<p>You helped recently narrow a college list for my closet math geek daughter. Now, I need some feedback on how a low CR score may impact her chances at admission to her target schools. </p>
<p>Again, she is a Junior and has aspirations to attend a highly comp college (current list below). She is a strong student (top private high school, tough curriculum, tough schedule (2 AP's, 3 Honors), straight A's last yr and so far this yr, academic award winner). She is a varsity swimmer, yearbook editor and a community service leader. She scored a 750 on her SATII for Math 1 last year. She would like to study one of the following: Math/Statistics or Op Research/Industrial Engineering. </p>
<p>But...her CR score on last year's PSAT was 540.</p>
<p>We are exploring the ACT and are getting her some tutoring which should help some. Still, it's hard to imagine this will change her CR score that dramatically.</p>
<p>Will Ad Comm's see the broader picture, or is this one standardized test score likely to torpedo her chances at her target schools? Does she need to lower her sights? Thanks, in advance.</p>
<p>you know that for her, you can use score choice for the sat?</p>
<p>if I were you, I'd have her start taking the sat 1 (and act, why not?) right now, take it a bunch of times.</p>
<p>cr scores can fluctuate a lot based on how easy the passage seems to a particular person. all she needs to do is to luck out just once. it sounds obsessive compulsive, but it's only a 4 hour test.</p>
<p>If you look at the published common data sets for the colleges, you will see that the CR score you give is rare for any admit which would include their football quarterbacks and star basketball and hockey players.</p>
<p>Your DD seems perfect for SAT optional schools. This worked well with my oldest and there seem to be many more now. Consider Bowdoin, Middlebury, Bates to name a few.</p>
<p>She will have a year and a half more of instruction before taking one that counts, so she should get closer to 600 (I believe you said it was PSAT)</p>
<p>interesting to read, and they would surely help her other reading. She has time to make up ground in critical reading skills, but that she must do to have a good admission chance at her reach colleges or to really enjoy the college experience at a competitive college. </p>
<p>As other posters have said: yes. To be a strong candidate for her current list of schools, she needs at least 650+ CR to complement a high math score.</p>
<p>But that's only about a 100-point increase--difficult but not impossible when you're starting from a lower initial point (500->600 is easier than 600->700 which is much easier than 700->800).</p>
<p>I, too, think her score will go up enough to be competitive. But the LACs are a good choice for her as they love female math whizzes. My friend's d went to Kenyan with low CR and high math. Did very well there. I don't consider Northwestern, Rice, UVA and Cornell as matches, by the way, even if she brings up that CR score. Nor do I think of Michigan or GT as safeties. What is her class rank, what courses is she taking and what was her writing score. Those schools are now using all three parts of the SAT these days, so it will matter.</p>
<p>I probably got like under 500 on the PSAT but got like 650 on the real SAT. As long as she looks over some vocab and takes as many practice passages as she can, she can turn her SAT into a strong point.</p>
<p>i got a 49 on the PSAT CR (around there) ended up gettin 700 on the SAT CR. Its all about practice and work ethic. If your D is committed to getting a high score she should do fine.</p>
<p>I got like a 64 on psat CR, and i guess i just matured intellectually over the year, and i got an 800 on SAT CR. Look at Xiggi's test prep advise under the SAT section--take practice tests and analyze answers. Figure the test out, and know your vocabulary.</p>
<p>My son took the SAT1 as a HS junior last spring. Since we thought it made sense to take it twice, we scheduled the tests only about one month apart to get it done with (early May and early June?).</p>
<p>The first time he got an 800M, 640V and 670 Essay. We were happy with all but the verbal, thinking he might push that up a little . When he took it again, he wound up with an 800V, 750M and 720 Essay. I guess being familiar with the test helped and he said he "focused more on the verbal this time". So I guess it is certainly possible to increase your scores significantly (although I imagine it's unusual to gain 160 points over a period of one month).</p>
<p>My son gained 170 points on one section, and 180 points overall, between two successive dates on the old two-section SAT I. That was the difference between having a cold the first time and not having a cold the second time.</p>
<p>My D also got a lot higher on her SAT than on the PSAT. My D's school told them to take the SAT for the first time in December or January of their junior year. Then you have several more dates to take it again. That strategy worked well for my D. She took the SAT in December and then again in June of her junior year.</p>