<p>I wanted to apply early decision to Upenn (not 100% sure yet!) and early action to Notre Dame. Both require or strongly recommend the maths subject test. Henceforth, I will only be able to repeat either SAT I or SAT II. </p>
<p>Other than that, I am currently enrolled in the IB programme and I am the #2 or #3 student in my class with 4.0 GPA. Also, I'm head of the debate team and largely involved in MUNs, Class President and lots of other social projects!</p>
<p>What do you guys think?? Which one should I repeat if I chose to take this course of action? Do I have a shot with these scores?</p>
<p>Your scores are definitely way too low for UPenn. Most Likely Notre Dame as well. I would try to retake the SAT I as first priority. Get it up to at least 2100 to even be in the consideration. 2200 to have a realistic chance. Then go for the subject tests.</p>
<p>If I want to apply early then yes - only one more SAT test date available.
Upenn allows you to rush scores in, but I guess I’ll just improve my scores and apply regular! Thanks.</p>
<p>You could also take the ACT instead of the SAT 1 and use the SAT testing date for the subject tests. Also, if you’ve taken precal you might consider trying Math 2, it has a much nicer curve than Math 1.</p>
<p>I think ImSoAmbitious is being a little unrealistic. Your scores would definitely be in the lowest quarter, but to say they won’ t even look at you is a bit much. UPenn’s middle 50% is 2040-2310. So your score is only 90 points below their 25th%, meaning you do have a chance, but not a solid one, you’d need to have a stellar application to balance lower than average SAT scores. </p>
<p>As for Notre Dame, you’re 80 points below their CR/M scores, their 25th% is 1340 and yours is 1260. </p>
<p>Your Math SAT subject score is pretty low, your biology is above average, Spanish is perfect. </p>
<p>I’m pretty much in the same boat, applying to selective universities and studying to get above a 2000 on my 2nd SAT, still on the lower scale of SAT scores. But my application will show the many extracurricular activities I’m in(with many leadership roles), and a challenging enough course load in which I maintained a #2 rank and great GPA. Plus, I love writing essays. As a minority student, we’re given more cushion with things like SAT scores, so I’m not stressing too much.</p>
<p>The 25%/75% by subsection:
M: 680/750
CR: 690/750
W: 660/770</p>
<p>Adding these would give an overall 25%/75% of 2030/2270, but that is not the case. The actual 25%/75% is 2100/2200. </p>
<p>As you can see, adding the scores can make SAT Sally with 650/650/650 look almost in range for the school based on her composite of 1950. When looking at the actual data though, it becomes clear that Sally is well below the 25%, placing college x out of reach for her.</p>
<p>Highly selective schools can pick and choose, with the holistic admissions process. Too many people misinterpret this to mean that their “stellar” ECs will make up for a lackluster transcript/scores. They won’t. The unhooked applicant needs about a 2100 and top 10% (BARE minimum) to show that they will be able to handle the workload. That’s where a small fraction of applicants are outright rejected, when the adcoms can begin their real work of cherrypicking the most exceptional from the thousands of applications.</p>
<p>I would really recommend both, but if you have a high GPA (which I suppose you do, given you are applying to Penn) with good/great grades in the SAT II subjects, that might compensate for low SAT II scores.</p>
<p>Personally, I found the SAT I the most pointless test I ever took, or ever will. But apparently some people think it indicates potential college success. So we just roll with it.</p>
<p>And, another thing. If you repeat SAT II Math, try taking Math IIc, esp if you had math in 10th/11th grades. Scoring is very lenient with a 42/50 giving you 800.</p>
<p>And “henceforth” means “from that/this time on”, not “because”…I think you meant “hence”. Back to studying CR.</p>
<p>OP, I think many people are giving you false hope. A sub-2000 SAT score is nowhere near competitive for top 10/20 schools, and it’s unlikely you’ll be able to bring your score up by 200 points in one more take, especially considering your CR and M scores (which are typically the most important ones to admissions) are the lowest. Also, that 570 in Math I will look terrible; that would be a low score for Math II, let alone Math I.</p>
