<p>I am going into my senior year this year. I took my first SAT in January and got a 1730, CR 600 M 620 W 510. I took my second one in June and got a 2050, CR 720 M 650 W 680. I am looking at schools like UC Davis, UC San Diego, UCLA, UW, and maybe Stanford (we'll see :D ). My GPA is 3.85 W I believe. My ECs are really good. I just want to know if I should retake the SAT in my senior year because I still want to take SAT II tests for Math II, Chemistry, and Physics. I plan on going into some engineering field and my math was kind of low. If I should retake my SAT should I do it in October and do the SAT II tests in November?</p>
<p>I think you should push your SAT to at least 2150 for UCLA and 2250 for Stanford.
Yes, SATI in October and SATII in November seems like a good plan</p>
<p>Before you sign up make sure you take official past tests or official practice tests to make sure you’ll score will increase first. Also, what’s your unweighted GPA because a 3.85 W is LOW for Stanford.</p>
<p>First off, congratulations on the increase second time around. A 320 point jump shows you were serious about studying and is impressive in and of itself.</p>
<p>I would say that a 2050 is on par or more impressive than a WGPA of 3.85, so I would not take it a third time. The general consensus is that GPA is more important that SATs, so I don’t think that if you got another 100 or even 150 points it would make up for the low unweighted GPA, which I’m assuming is around a 3.5-3.6.</p>
<p>If you happen to get 750+ on all your subject tests, I might change my recommendation because it could indicate that your GPA does not reflect your actual achievement in school. However if you are in the 700 range (especially math II), a 2150-2200 (which would be another impressive increase) is not going to make up for the low GPA on it’s own.</p>
<p>So I would actually recommend that you take subject tests in October, see how you do, and reassess the November SAT date. You may need to register for November SAT before you get subject scores back and just cancel if you decide not to take them again. Some schools will accept November SAT results even in ED/EA.</p>
<p>You should focus your studying on the Subject tests- if you get a very high Math II score it might make up for the Sat section score (just hopeful speculation here on my part).</p>
<p>But I would say honestly that you should not get your hopes up for Stanford and I would not waste an EA application there, unless you have some other hooks or a very specific reason for attending. The GPA is just too low.</p>
<p>Ormdad
I want to make sure I have a lot of time to study for the subject tests. That’s one of my reasons for wanting to take it in November. As far as my GPA, I plan on taking 3 APs in my senior year which should help a lot. There was a very limited amount of APs until this coming school year at my school. If it helps I took general chemistry l (1 semester) this summer at a local university (UH Manoa) and got A’s in my lecture and lab class. Does this change anything or do you still think I should follow your plan?</p>
<p>Unless you are super busy this summer, I think you should be studying for the subject tests this summer. It will be more difficult to study for them when school starts. An A in a summer school class is great but does not materially change your applicant profile I think.</p>
<p>You will need two subject tests- Stanford says they are “recommended” but I think with your GPA you need to prove to them that you have acquired and retained some knowledge from High School. The SAT does not really show this, it just proves that you have learned how to take the test.</p>
<p>It is the middle of July. You shouldn’t need 3 1/2 months to study for the subject tests. Better to focus in August and September and take them in October.</p>
<p>Are you planning on applying early anywhere? You’ll need those subject test scores by November 1. Stanford in particular is clear that they do not promise to review any scores that arrive after the deadline.</p>
<p>But it’s just free advice, take it or leave it. You can repost this question in the Stanford forum or in this forum in a couple weeks to see if you get any more responses.</p>
<p>Ormdad
I did not really intend on applying early anywhere yet. Stanford is more of a reach. I will be perfectly content to get into a school like UC Davis. Thanks for the advice. I think I’ll just take the SAT II test in October like you said.</p>
<p>I agree, don’t waste your early option on Stanford, you are not really competitive with your current stats unless you have a strong hook (your geographic diversity is probably a weak hook). Upping your SAT so much is very impressive - great job! If you think you can raise it more, go for it, but if you have maxed out, that would be very understandable. I’m not sure if any schools on your list other than Stanford require SAT subject tests, but if they do, definitely make that a priority. I think you stand a very good chance at the other schools on your list, although UCLA and UCSD will probably be reaches. </p>
<p>@WKN9170, UCLA Engineering says:</p>
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<p>So I would focus on those subject tests in October. If you do well enough (750+) I think they could put you more in UCLA range, albeit still a low reach.</p>