<p>I know there was a thread about not posting stats but I need some advice for my rising senior daughter. MIT is her first choice school. Her SAT reasoning scores fall within the adequate for consideration zone (700CR 780M 760W). The problem is with her subject test scores. Her Math 2 is good at 780 but her only science is Physics at 680. She goes to a below average public school (SAT 25-75% range in each section is 380-520 or so) and her honors physics class just didn't cover a lot of the material on the subject test as it was a challenge for many kids to just pass the class. She was able to teach herself what her precalc class didn't cover for the math 2 test but that didn't work as well with physics. She will be taking AP Chem in the fall and could take the chemistry subject test but she'd like to apply EA.</p>
<p>Any comments on how MIT evaluates applicants from not so great high schools? Is the expectation that these kids should be able to self-study well enough to get to a certain score level? I'm thinking she should try again on the chem subject test but she's a little discouraged right now and would prefer to be done with testing. If the rest of her application is strong, how important a factor is a not good science score?</p>
<p>I don't think I've ever advised anyone to take a test over. On the one hand, a score of 680 is not bad at all, even though it falls a tad below the median. On the other hand, you say that MIT is her first choice school. If that's true, she will want to do everything in her power to strengthen her application. More importantly, she'll have to pass two physics classes at MIT during her freshman year, so reviewing physics over the summer seems to me like a great idea in any case, given the poor quality of her high-school course. Why not simply borrow the school's physics text, study the chapters not covered in the course, and re-take the SAT 2 physics test in early fall? She has nothing to lose and everything to gain.</p>
<p>I got in with a 690 in biology (didn't take physics or chem). It won't kill an otherwise great application, but it might be worth studying up and taking it again.</p>
<p>I mentioned considering a retake in the fall and she said she'd think about it but self-studying is not something she's excited about. She's working two jobs she loves this summer and would prefer to have time for friends and recreational reading. As an adult I tend to look at it as if you really want something you work for it, but I think she's just tired of SATs and disappointed she didn't hit at least 700.</p>
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More importantly, she'll have to pass two physics classes at MIT during her freshman year, so reviewing physics over the summer seems to me like a great idea in any case, given the poor quality of her high-school course.
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This is an important point, and one we don't bring up often enough around here. It's not enough just to get into MIT -- a student has to be able to thrive there, too. </p>
<p>And take it from somebody who's been there and done that (and gotten the C-): if you have poor or no preparation in physics, it is in your best interest to self-study at least a little before coming into MIT and taking intro physics. It's not that the course is taught poorly, but it moves very quickly, and if you don't have a basic foundation in physics, it can be really tough to keep up.</p>
<p>I agree with CalAlum -- the score is by no means an application-killer. But it could be worth self-studying a little (either this summer or next) to sharpen those physics skills, not for the SATs but for college physics.</p>
<p>That's actually why I'm kind of glad that medical stuff happened and I'm on leave - I'm taking classes at a not-so-tough college nearby and able to beef up my background (which was humanities-centric and very poor in the math/science department) before going back. I just wish I had done it sooner (ie taken a gap year before freshman year).</p>