<p>You need 750+ in subject tests to really be competitive at Penn, and maybe 700+ if you’re a hooked applicant. But, while you may be an URM (I can’t tell by your post), you actually have an anti-hook if you need financial aid, as you are an international applicant. I doubt you’ll get much leniency for low test scores.</p>
<p>First question: Does your school have history of regularly sending top students to Ivies? If yes, then your class rank is a big plus and it may cover up the low scores in subject tests. Take the SAT I. If NOT, (like, your school rarely sends students to top schools) then your class rank doesn’t prove much and it’s likely that your chances are very low. Start looking for other schools.</p>
<p>International student with 800 Spanish means it’s highly likely that your native tongue is Spanish. (correct me if I’m wrong.) Then that score won’t have any impact on the application, and logically the admission office will look at other subject scores: which are low. Again, you’re in a danger zone.</p>
<p>Overall, just take the SAT I, raise it to 2100ish, and don’t dream so much about getting into UPenn. You might get in, but go around the forum and you’ll see just pile of genius international students applying to Ivies.</p>
<p>On average…My school sends at least one student to an Ivy each year.
The last girl from my school that got into Upenn had the exact same SATI score than me, but I don’t know about her subject tests.
My brother is currently in Notre Dame and he had a 1970 SAT score. He wasn’t INCREDIBLY outstanding at school - ranked perhaps as #5 and did not have as many activities as I do. He was a good student. I guess it just comes to show that SATs aren’t everything! Or maybe they were both lucky. </p>
<p>Yes, I’m a native speaker. </p>
<p>The ACT idea is good. I’ll look into it. I’ve never even looked at an ACT in my life! Is it very different?</p>
<p>Triblazer:
The international pool is also much more competitive than the domestic pool. The average SAT scores for the international pool are usually higher than the domestic pool.</p>
<p>aj0511:
The fact that 1 applicant who had the same SAT I score as you means nothing. You know nothing about how good her essays and recs were, ECs, etc.</p>
<p>Since you’re a native spanish speaker, your 800 is meaningless. Luckily, ND allows you to not send certain scores in, so if I were you I’d just send the SAT (after you improve it). Penn does seem a bit unrealistic, unless you can raise BOTH the SAT and SAT2’s to 2100+ and 750+ respectively.</p>
<p>Since Penn doesn’t accept score choice, unless you can improve both SAT2’s to at least 750+ (700 bare minimum), your shot at acceptance is extremely low.</p>
<p>Have you considered top public schools? Michigan, UVA, and even UNC may be willing to accept these scores while considering that english is your 2nd language. All three schools I just listed will provide you with a comparable education to ND.</p>
<p>Ok, I stand corrected, but I didn’t mean to say that she had a solid chance, just that there was a chance. But thanks for the clarification, I understand you do need higher scores now.</p>
<p>However, I don’t think that my “stellar” ECs alone will make up for my lower scores, I just think that based on what I’ll put on the entire application, I’ll have a chance of still getting admitted. </p>
<p>You know even the top colleges have accepted students with sub2000 scores. Are those students notable exceptions? Of course. If you want your dream to have some chance of coming true, you do want that 2100 at least, but they aren’t going to reject every single application with a sub2100 score; maybe they’ll reject 99% of them, but a good application that shows a driven, motivated student does have a chance of getting in with a standout application. To standout from all the IL applications is easier said than done, so best of luck to anybody taking the uphill climb. </p>
<p>Cortana: Yeah, I was thinking that in the back of my mind, the international pool is even smaller, so it is more competitive.</p>
<p>The international pool is much more competitive in terms of ECAs and academics, but not so much in terms of SATs. From where I come from (South Asia), a 2000+ score has gotten many stellar candidates into HPYS, Chicago, Duke (Yes, I know every single one of them personally). </p>