<p>I am not really sure what to do right now in terms or retaking tests.</p>
<p>I got a 2110 SAT (660 CR, 760 M, 690 W) and a 32 ACT (28 E, 31 M, 34 R, 33 S) and I got a 720 on the Math II Subject Test. I am planning on retaking Math II and taking Physics and possibly German for subject tests.</p>
<p>Should I retake the SAT or ACT? I was thinking ACT since it should be easier to study Math and English rather than the Critical Reading on the SAT which gives me trouble, but I'm not sure if that's the right choice. Thanks in advance for the help.</p>
<p>If it helps, I am a junior in HS and will likely be applying to most, if not all of the following schools:</p>
<p>UC-Berkeley
UCLA
UCSD
University of Southern California
University of Texas-Austin
Carnegie Mellon University
Johns Hopkins University
University of Maryland-College Park
Lehigh University</p>
<p>*I am from NJ so all public schools will be OOS :(</p>
<p>Nice scores! :)</p>
<p>Retake the SAT. Use a score equivalent chart and you’ll see that your ACT is a bit higher. </p>
<p>However, you might want to retake the ACT (since it would be the easiest to improve; since the sections you did the most poorly on are easiest to practice and prepare for). </p>
<p>Just my two cents. ;)</p>
<p>I think you should retake both. You will want higher scores if you are applying to CMU and Johns Hopkins and UC Berkeley.</p>
<p>@Counttheshadows</p>
<p>That’s what I was thinking. I was surprised that I did worse on English and Math and I know that I can improve upon those.</p>
<p>@cortana431</p>
<p>I know that the three are definitely reaches. The main reason I am applying to CMU is because I am a legacy applicant (dad went there). For JHU I have 2 aunts and an uncle who went there for undergrad, plus an uncle who went undergrad and for medical school. Berkeley I know will be hard since OOS is very competitive, but I have read a lot of things that said that OOS is becoming easier every year (and recently even easier than in-state) because of cut state funding.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice guys! I really appreciate your help since I feel really lost in this whole process as I am the eldest child so my family doesn’t have experience with this stuff yet.</p>
<p>I will probably take the ACT in June and SAT next October (unless I somehow get a 34 or higher on the ACT). Thanks again.</p>
<p>Can anybody else help me out?</p>
<p>I would retake the ACT or SAT but not SAT subject test.</p>
<p>UC Berkeley is getting easier? Are you sure? I would imagine it is actually getting more competitive because less funding means less students Berkeley can afford to have (correct me if I am wrong).</p>
<p>You should be set for CMU since your dad is a legacy and I don’t know if JHU considers aunts and uncles for legacy applicants; I know some universities only consider parents and siblings. If you retake the SAT, I highly recommend taking the October one; the curve is notoriously generous for CR and it’s not even that much more difficult. The september ACT is good too IMO. I went from a 32 to 35 ACT from the april to september test and a 2000 to 2260 SAT from the May to October test. Use the time in between to read as much as you can, preferably 19th century, early 20th century novels. It will really boost your reading comprehension and reading speed.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice cortana.</p>
<p>I had the same initial thought when first considering UC-Berkeley, but I recently read quite a few contradictory things. On the Berkeley website itself, it stated that out-of-state admissions would be on the rise as the state funding is not currently keeping up with financial necessity, so they need more students who pay more. This was also verified by other UC sources and news reports. I am very fortunate in that my family can afford a very large amount of college costs because of diligent saving over many years, however it is not enough to cover the full cost so any financial aid would be nice. Nevertheless, I hope that this trend will give me a boost in chances of admission since California is currently where I would like to go to college.</p>
<p>As for JHU, I also thought that the relationship with them might not be too effective, but if you think about it, my family has contributed somewhere around $1 million to the university through tuition, room and board, and donations for 4 people (plus 1 for medical school). In addition, one uncle knows an admissions officer, so that can’t hurt :)</p>
<p>I am definitely planning on taking the October SAT as you recommend and I am still thinking about September ACT since taking AP tests and Subject tests (and finals) in addition to an ACT in the last month of junior year could be overwhelming.</p>
<p>Thanks again for all of your help!</p>
<p>What did you get on the ACT essay? UC schools use the writing part of the ACT as 1/3rd of the score and the composite as 2/3rds.</p>
<p>I got a 10 on my ACT essay and a 9 on my SAT essay.</p>
<p>I mean what’s your combined ACT english and writing score. UC schools combine the composite calculated out of 1600 and add your writing score converted to out of 800.</p>
<p>[The</a> ACT | ACT-SAT Concordance | ACT](<a href=“http://www.act.org/aap/concordance/]The”>The ACT Test for Students | ACT)</p>
<p>It’s a 28. I’m hoping to improve this when I retake the test.</p>