Importance: SAT I vs. SATII??

<p>Hey I took the january SAT I test. I got 2240 (CR:690, Math:800, Writing:750)</p>

<p>Currently, I am studying for the SAT II's and they're HARD. Studying for Math IIC, Biology-M, and Chemistry. Well, its mainly the bio and chem that's hard haha. So my question is: Should I ever dedicate myself to studying the SAT I's again or would a higher score on the SAT II's be more impressive?</p>

<p>Also: Do colleges put more weight on the SATI or SATII?</p>

<p>Third: That is only my 1st time taking the SATI, do u recommend re-taking it, do colleges see it badly if u get that score on the first time? (might see it as luck), etc.</p>

<p>bump…</p>

<p>Right now, your number 1 priority should be SAT IIs. IF you score over 700s on two of them, then I would advise taking SAT I again if you really want to. Right now your SAT I is great though.</p>

<p>And about weighting, both are important. You cant really have one without the other. So now that you have one, you should really be studying for the other. And the more SAT IIs you have over 700 on, the better you look.</p>

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<p>Short answer: SAT I
Long answer: Both</p>

<p>With that score you’ll be applying to top-tier schools, and those schools need to see a high SAT I score AND high SAT II scores.</p>

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<p>All top-tier universities superscore and don’t care one way or another how you achieve that score. Be it on your first attempt or spread across four attempts (though more than four attempts gets sketchy) it’s all good in the hood.</p>

<p>You should probably retake the SAT I, because a low CR score is disconcerting, even for a math major. That being said, a 50 pt. raise in CR will not compensate for low SAT II scores (low meaning sub 750). If you can bump your SAT I up to 2300 and score in the 750~780 range on the SAT II sciences you’ll be in good shape. (And obviously don’t f**ck up your 800 on Math II).</p>

<p>Subject tests reveal a weak curriculum and grade inflation if your scores don’t correlate with your high grades.</p>

<p>As far as which counts more, that’s usually only an issue if the scores are incommensurate with one another (one set considerably higher than the other). Studies, which selective college/uni adcoms will know, show that the Subject Tests are often slightly better predictors of college success. In general, much higher SAT Reasoning scores than Subject Test scores can raise the suspicion that the applicant may be a bright under-achiever. So, of course you want high scores on both tests, but if they’re going to be uneven–it may be <em>slightly</em> better to score higher on Subject Tests. Since you already have very respectable SAT Reasoning scores, I’d concentrate on the subject tests.</p>

<p>Also remember that there’s now score choice for the SAT–colleges see only the scores you want them to see.</p>

<p>Okay!! Thanks for the help guys. So im pretty much going all-out subject tests from now on then haha. Well i took a couple diagnostics: Math IIC I got a 780. (but i know 800 can be easy). But biology and chemistry i got abelow 600. Is that cause for worry or is it able to be increased past a 700 with a lot of studying/work? Currently I am taking my first year of biology and my 2nd year of chemistry in IB as a junior. Thanks for the help!!</p>

<p>after you finish IB chemistry, 750+ on the SAT Chem will be a breeze</p>

<p>I found IB to be a curse when studying for SAT II’s. The way our schedule works, the bulk of chem/physics would be after reasonable testing dates.</p>

<p>I don’t think any of these posts have really completely answered your question, mostly because the answer isn’t simple.</p>

<p>Top tier college (i.e. Ivies, other schools in the top 50 or so) use an academix index rating system that puts significant weight on both the SAT I and SAT II tests. Before the new SAT came out, schools used to use a formula that averaged your SAT I score with three SAT II scores (which meant that a subtest of the SAT I was about 50% more important than an SAT II score). </p>

<p>When the new writing subtest came out, schools changed things a little. Many of them only required two SAT II tests but didn’t change their formulas while they evaluated the writing test. These schools more or less ignored the writing subtest and continued to average the SAT I scores with the SAT II scores, giving each set of scores equal weight. (Some schools actually continued to give the SAT I 50% more weight, meaning that students who only submitted two SAT II scores either had one of their SAT II scores doubled or the average of the two scores used as their third score.)</p>

<p>Starting this year, some colleges have started using the following rough formula: Half of the testing portion of the academic index is based on the critical reading plus math SAT I scores, and half of it is based two SAT II scores plus the writing score. I have also heard reports that at least a couple of schools are combining the math, critical reading, and writing scores as one half of the computation and the SAT II scores as the other half. In this last scenario, it would seem that the SAT II scores are actually more important.</p>

<p>The short answer to your question is that at most schools the totality of your SAT I scores are more or less equally weighted as the totality of your SAT II scores. If you have to prioritize which one to study for, then I would suggest working on the test on which you think you could improve your score the most. I would definitely recommend at least some work on your critical reading score.</p>

<p>Also, regarding taking the test again: I would encourage you to take the test a second time. Taking the SATs two or three times is normal and expected.</p>

<p>Great post!!! haha thanks mannnn =]</p>

<p>So it does not help you AT ALL to take a large load of SAT II tests (like 5 or 6) if a majority of them will be around 700? Like 3 SATII of 750+ would be worth more than those right?</p>

<p>You are exactly right.</p>

<p>wait, I was planning to take 4 SAT2s. Is this useless idea??(assuming that I score nearly 800 on all of them). Is there any difference between 3 x 800SAT2s and 5 x 800SAT2s</p>

<p>Taking four SAT IIs is useless unless you’re worried that you might flub one of them – and aren’t sure which one it would be. If you’re really confident in three SAT IIs, then I’d just take those three. At many schools, three is more than enough – and it’s perfectly enough at every school.</p>

<p>IF you take 4, will they just use your best 3 for the average?</p>

<p>I’m taking World History, which I think i can do well on, but probably not a perfect/great score. Would I be better off not taking it at all?</p>

<p>You need to work on only one section of the SAT – CR (Try to get it above 700). You need to work on 2-3 different SAT II’s. So I’d prepare more for the SAT II’s now.</p>

<p>Kameron,</p>

<p>Depending on the school, they will either use your top two, top three, random two, random three, or the average of all of them. Most schools won’t use an average – fewer calculations they have to make in the early stages the better.</p>

<p>Ok, cool. (I’m specifically worried about Harvard.)</p>

<p>Even if they average all four, I don’t think my average will be hurt too much.</p>