My Dilemma

<p>Hey guys,</p>

<p>So hopefully you can help me out with the issue I'm facing at the moment. Before I describe it, however, here is my current situation (in regards to objective statistics):</p>

<p>Grade: 12
State: NJ
Ethnicity: Asian (M)</p>

<p>GPA: 3.85 UW, 4.29 W</p>

<p>SAT I: 760 CR/730 M/800 W (Single sitting; total=2290)
SAT II: Biology (800; 640 from freshman year lol), Chinese (780), Chemistry (740), US History (690), and Math II (680; I know, ouch - more or less the main factor in my current dilemma)</p>

<p>APs: US History/Chinese/Biology/English Language (all 5s), Chemistry (4)</p>

<p>ACTs: haven't taken yet, will take upcoming one in September</p>

<p>So anyways, here's my problem:</p>

<p>I took the SAT I in October of my Junior year (one and only sitting so far; 2290 combined) and was relatively satisfied with my score. </p>

<p>Later the same year, I took the Math 2 SAT II in the hopes that I'd score a 750+ to report to colleges, being that I'd heard the Math 2 SAT II is almost a tacit requisite at the more selective colleges. The only problem is that I scored an extremely disappointing 680 on the test, a score I will most definitely not be reporting unless they force me and I don't retake it.</p>

<p>Now, come September, I have a pretty major decision to make - should I:</p>

<p>1)Retake the SAT I in October, then the Math 2 SAT II in November (and rush-report the latter), or</p>

<p>2) Retake the Math 2 SAT II (along with perhaps Lit) in October, then the SAT I in Novermber (and rush-report the latter)?</p>

<p>This may seem like a straightforward problem, but there're several factors which I feel are making the decision much harder. The first issue is that of the deadlines for EA/SCEA/ED on the one hand, and RD on the other. Basically, whichever test(s) I retake in October will make it to the EA/SCEA/ED school(s) I apply to, whereas the test I retake in November will only make it to the schools I apply to RD. The other issues (which intersect with this on various levels) include:</p>

<p>-I'm taking the ACT in about 3 days and expect (reasonably) to score a 34/35 on it. WIth that in mind, do I even need to bother getting a higher SAT I score to send to my EA/SCEA/ED schools in October (and thereby sacrifice my chance of sending a significantly improved Math 2 score to those EA/SCEA/ED schools), or would I be better off sending in a 34/35 ACT + 2290 SAT I + improved Math 2 SAT II score to EA/SCEA/ED, then sending an improved SAT I score later - in the RD admissions cycle?</p>

<p>-I'm still not comfortably clear on the question of how important taking the Math 2 SAT II is to someone applying to 6/8 Ivies and other top schools (think Duke, Georgetown, JHU, etc). Will a lack of a score (or a score like 680) do a lot of damage to my chances, or does the Math 2 SAT II have as much meaning as, say, the Literature SAT II (which seems much less popular, and is simply something one might take as a "bonus" test of sorts)? Basically, is it common to apply to Ivies/etc. without a Math 2 SAT II and get in, or is the Math 2 SAT basically an unofficial prerequisite for those applying to elite institutions these days? (note: I'm most likely going to apply as undecided, biology, or maybe some social science-oriented major, if that makes a significant difference)</p>

<p>To sum it up, here are my questions:</p>

<p>1) Based on my stats (and upcoming ACT), should I retake my 680 Math 2 SAT II in October (in time for EA/SCEA/ED) and my 2290 SAT in November (only in time for RD), or the other way around?,</p>

<p>2) How important is the Math 2 SAT II for seniors applying to Ivies/etc, and</p>

<p>3) (almost off-topic lol) how does Rutgers (the NJ state University) work with full-ride scholarships/deadlines for SAT scores to get said scholarships (which I hear go to basically all those with 1500+ CR/M combined SAT scores)?</p>

<p>Any help would be much appreciated!!</p>

<p>Thanks, and apologies for the uber-long post,
a stressed-out senior</p>

<p>oh and forgot to add (if it even matters): 225 on the PSAT (forgot breakdown)</p>

<p>Honestly, I’d think I’d go with the Math sat II. Although I’m not quite sure either how important subject tests are, the Math sat II test, in my eyes, is almost a given to get into top colleges, especially if you want to major in the math/ science area. I don’t know what the percentages are, but the average Math sat II tests scores are extremely high at schools like MIT, caltech, hyps, etc. To be honest, I think you’re SAT score is great. They’re not going to reject you because your score is too low. Though, I’m also not sure if they’ll reject you over your Sat II math score either, but it seems like more of a problem than the SAT score. If you score a 34/35 on the ACT as well, you’re set for SAT I / ACT. So yeah, I’d take the math sat first.</p>