<p>Daughter is a junior in HS looking to study premed/predentistry or possibly biomedical engineering. Just got her first SAT back - 780 CR, 800 W, 690 M. Really nice overall score, but the math is relatively lower. She was actually surprised at how high CR was and how low M was based on her practice tests.</p>
<p>She has not taken any math SAT Subject tests. Will a good score on the first math subject test compensate for her SAT I math score, or should she take the SAT I again? Her reach schools are Penn, WashU, Northwestern, Tufts, and her GPA correlates to her test scores.</p>
<p>If that’s her first SAT I, I would recommend taking it one more time and focus on the Math section. Most colleges super score anyway. Of course, there’s a danger of doing that, if her W and CR will dip by significant amount. </p>
<p>One way to look at it too is her M/CR is 1470. That’s a good score but if she’s aiming for merit scholarships, she needs 1500 and above.</p>
<p>One advice for her is to take the Math Subject Level II as soon as she’s done with Pre-Calc. My daughter took Pre-Calc as a sophomore and didn’t take MATH II until Senior (when she’s taking AP Calc BC) and she forgot some of the Pre-Calc materials.</p>
<p>pmagoo,
Your daughter has great scores for CR and W. Most colleges don’t really place any emphasis on the writing section, so I wouldn’t focus on that. The CR is the most difficult section to score really well on, so kudos to her. That said, the 690 is an “eh” score in terms of college admissions for a student thinking of entering a science field. With the list of reach schools you’ve given us, I think I would advise her to take the SAT one more time.</p>
<p>Is it possible that she just needs to review math as she might have forgotten some of the easier concepts which are on the test? Let her put her efforts into prepping for the math portion of the test, and as the previous poster said, the vast majority of the colleges will “superscore” and take her best individual scores from Cr and M and W and look at it that way.</p>
<p>As for the Math subject test, you haven’t told us which math course she is currently taking, but a strong math student should be taking the Math II subject exam at the end of Pre-Calc.</p>
<p>Did you check whether your D’s reach schools do Score Choice with the SAT? If they do, then there is no point in not retaking.</p>
<p>Also, if your D’s high school is not very strong, I would warn her not to assume that her precalculus class will adequately prepare her for the Math SAT II. My S made that assumption, to his regret, but then later he retook it after studying with prep books and did great.</p>
<p>As a general rule, you should never assume that any high school class provides good preparation for the corresponding SAT Subject Test.</p>
<p>Sometimes, the high school curriculum is designed with other things in mind – like state or county requirements. Some topics that are on the Subject Test may not even be covered. It’s good to ask the teacher or the guidance department, or to at least try some practice tests before taking the real thing.</p>
<p>I agree with the above: prep for the math section and retake. Take SATIIs also, and don’t assume that the material in the class will correspond to the test. The Princeton Review books include a review of the material on each test.</p>
<p>She should take the SAT1 again, and also prep for the math subject test. A good score on the subject test is independent of the SAT1. For what it’s worth my younger son did get into Tufts with a 690 Math and very high CR score, but he was not presenting himself as a math kid at all. If she’s in pre-calc now she should plan on taking Math2 at the end of the year (May or June). She could take either the Jan or March SAT1.</p>
<p>The curve on the math is difficult, my older son, the math guy, made a couple of careless mistakes every time and never did get the score he was a capable of. In contrast you can get quite a few wrong in the CR section and still get an 800.</p>
<p>My d got into Penn with lower than ideal math score - but she is an English major. She took the SAT1 three times to get that math score as high as it got. SAT2 scores compliment the SAT1 - they don’t replace them. After 3 tries we told her that was enough.</p>
<p>It depends on the high school. I went to a public high school that, at the time, sent about a third of graduates to four year schools (mostly state universities ranging from the flagship to the local less selective ones; all of which were significantly less selective than they are now) – in other words, a non-elite, but not bad, high school. But I got over 700 (800 in math level 2) in three Achievement Tests (as the SAT Subject Tests were called then) without any additional preparation beyond doing well in the high school courses.</p>
<p>Of course, if your high school is a poor quality one, where few graduates go to college and most who do need remedial courses or struggle academically, then you should be wary of the school’s course quality. But one does not need to be in an elite high school, or take the AP course, in order to do well in the SAT subject test.</p>
Actually, most scholarships require 1400.
