<p>ok so I took the January SAT and got 2290 - 760 math 760 CR 770 writing
I really really wanted to at least hit 2300
and get 800 in math</p>
<p>do you think I should retake it?</p>
<p>schools I'm considering - MIT, Johns Hopkins, U of M</p>
<p>oh and for the PSAT, I got 232 - 80 math, 74 CR 78 writing</p>
<p>That score is excellent so there's no need to take it again. But if you just wanted a higher score for the heck of it, then by all means, retake!</p>
<p>Retake it, especially if you're still a junior. </p>
<p>Adcoms always say SAT scores are fine, but the truth is they just want to discourage people from taking the tests over and over again. (Girl I know did that and went from 1200-1500 old SAT over the course of 5-6 tests or something.)</p>
<p>Taking it again won't hurt you at all, and when you get to a high level such as MIT, every little bit helps, especially since there'll be a pile of applicants who look exactly like you on paper, and anything you can do to raise yourself even a little bit above the pack will help.</p>
<p>Still, don't focus on SATs. They're really secondary for your scores, just take them for the hell of it again when you're a senior after you take SAT 2s. And if you get a lower score, you won't even need to report it.</p>
<p>If you know you can do better, go ahead and retake. But, that 2290 is a great 2290 because your scores aren't lopsided or anything, and everything is nice and even...so take that into consideration too.</p>
<p>yeah I was thinking that too...however for me my splits were 800/700/770 so I think I should retake for darn CR.</p>
<p>If you have only taken it once, I would say retake. If you have already taken it twice...I won't say don't retake it, but I would be less inclined to say retake in that case. I think that you would probably at least get a higher score on the math, because if you are just "on" for a particular math section, it is pretty easy to score higher, even if you scored highly in the first place. Of course, the risk is that you would go down in some or all of your sections, but that would only hurt you if you tanked one of your sections (dropped out of the 700's, in your case), and that seems pretty unlikely to me.</p>
<p>For the schools you're looking at, a 2290 is almost no different from a 2400 because they weight the SATs a lot less than say ECs or essays.</p>
<p>Actually, there's a heavy statistical correlation for MIT and JH between SATs and admission percentages, which doesn't usually happen for the other Ivy schools (The preferential admissions study, I don't have the link but I'm sure some of you have it. MIT was used as an example in it, but I think JH is sort of similar to it, so I think it'll work for JH as well).</p>
<p>It might just mean higher SAT scorers are more competitive overall with ECs and Grades etc, or it may not. For heavy sci schools though, I'd definitely retake SATs just to be sure. Also, a 2400 is different from a 2290. Every little bit helps, especially since I guarantee there'll be a flock of applicants just like you.</p>
<p>thanks everyone! I think I'll be retaking it in June... I know I can do better on math, I just need to make I don't make any stupid mistakes.. not a lot of people took the January one too, so maybe more will take it in June</p>
<p>I must agree with kamikazewave about the every-little-bit-counts part, hopefully taking it twice won't harm me :)</p>
<p>Cry me a river...</p>