Overall SAT Score Solid, But Individual Breakdown Very Skewed, Opinions on Retake or not?

Test Preparation
1

So I got a 2250, which is a pretty decent score overall, and 99 percentile. However, my breakdown concerns me and somewhat my parents.
Math 790, Writing 790, …
CR 670.

If I apply to like top schools, how much will that individual CR score hurt me? I heard some colleges only really care about just Math and CR, and that if you don't have at least a 700 in either it's gonna hurt your chances significantly. So I'm worried about my 670 in reading. I know that the bottom 25% percentile cut off for Reading in the top schools is like 680-700. Will that 670 be Ok or is that kinda on the edge?

This was my second time taking the SAT, the first time i did even worse (630 ._.) in November. 2.5 solid months of CR prep still only brought my score up 40 points… If I decide to take it again (probably won’t be until Sept/Oct due to SAT II"s in May and June) I don’t even know if I have the will power to continue prepping. I’ve got other things to prepare for and do too. Thus, I’m in a dilemma. I know superscore wise i’ll be ok if I just aim to increase my Reading score, but is it really worth it to take the time prep and retake it in the fall just to get the CR up to a 700+?
Thanks,
FCM

2

That CR score might indeed hurt you at the most selective schools. It won’t put you in the “no” pile right off the bat, of course (it’s a good CR score!), but you might be passed over in favor of someone with a higher CR score. I’d probably try again if my heart were really set on the super-selectives, but it would be understandable if you chose not to.

3

@marvin100‌ Do you think having exceptional SAT II scores will somewhat make up or cover up for that one low CR score on the SAT? Or do some colleges view the SAT score much more highly/place a much higher emphasis than SAT II’s and AP’s?

4

Sorry to say, but no–nothing “makes up” for anything else (at the super-selective schools, at least). Great SAT IIs are nice, but they’re expected at the schools we’re talking about.

5

You could also try taking the ACT. You’re clearly pretty smart, and you might do better on the ACT without too much more work. There’s a lot less abstract vocab, which may have been what was hurting you. It was for me