However, since she’s only taken it once, she should try to take it one more time. Most colleges superscore anyway.</p>
<p>I had a similar experience. I got 700 or better in three Achievement Tests (800 in chemistry) without any additional preparation beyond doing well in the high school courses. I even managed a 700 in Spanish even though I had only completed level 3.</p>
<p>But that was then, and this is now. My kids went to far better schools than I did, but their high school curricula did not provide adequate preparation for certain Subject Tests, and the teachers openly admitted it.</p>
<p>I would take the SAT again, and concentrate on prepping for math. She may also want to take 2 subject tests, but my suggestion would be to take the SAT again first, and delay the subject tests until May or June. What math class is she taking now? Is she taking any classes this year that correspond to a subject test? e.g. AP US History corresponds to the US History subject test, Pre-Calc for Math Level 2 subject test. If so, best to take the subject test near the end of the school year.</p>
<p>Thanks to all for your insightful and helpful comments. I checked, and all of her reach schools super score, so it makes a lot of sense to retake with prep focus on math. We’ll be getting her answer book back in a few weeks, so we’ll know what happened in math. She’s scored higher than that in practice tests, and felt very confident about the math sections, so it could be a few careless mistakes in the free response section.</p>
<p>She is in precalc now, so the advice on the timing of the math level 2 test is great. She’ll definitely do a lot of practice test/book work for it. She is in a very competitive school, but we’ve learned (she has two older siblings) that working the book is key to doing well on any standardized test.</p>
<p>Thanks again for all of your help, and I’d be interested to hear any other comments.</p>
<p>I strongly advise to indeed retake the SAT, but with one caveat, namely to NOT rush into retaking it too soon. At it stands, the 690 Math score (which is not a meh score) could be improved with a bit of dedicated pratice. The score indicates that the student is able to answer most if not all the question, but that the novelty factor or the time management might have lowered the score. </p>
<p>Since there is little to no pressure, my recommendation would be to practice moderately but over an extended period. As an example, taking 1 or 2 sections per week (and even skipping some because of class work or exams) should work. During this period, monitor the tests (December to June) and attempt to get copies of the released tests. The summer would be the ideal time to “wrap” it up with an objective of taking the SAT again in October. The slow preparation and a “leisure” monitoring of recent questions should yield the best dividends, and not tax a junior who is close to be done with testing. </p>
<p>As far as the SAT Math Level II (Level I is the hardest of the whole bunch) it all hinges on how the student is mastering a graphical calculator (which many junior in advanced math end up accomplishing.) One handicap is that there aren’t as many official tests floating around, and that one might have to rely on the (usual awful) synthetic produced by charlatans and quick buck artists. The good news is that the curve is very forgiving. </p>
<p>PS For the pratice, stick to official tests that have been released by the College Board. Do not waste your time on the “junk” produced by Kaplan, PR, Barron’s, and especially clowns like Dr. Chung.</p>
<p>My vote: Retake the SAT in May, after practicing. Math II and a second Subject Test, if needed, in June. It’s preferable, IMO, to have all testing wrapped up junior year.</p>
<p>YDS, I also like the idea to have all the testing done before the end of the junior year. However, in this case, the applicant is very close, and is aiming at a better score on the math section. As it happens, lots of pressure mount after Easter, and the kids usually run out of time, especially if involved that AP boondoggle that afflicts most school. And then there are the ever so-important finals of the junior year. </p>
<p>If the student is indeed finished with all tests, safe and except one last shot at the SAT, you really have an entire summer and open dates in October (and November if needed.) Summer is the ideal time to focus on those applications, work the darn essays to death, and is not a bad time to leisurely (I like that word) getting your head into SAT mode. One can follow the various conversations, or follow the very best method which is to start TUTORING other kids who did not do as well. It is amazing how much one learns when he or she tries to teach peers! Worked for me!</p>
<p>PS For the record, and based on many, many cases, the “quick” retakes do not work very well. Quick retakes are taking the test again shortly after getting the scores and not having sufficient time to address the deficiencies slowly. I cannot stress enough how helpful it is to “monitor” the recent administrations. A fact that has not escaped the bandits in Asia! :)</p>
<p>Never a bad idea to “check” how one’s aptitudes correspond to a test. In theory, the Math part carries less weight than on the SAT. It also happens that the SAT guessing penalty created a lower score. The negative is that the ACT is less predictable than the SAT. For instance, the students reported that the latest ACT was a lot harder than expected. The negative is that the ACT score will not erase the 690 at most selective schools. </p>
<p>Some like the ACT; some do not care for it. I always found it to be an annoying and poorly structured test that lacked the integrity of the SAT. Of course, I am the same person who always found the SAT to NOT be tricky, despite that claim often made.</p>