Almost every application I fill out asks for your best Verbal and Math scores from the SAT and/or your best ACT composite score. I got an 800 on the math, 620 CR, and 640 writing. My question is: Do colleges place more emphasis on your SAT composite or your individual sections?
Any feedback or personal experience would be great, especially if you know someone in a similar case.
<p>Most schools will look at a high verbal score more favorably then a high math score (unless your going to a really engineering/math centered school like GA Tech).</p>
<p>could you give me some more examples of schools that would really look at the high math score very favorably? I actually want to be a mechanical engineer. So I was thinking about the following colleges</p>
<p>MIT
Caltech
Stanford
USC
U of M
Cooper Union
Olin</p>
<p>you need atleast 700 in CR for most of the colleges mentioned</p>
<p>Does the SAT II play a large role in the decision factor, or is it one of those cut-offs to make sure an applicant got over a certain score for the tests.
I took the Math I and II, and Physics. I'm expecting to get 750-800 for both Math tests and 770-800 on the Physics. Is there a big difference between an 800 and a 750 on these tests?</p>
<p>I'm MIT Class of 2009, and from my experience it seems as if they honestly do look at the entire application in context... my SAT I was 800 Verbal 760 Math, but for the SAT IIs I only had a 680 MathIIc and 700 Bio M (740 Writing). Make sure your scores are around the 700 range at least, higher is best, but you really shouldn't worry about the difference between an 800 and a 750. The scores are there to make sure you can handle the material. Believe me, an 800 math/science SAT II score will NOT impress an engineering school like MIT, Caltech, or Olin; they're just too common. I don't mean to scare you with that last statement, only to reassure you that the SATs are not the most important things they look at. If your scores are 700 range (again, higher is of course, better), then I'm pretty confident that the admissions committee will then more seriously consider the more nuanced portions of the application. </p>
<p>Basically, high test scores will not make up for a a complete, effective application. They're definitely important, but if you score in the competitive range they're not something that will make or break your application on their own.</p>