<p>
[quote]
only reason to retake is if you're trying to go to MIT. I heard you must have an 800 math section.
[/quote]
No way....</p>
<p>If you know you can do better, retake!
Yes, there's no difference between 2330 and 2390 but there's a difference
in Acedemic Index or other 1~9 or 1~5 or 1~6 academic classifications.
Since the calculations are done by a set formula,
a 30 point increase: say 2330 to 2360 might put you into a different category.</p>
<p>For example, Academic Index (used prob. in Cornell and U Penn)
240 is the max score.
80 points for SAT I, 80 points for SAT II and 80 points for school rank/GPA.
Lets say you're about top5% out of 400. That gives you about a 75/80
Let's say you've got 750 750 750 SAT II. that gives you 75/80 for SAT II.
Then you've got the 2330 that gives you about 77.66667/80.
add those scores, what do you get? 227.6666667
This is an academic 8 my friend, and if you had only retaken and got an
academic 9, you could've ended up in one-reader accept file for the
academically stellar applicants. Then, with the academic 8, let's say you
end up in committee, people start to find faults in teacher recs, blah blah blah, boom waitlisted!!</p>
<p>This is an extreme case, and I may be exaggerating it a bit, but
why not retake? I think 2390 is different from 2330. Seriously.
My friend retook an 2320 and got a 2360. If you know you can do better,
prep and retake, of course the ideal would be taking it the first time and
getting a perfect score.</p>
<p>I'm only a student, but I've done extensive reading on admissions and applications. I've read all the "how to" books from barons, Mcgraw hill, and whatever, and read stuff by Admissions Officers, researchers, and private counselors. Lots of these books are only full of krap and ****,
but that's a conclusion I've got from the reading.</p>
<p>Personally, I wouldn't retake. I'd spend the time doing something else.</p>
<p>Academic Index does not exist</p>
<p>How can you be sure? I don't know, and I'm just quoting the book.
howEVER, I asked the Cornell admissions officer this year,
and her face got all uncomfortable and she said,
"we-ell, we have to compute the AI for every student to see how the standard deviation goes,,,,"</p>
<p>so I think it does exist, while also applied to most people.</p>