<p>I have a question.</p>
<p>For years, I've been told that a 2100 is the "threshold" score for HYPS -- that once you've scored above that, it's more about the rest of your application. Is this true? I was just looking through last year's EA thread and I was shocked at how many people were rejected with 2300+, etc. I have a 2200 (800CR 780W 620M), which seems low in comparison to those. </p>
<p>I guess what I really want to ask is, if you can still get rejected with those 2300+ scores, does a difference of a handful of points matter all that much? What kind of emphasis is put on the SAT once you have surpassed that "threshold"?</p>
<p>Silly question, perhaps, but I was just giving it some thought.</p>
<p>There is no such thing as a "threshold" for the SAT at HYPS or any highly selective school. There are certain students (usually URM who is either a recognized athlete or who, perhaps, has another nationally recognized characteristic) who are accepted to these schools with lower SAT. Indeed, over 50% of applicants with perfect SAT (2400) are rejected at these schools. The point is, none of these schools look solely at a test score. If you are a URM who published a bestseller, your scores are certainly competitive. If you are a Caucasian BWRK with a not superstar GPA, are not a "development" kid (i.e., your parents can't contribute $10 million for a building), don't have several high AP scores, and don't have national recognition for something, then your 620 M subscore is concerning.</p>
<p>I would hope that anyone who published a bestseller is competitive, if not a shoo-in! (Assuming it's a good book.) I wonder if adcoms are likely to read a book written by an applicant...? Not that it happens often.</p>
<p>750 or above in any section is a competitive score, because time limits can prevent you from getting to every question; everyone makes silly mistakes; you may run across something totally unfamiliar even if you are very prepared; every form and version of the SAT is different and with the exact same level of preparedness, the same student would perform differently on two versions of the test.</p>
<p>620 is low, but considering your other subscores it may not be worth taking again. Instead, take a math SAT II if you feel you can do well on it (math II if you took precalc). Yale requires 3 SAT IIs anyway, and you might as well have a math, science, and humanities.</p>
<p>Personally, i'd feel very uncomfortable applying to the more selective ivies with a 2100. Your 2200 certainly shouldn't hinder your apps to any school, but it might not be particulary standout at more competitive places. Seeing as two of your scores are near perfect, why not take it again? You could easily get a 2300 if you work hard on the math.</p>
<p>oh, and there's no threshold, but be practical, you're not getting into HYPS with a 1500... although an 1800 is a possibility for an URM with some other good qualities...</p>
<p>I've heard similar things - that colleges look at your sat score only once, and that once you have a certain score, around 650 on each section or an overall score of 2100ish, then they don't look at your scores again unless it's between you and someone else who are exactly the same except for the scores.</p>
<p>imo, it makes sense.</p>
<p>retaking would probably help your math score, but don't get toooo sucked in by the collegeconfidential hype. just remember that most college applicants aren't like us.</p>
<p>This hispanic girl at my school got into Brown PLME with a 1760.</p>
<p>There's no official threshold, but according to [url=<a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8927829/site/newsweek/%5Dthis%5B/url">http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8927829/site/newsweek/]this[/url</a>] chat, Yale director of admissions Margit Dahl states that the median scores for verbal and math are 750 and 740. Verbal and math scores of about 650 put a student at roughly the 10th percentile of the class. Unless you have a good excuse, Yale will wonder why your math score is at the lower end of the distribution.</p>