<p>Hi,</p>
<p>Should I retake the SAT's? 730 Reading, 740 Math and 730 Writing. I know I know it's an okay score but I just feel like I could do better in Reading at least (hopefully math and writing too. I did get an 800 in Math II). It would be my THIRD time btw. Also, should I retake the subject tests? 700 Lit, 720 Chemistry. Both seem so bad... lol. I'm not planning to apply to a lot of colleges that require SAT II (Williams, Vassar, Swarthmore and maybe Harvard, Princeton ;) ) but would I be at a disadvantage? Or have I reached a threshold where high test scores cease to matter?</p>
<p>I'm on my gap year so there's time for me to prep should I choose to retake the SAT. I am kind of disinclined to retake the SAT II's because they are soooo boring (although SAT I is no 'Breaking Bad'). lol</p>
<p>These are the colleges I want to apply to: Swarthmore, Vassar, Wesleyan, Grinnell, Colby, Bates, URichmond, F&M, Trin Coll, Williams, Princeton, Harvard and Gettysburg</p>
<p>However, please note that I will apply to a lot more if ED 1 doesn't work out (including safeties). I am also an international student, but loads of people around me have gotten into the said schools with test scores well below mine. In fact, I feel like increasing my scores would be detrimental for getting into colleges like Whitman and F&M as they would probably feel I wouldn't come and therefore wouldn't offer me admission to protect yield and stuff. I am also an INTERNATIONAL STUDENT SEEKING AID.</p>
<p>Currently, I feel that I could get about a 780 in CR, 760+ in math and 760+ in writing. Should I go for it or should I just save the time and money and use them for other purposes?</p>
<p>Is it my age? I’m in my early 40’s and when I was a teenager, my application for 8 colleges was generally seen as excessive. I did an informal survey of my peers in college and far more than I would have thought were saying that they applied to one reach, two matches and one safety, on average.</p>
<p>My kids went to a selective Public Magnet School in Alexandria, VA. The school boasts an average SAT of around 2200. The elder, decided at a young age that he wanted to go to UVA and applied early decision there. He did not apply anywhere else, because he was accepted, but if he was rejected or deferred to regular decision, he planned to apply to only 2 more schools. For the record, he got 800M + 760CR + 750W. </p>
<p>My daughter had similar SATs that you did (770M + 700CR + 710W), was ranked at about the 70th percentile of her class (at TJ, 40% of the GPAs are above 4.0 - this is not a “typical” HS class) and applied to UVA, MIT, Va Tech, and two safety schools. No, she did not get into MIT. </p>
<p>Consider sitting with a counselor to whittle your applications down to about a half dozen. Are all 13 of those schools really that interesting? You have 4 schools listed that should be considered reaches for EVERYONE.</p>
<p>Regarding your SATs… People seem to think that getting a 780 is better than a 730 or that a 760 is better than 740 or 730, in some cases that is true, but those differences most normally boil down to only 1-3 or questions. Do you really think that Admissions Counselors who would have said no to your entire application (when considering ALL the great things about you), will say yes, because you were able to answer 1, 2 or 3 additional questions correctly?</p>
<p>Save your money and time.</p>
<p>For the SAT part, that makes sense, yes, thank you. But while I understand that Americans don’t apply to many schools (and generally don’t need to), for international students applying for aid, it will be imperative to apply to at least ten schools (you know, have to throw a wide net). Most colleges that are financially feasible due to their aid programs are generally top schools and good liberal arts colleges (even St Olaf and such are really really competitive for internationals seeking aid. In fact, there was this dude who got denied by DICKINSON but got into Swarthmore and Northwestern.) So yeah, I hope that helps you understand why I am applying to many schools. Fortunately, there are many schools in the US, so I can also pick schools based on how interesting they are as well.</p>
<p>(I do have safety schools though, so that’s not something to worry about; it’s just that I have, by the virtue of my international and financial status, NO MATCHES.)</p>
<p>I missed that. I do not know much about international students issues. But, I really don’t think a higher score is going to help that much. Again, we are talking the difference of 1-3 questions on each section.</p>