried about their children's education. they target that weak spot.</p>
<p>tell your parents you're determined to study yourself, they'll understand.</p>
<p>people in korea told your mom you shouldnt dream so high?</p>
<p>what the hell do they know about you or NYU? you know what you can do and if you work as hard as you say you can get far in life. I live right next to NYU and its a great school. a 3.9 could deffinitly get you in even without a rediculous SAT score.</p>
<p>Just to echo hoonose's sentiments, I'm also a Canadian, and didn't seriously consider applying to US schools until Sept 2007 (had a vague interest during the summer, but no real motivation to prep) Wrote my SATI in October, ended up driving across the border to the US to write the November SATIIs (moral of a long/somewhat funny story: Make sure you keep track of SAT registration deadlines!!!), and was accepted ED at Penn. So no, you are not doomed by not completing the testing by end of grade 11</p>
<p>$10K for a prep course definitely seems excessive; if you can motivate yourself, buy a couple of prep books (head over to the SAT section of CC to get some book titles) and force yourself to study. Otherwise, you should be able to get other prep courses for much less...</p>
<p>Best of luck! And try relax and enjoy your summer :)</p>
<p>Tell your mom to cancel the course and save her money. If you get into an American university as an international student, she'll need it. </p>
<p>In the meantime, hit the books: get a few prep books, take some online courses and practice, practice, practice. There is no guarantee that a pricy, private prep (ha! alliteration. you'll need that for the sat) course will raise your score any more than some diligent, consistent work on your part. </p>
<p>Chin up! Your grades are good and your ECs are good -- you're off to a good start!</p>
<p>its crazy how overrated the SATs are and how miserable they can make some students. top schools aren't everything. i think its horrible how sometimes the most qualified applicants for schools like princeton, harvard, yale don't get in because of something like a 2000. There's so much more important things to do during your high school years than stress over the SATs, and tutoring, and paying money for more tutoring, etc. </p>
<p>sorry i guess i was ranting, but just my opinion...</p>
<p>calm down..
yea i went to korea for prep courses too and i spent 3000 dollars for 5 weeks which was a complete waste of money.. How about sticking here to take prep courses? or studying by yourself? I find that studying by myself helps the most.
you are fine. u are in better situation that i am in.. i have bad gpa..</p>
<p>I think it's a really bad decision to spend 10k on a prep course, and I speak from experience. Last fall, I retook the ACT, studied with a 3k prep course, and only did worse, due to the intense pressure on one section (math- the tutor kept repeating how poorly I was doing, and this terrified me during the actual exam). Self-studying with a prep book is the best option, in my opinion. </p>
<p>Really, you need to stop worrying, and remember, the SAT is only one portion of your application. Your grades and ECs can counter this, if you can score within the 1900-2100 range, especially for NYU. I wouldn't listen to the people your mother told you about, they seemed sadly misinformed if they think that the SAT is the main part of the application.</p>