I'm in a predicament, HELP ME!

<p>So i got a 2230 on my SAT. I took it 3 times. From a 2070, to a 2180, to a 2230. I am disappointed because I want to go to a top school such as Stanford, MIT, and UChicago. I am capable of get 2300+ , but make the dumbest decisions during the test. I have a 4.0 and am number 1 in my class, so I just need a superior SAT score to complete my application. Should i take the SAT the fourth time in December (and ignore Score choice policies)?? Help, ty.</p>

<p>Why not retake it if you are capable of getting a 2300+?</p>

<p>b/c it may seem excessive, i dunno^</p>

<p>It isn’t worth the effort, nor the time. You can make your college application superior through extra curriculars, community service, clubs, etc. Never focus on the SAT alone, especially when you have a 2230.</p>

<p>I say otherwise… I’m not trying to sound like an SAT obsessive freak, but I think you should take it BECAUSE you have a 2230. You probably won’t need to study much for a 2300+ at this point. I think you should take it one more time, and if you feel you didn’t do so well, you can cancel it. It’s just one Saturday…!</p>

<p>^ Well, i see where you are coming from, but 2230 is average. My ECs are good, but not great. The SAT can decide whether i get into these prestigious schools.</p>

<p>Any other opinions. Thanks.</p>

<p>I honestly don’t think that less than a hundred point difference will make or break you for the elite schools… Just make sure all else (ECs, essays, etc.) go well, and you should be fine. I wouldn’t retake it if I were you.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>There. You said it for yourself. Take it again.</p>

<p>Okay, lets make two hypothetical situations.
One: SAT I: 2230, GPA:4.0, Rank: 1/550, APs:11, College-Level:2, ECs: Above Average, Essays: Good-Great, Sat 2: 800,800
Two: SAT I: 2300+, GPA:4.0, Rank: 1/550 , APs:11, College-Level:2, ECs: Above Average, Essays: Good-Great, Sat 2: 800,800</p>

<p>How do my chances change for the elite schools?</p>

<p>I retook after a 2270, but its more a function of how much you care. I wanted to see if I was capable of more, and I was. I believe that colleges benefit from such an insight. If the money is an issue, you’ll already have a minor advantage in selection because colleges love to have students from diverse financial backgrounds. </p>

<p>Either way, however, it’s worth a shot. You’ve taken the SAT a lot already, so it’s a bit dangerous, and may give a slightly bad impression to certain colleges. But it could improve your chances in the crapshoot that is top-tier admissions, and any such improvement could be a precious one. </p>

<p>If you have the chance, I strongly recommend finding other areas to show distinction. SATs are not the best indicator of potential success. It’s a sort of “and” gate, like a lac operon: you need the GPA and the rigorous schedule and the SAT scores, but without other areas of distinction, your chances suffer significantly.</p>

<p>^Check out the situations, I outlined above</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Not even the college admissions committees could tell you. It’s a function of many things. If you had two identical students, in every way, and one had a higher SAT score, he’d get in. That’s all you know: the chances increase. The magnitude of the change is a dependent variable with parameters you can’t measure.</p>

<p>^Based on that conclusion, I should take it again. Also, I can ignore score choice rules, so colleges will never know how many times i have taken it.</p>

<p>Whats your take on ignoring score choice policy of a college??? Thanks.</p>

<p>Do not take it again.</p>

<p>The point of the SAT is not to see how high you can get. Basically everyone gets the same scores (usually 1st or 2nd tmers) and it’s just a factor in admissions. The Sat will never be the make or break factor because there are 1900s who walk around ivy league campuses. Focus more on writing that stellar essay or taking time on your applications as a whole. You will be wasting your time (and money) retaking it.</p>

<p>^It is only one day for three hours (I wake up at noon anyways). My essays can still be stellar, cant they?</p>

<p>Lastly, what do you guys think about ignoring the score choice policy of a school?</p>

<p>Hypocritical because you ignore their score choice policy, but you want to improve your score to get into a school that you don’t respect enough to follow their own rules.</p>

<p>^I would love to be a hypocrite attending stanford</p>