So at my high school, I was in the top 15th perfect on my junior class (I’m now a senior), and my grades have been solid A’s and B’s for all of my years in school. I only took two AP classes last year and two this year, but anyways, my SAT score was pretty sad, for being the “smart kid” everyone always makes me out to be (which I dispute, but anyways…). I got a 500 in Math and a 590 in English, adding up to a slightly above average score of 1090. Should I just retake the SAT and hope to get a better score? I’ve stayed up at night thinking about it, and I’ve come to the conclusion that at school, I never really “learn,” I just retain the information until we take a test and then afterwards when it isn’t relevant, I forget all of it. This is where I say I’m not really all that ‘smart,’ but all my friends beg to differ. Should I take the SAT again, even if I already tried my best on it last time?
Yes, definitely retake. Your scores will likely go up. If you’re looking at competitive colleges, those scores will hurt you.
You might also consider applying to some test optional schools and omit your scores.
What do you mean by “tried my best?”
How did you prep specifically?
There are quite a few at my kids school in the top 20 with pretty low test scores. They truly don’t get how to dilligently prep.
The SAT/ACT require more than just remembering what you have memorized. It requires reasoning and analysis and applying what has been learned.
I did my best I could in going over the packets. That’s about it, I’ve heard that the SAT is a test you can’t really prepare for save for going over previous tests.
SAT is definitely a test you can prepare for. There are over 100’s of different prep books (with varying amounts of effectiveness).
my son practiced and improved his score by 190 points, so yes you can definitely prepare and improve, and you should definitely retake
I think it is a common misconception that kids have about the SAT and ACT—“you can’t study for it.” Also, the test seems so huge and ambiguous that teenagers don’t know how and where to start.
You cannot study so much for it as you can practice for it if that makes sense. Familiarity with the test format, the types of questions and the content can definitely go a long way towards improving your scores on these tests.
Don’t just take the SAT. Take the ACT also. You may find it is a better test for you and you just do better. My daughter hated the SAT and performed much better on the ACT. She has friends who hate the ACT and who do better on the SAT–it varies so much!
My daughter raised her ACT composite by 4 points and some of the subsections by by 6-7 points and she did it all on her own by practicing sections of the test. At least every other day she would come home from school and do a section in the ACT practice book. She would do a math section one day, English another, etc. I would say she spent 1.5 hrs on preparation every other day.
She would then grade the test and then read about which ones she missed. She would write down important formulas and important concepts she was missing and she would refer to that “study sheet” frequently to memorize important formulas and such. Steady practice and repetition is the key for these tests.
Also make sure you have a good graphing calculator. I’m amazed at the number of students who don’t have a good calculator and also who don’t know really how to use one.
You CAN practice, prepare and improve on the SAT or ACT. It takes some diligence and motivation. You have already shown you are a hard worker…you just need to put it into daily practice and preparation. Good luck!
Oh and also–you don’t need to register to take the ACT if you want to take it just to see if you like it better. You can print out a full length practice test, take one online or purchase the Real ACT prep book 2016-17 and take a full length test at home under timed conditions.
do you know why you got the low score? time constraint? lack of knowledge? agree with everyone… you can prep for it
@WannabeKaufman I took the SAT in May of this year without any studying and got a 1310 (700 M, 610 V). Now again I took it in October, again without studying, and I’m pretty sure I got much higher this time around. I’ll report back here what I got if I do remember to. The point is: sometimes you just have a bad test day…maybe it was cuz u didn’t sleep properly or nervousness/anxiety played in. Also, you still have another chance to take it, so just work hard, study (don’t do what I did lol), and take it another time. I hope that you do see a drastic increase in score 
!
I practiced and reviewed the questions that I missed and my scores increasing by 200 points in 2 weeks. Practice makes perfect