<p>Here's my SATs score:
C 700
M 720
W 760 Essay 9</p>
<p>I'm a junior. To me this is pretty good for my first SATs, but I know I can get a 800 in math and if I didn't get an experimental section on CR I would have more energy at the end.</p>
<p>Anyhow, I would retake for sure. But I also have 3 SAT IIs to take in May or June. So should I take the SAT Reasoning in May (then I have to take all 3 SAT IIs in June) and if I don't do well I can take the Reasoning again in October?
Or should I just focus and study for those SATs, spread them out in May and June (then I can ONLY retake Reasoning in October, which means if I don't do well I don't have another chance at all)?</p>
<p>Target Colleges: NYU Stern, UPenn Wharton (most likely not making it), Carnegie Mellon, Cornell Johnson</p>
<p>I definitely do not recommend taking the SAT I in May, as at that time you will be focused on AP’s.</p>
<p>I would suggest taking SAT II’s in May that happen to correspond with your classes. For me, this meant taking the U.S. History SAT II (because I was in APUSH) and Math Level II (because I was in Pre-Cal). I think this definitely worked to my advantage for U.S. History especially.</p>
<p>Then I would recommend taking the SAT I in June. If you are satisfied with that score, then you can be totally done with the SAT I. If not, then there’s always October to re-take.</p>
<p>Then I would take the remaining SAT II’s after that ASAP, and you could possibly even retake one as well.</p>
<p>In the end, though, it’s important to look at which of your schools require 3 SAT II’s and when is the last acceptable testing date. For me, this actualy happened to be January–which was lucky for me because I had screwed up in November.</p>
<p>It depends on the school. Some have Oct deadlines while others may allow Dec or even Jan ones.</p>
<p>Sailingby gave you sound advice on what to do although I would just take 3 SATs in May instead of taking only the ones that you have AP tests for. You will have plenty of time to retake either one in case you do mess up on one of the tests.</p>
<p>^“You will have plenty of time to retake either one in case you do mess up on one of the tests.”</p>
<p>Why? I thought I only have three more test date left, May, June and Oct. How would I have plenty of time to retake? You mean SAT II’s have different deadlines?</p>
<p>SkyHigh, my son’s SAT scores were very similar to yours. He really did not want to take the test again. He didn’t want to put a bunch of effort into another SAT if it wasn’t going to pay dividends. (He’s a senior now – was in your SAT shoes a year ago.)</p>
<p>There was some online tool he used, through collegeboard.com, that allowed him to insert his scores and find out if, statistically, it would pay to retake the test. I don’t remember exactly where this tool was located, but it wasn’t hard for him to find. He showed me as he did it. It was easy and quick. It turned out that a very low percentage of students with his stats received higher SAT scores by retaking, and a much higher percentage of students with his stats actually received lower scores by retaking! It was something like 6% did better the second time around and 23% did worse! The rest did about the same on the retake.</p>
<p>When he learned that his odds of improving his results were low, he elected to not retake. The time and stress he saved by accepting the great scores he earned the first time around – like yours – were well worth it to him. He figured the colleges he’d be applying to were looking for well-roundedness, not just amazing SAT scores. So he accepted the nearly 2200 he got in round 1 and put his energy elsewhere.</p>
<p>So far, he’s been accepted to each college for which he applied. He has also received some very nice academic merit scholarships. Granted, he didn’t apply to the ivy leagues. He didn’t want to. But he has applied to other well-respected colleges. I’m not sure how he would have fared at the ivies.</p>
<p>I kind of admire my son’s outlook as he goes through this process – he seems to try for that perfect balance of effort and reward. I wish I caught on to that “big picture” idea when I was that young! In that way, he can save his energy for other things that also count in life.</p>
<p>I’m in the same boat as you score and school wise (like where I’m looking to apply)</p>
<p>690cr
760m
750w</p>
<p>I also posted this on another thread so I’ll make it shorter here; your composite section scores(M,CR) are in the middle 50% of Penn and probably in or above for the other schools. Unless you are above the middle 50%, sats are simply an inital benchmark and in no way will make or break your admission chances</p>
<p>Thank you SimpleLife, your advice is very thorough and helpful.
I would consider everyone’s advice carefully. But I think 720 math is kind of low especially because I will major in business.
I have couple of questions, are SAT’s very important too? Do I send my AP scores AFTER I am accepted? (if so, then AP scores seem like not a factor at all in college admission)</p>
<p>The satII math level 2 is more important than the satI math score, by alot. </p>
<p>For AP scores at my school, they are listed on your transcript and once you actually go to the school you send an official cb report to get credit. I’m of course not sure how it works at your school but I’m sure there’s a way to get the colleges your scores. And AP classes are vital to the"rigorous courseload" idea, factoring in to the process in that sense even without the exam scores</p>