<p>inb4 billionth time this question has been asked...</p>
<p>Well, I got my March SAT back a week ago. My score was 2330 (800CR, 750M, 780W). I was excited as hell.</p>
<p>My GC at school saw it and wanted to talk to me about it. I told him my big reach school would have to be MIT, and he just said to retake my SAT so that I could get a higher math.</p>
<p>I'd LOVE to get this damned standardized testing thing out of my head and focus on other things, and from what I've researched i should just put this aside, but his comment still is bugging me. </p>
<p>For MIT, an 800 math SATI won’t be an advantage for you over a 750. 50 points is within the range of a couple of stupid mistakes, so they don’t think it reflects differences in actual ability.</p>
<p>MIT will take your best score, so it’s up to you. I would concentrate on SATII’s before you even think about retaking the SATI, though.</p>
<p>I really don’t think it’s too big of a deal. If you wanna boost it or try to best it with an sat ii, go for it, but I wouldn’t worry too much. I think the other parts of the app are more important.</p>
<p>I might be in the minority, but I would definitely retake it if math is my strength and if getting a 800 isn’t too difficult. Colleges say that they have no preference between 800 and 750, but that’s a pretty big fat lie. I don’t want to go into it but there’s tons of data that support it.</p>
<p>^I think it is true for MIT and Caltech, though for Caltech you are really on the edge with a 750. </p>
<p>For other schools, they may care about small differences because they don’t care much at all about respectable performances on math contests like qualifying for the AIME.</p>
<p>For stats, it’s difficult to separate association from causality. </p>
<p>Regardless, though, the OP should not think about studying for another go at the SATI until he/she gets through the SATIIs.
However, a good performance on the math SATII does not really make up for the math SATI, since the curve is much more generous.</p>
<p>I got into both MIT and Caltech with a 760 on SAT I math (and an 800 on Math II). Please don’t retake it.</p>
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Um…no. An 800 won’t make your application, and a 750 won’t break it. If you get in, it won’t be because of your SAT score. If you get rejected, it also won’t be because of your SAT score. If the defining factor of your application is your SAT score, you’re doing it wrong.</p>
<p>Lidusha is a white, female, Russian immigrant, and as of a few years ago an American citizen. And <em>definitely</em> still would have gotten in even if she were male, if that’s what you’re thinking.</p>
<p>Caltech does not have affirmative action and it has stricter standards on its test scores than MIT, so lidusha’s admission to Caltech shows that a 760 on the math SATI is sufficient. Even at Caltech, they don’t think one or two stupid mistakes on a test mean anything important.</p>
<p>To be more competitive in math than what a 760-800 score demonstrates, then you should do well on the AMC, USAMO, and other math contests, do mathematics research, or do well in an advanced math class (beyond calculus.)</p>
<p>Wrong, wrong, wrong. MIT themselves says that they have an academic threshold which involves all stats. For them, a 2100 and a 2400 means you are academically qualified. Check the blogs.</p>
<p>It’s pretty naive to say that a 2100 and a 2400 are the same. While most applicants who may fall in that score range will be academically qualified, MIT is going to pick between two identical applicants with a higher score. Look at the admit rates here ([Admissions</a> Statistics | MIT Admissions](<a href=“http://mitadmissions.org/apply/process/stats]Admissions”>Admissions statistics | MIT Admissions)). The numbers don’t lie - it’s a significant advantage to have a 2250+.</p>
<p>I know this is trite, but correlation does not imply causation. Higher SAT scores correlate with other factor that are important for admissions.</p>
<p>And just for the record, there are Asian males that get accepted to MIT with SAT scores of less than 800 (internationals even).</p>
<p>@shravas Of course. But there’s no denying that even though getting a 2100 may place you in the “academically qualified” range for MIT, so many applicants are in this range. A higher score will boost your chances of admission, and saying that the SAT doesn’t matter beyond the 2100 mark is fairly naive (especially because the difference between a 2100 and a 2300+ is significant).</p>
<p>However, that being said, it’s not worth the effort to try to retake a 760+ in a particular area, as the difference between a 760 and an 800 is so so much smaller than the difference between 700 and 800. Though on subject tests, the “don’t retake” threshold is more like 770/780+, it really depends on the test.</p>
<p>MIT admissions officers state that they don’t differentiate between SAT scores of 700 and 800 on a section. I do not think they’re lying. I know Collegeboard says that the difference between scores of 700 and 800 are significant, but surprisingly enough, there’s more to college applications than SAT scores.</p>
<p>I do not know what MIT means precisely when it does not differentiate between 700 and 800. My view is that those two scores often represent a difference, but the skills required to succeed in serious analytical work are so different that a number of other factors can validate or invalidate the student’s potential regardless of whether the score was a 700 or an 800, particularly on the SAT I. </p>
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<p>Well, I think that’s slightly rigid. I definitely think on SAT II Math, it’s pretty easy to get an 800, but I’d say if you score 750+ on a subject test, it might not be worth it that much. I think people do better on the subject tests if their school curriculum was a little closer to the test or if they spent a little extra time with a prep book.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t retake your SAT I, OP. But that’s just one voice out there. I doubt it will make a difference in your ultimate result, and your score is very good. I was very against taking the SAT I more than once, because it’s boring. I think a 2400 is quite nifty, and I highly doubt I’d get one on any given sitting anyway, despite finding it reasonably easy to score high. It doesn’t matter ultimately. </p>
<p>If you got a 700 in math, I’d maybe retake it, because MIT isn’t the only school you’re applying to, and the odds of getting into MIT in any given year are slim for a vast majority of applicants, so you want to boost your chances at getting into some awesome school.</p>