MIT chances repost - Also, should I retake the SAT?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I'm reposting my chance thread since I really didn't get too much feedback and was also wondering whether or not I should retake the SAT. It is a pretty large investment for me to make having to pay gas money and whatnot now.</p>

<p>Academics:
-GPA: 4.0 (Unweighted) Approx. 4.5 (Weighted)
-SAT: 2170 first take (790 Math, 720 CR, 660 Writing - 8 essay) Aunt paid for my first one and my school is all out of waivers (I got the last one for my subject tests, haha)
-Class rank: Academic Top Ten (No ranking system aside from this, would be number one by weighted gpa)</p>

<p>-Sophomore Year: AP US(5), AP Bio(5)
-Junior Year: AP Calc AB(5), AP Chemistry(5), AP World(5), AP Psych(5), AP Lang and Comp(4, expected 5)
-Senior Year: 7 AP with math/science focus, Self studying Physics Cs concurrently with Physics B</p>

<p>EC's:
-FIRST Robotics: Charter member of a team, head electrician. (9-12)
-Student-led Tutoring: 9 (Not offered 10th-12th due to school change)
-Cross Country Varsity: 11-12
-Track and Field JV: 10-12
-Mathlete: 11-12
-Nazarene Bible Quizzing: 7th-12th grade (8th grade: regional qualifier(Competitors from 4 states) 12th grade: first place winner overall for 1st State invitational, Expert division [highest possible] )
-500 Mile Running Club: Charter member (11-12)</p>

<p>Work Experience:
-Fundraising chairperson for FIRST robotics team
-Business administration experience w/ mom and pops
-Building experience (Summer work under the table @ various locations with my dad, he wants me to succeed and lets me focus on school in the academic season)</p>

<p>Circumstances:
-First generation Russian American whose family immigrated for religious freedom (born in USA)
-Bilingual: Speak English and Russian, with some understanding of Ukrainian
-Parents made less than $10,000 for the past 3 years in gross annual income, were qualified for free lunch program before this
-House has been in danger of foreclosure for the past 3 years, multiple scares
-Father is a chronic alcoholic, often out of work
-Near death of father on my 15th birthday, heart attack; he has since then had a stroke and broken his hip(was unable to work for a year)</p>

<p>Thanks for reading.</p>

2

<p>Looks pretty solid to me, its definitely a reach but you have a very good chance. The fact that you earned those grades given your circumstances is amazing and something admissions officers will notice. Your SAT’s are not great. However, your math section score is excellent, so I wouldn’t worry about it too much. If you can collect the money to retake, and you know you’ll be able to study and really bring up your other two scores, by all means, go for it, but don’t think that your admittance hinges on it.</p>

3

<p>Thanks, so you would recommend retaking the SAT then? I’m really only concerned about the writing score and possibly increasing the reading but I have read that admissions officers consider them at a glance, and often not as a deciding factor.</p>

4

<p>no need for a retake</p>