<p>To dave confusion...I've started another thread with this question...it was getting confusing having responses to two different sets of scores...two different reasons. Sorry.</p>
<p>Anybody have an opinion about SAT retakes for these scores:</p>
<p>CR 760
Math 720
Writing 790</p>
<p>Aiming for places like Cornell, W and M, U Chicago, UVA...maybe someplace like Davidson.</p>
<p>Probably looking into political science...definitely not engineering or a hard math field.</p>
<p>I see no great need to retake them. On the other hand, if you want to, there’s no harm in it, either. Most colleges superscore (take the best individual scores from multiple sittings), so you have nothing to lose.</p>
<p>I dont think it is necessary to retake–I think the effort would be better spent in making sure grades are really high–UVa and W and M for example are going to care a lot about class rank. Davidson focuses somewhat less on test scores than other schools of its caliber do, and those scores should be fine–would also think the whole package would be more important at Chicago. In short, as long as everything is above the “magic 7” as my children’s counselors used to call it–and it is–application should get the proper respect.</p>
<p>Nope, they look fine.</p>
<p>I hate these threads…</p>
<p>My D would love those scores lol…based on the materials she got from Davidson recently, you are safe in the middle 50% for there, can’t tell you about the other places though…good luck!</p>
<p>I think the student’s time time could be better spent on the other elements of the application - SAT II’s, grades, EC’s, time for thought on essays, time for thought about life, even. Grades will be very important at the VA schools, essays at Chicago.</p>
<p>There is only so time to do everything. Unless there is a scholarship that needs a 1500 … it is a real blessing to be done with the miserable SAT’s early.</p>
<p>thumper,
DS2 (currently a soph) is looking at polisci/history and that range of selectivity in schools…I would be thrilled with those scores. My son doesn’t love math, either, but is competent at it. I feel confident that DS2’s verbal scores will be very good (gotta love that IB), and 700+ on math will earn him a nice big steak. ;)</p>
<p>Make those Chicago essays sing, if that is a top choice. Work on putting together a great activities resume – not necessarily one that has one activity from each of a menu of categories, but one that speaks to your S/D’s interests and passions. DS1 went through almost as many versions of the activity resume as his essays. In the end, I think the resume really reinforced his essays – it was a good use of words and actions.</p>
<p>I don’t think the argument of “you can spend the precious time on other things” is a very good one, but it keeps turning up. For the kids I know who score 2300+ on the SAT, prep is NOT a big deal, only a couple hours scattered here and there and that Saturday morning. It’s NOT going to be directly cutting into anything except for a maybe a few hours of TV time. Jeez… let them be a bit perfectionistic if they want… this is a fairly harmless thing to be a perfectionist about, especially if this is their first test. For some kids the ‘amazing’ 2300+ score is underperforming.</p>
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<p>If they are scoring 2300+ in the first place, they <em>definitely</em> don’t need the retake. It makes them look like ridiculous point grubbers.</p>
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<p>Not really. It might not be a perfect score, but if they are capable of getting perfect scores then 2300+ is in the expected range. And it’s not going to keep them out of anywhere.</p>
<p>Getting a higher score than you have now will not get you into schools that will reject you with your current scores. Your scores are high enough for any school, now it is the rest of the application that counts.</p>
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<p>or statistically the same as a perfect score</p>
<p>… any given test.</p>
<p>No need to re-take.</p>
<p>2310 on the SAT1 and don’t know what to do? </p>
<p>One option for you perfectionists is to take it again and try to increase your score. This is what people motivated by a competitive spirit with time and money to burn would do.</p>
<p>A more challenging (and more liberating) option is to see if you can purposely score in the bottom 1 percentile, as Colin Fahey did. It’s not as easy as you might think:</p>
<p>[WWW.COLINFAHEY.COM</a> : Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) : Answering All Questions Incorrectly!](<a href=“http://colinfahey.com/oldpages/2003apr5_sat/original_2003apr5_sat.htm]WWW.COLINFAHEY.COM”>http://colinfahey.com/oldpages/2003apr5_sat/original_2003apr5_sat.htm)</p>
<p>Actually, in addition to a good laugh you’ll find a lot of useful info about the old 2-part SAT1, some of it still applicable today.</p>
<p>I wonder what percentile you’d fall under if you left every answer blank.</p>
<p>Your scores would be canceled.</p>
<p>I agree with nngmm. Time to focus on the rest of the application. And to look for a great “safety” option, as I don’t think any of those you listed would be really safe for anyone.</p>
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<p>But the admit rates for perfect or near perfect are not the same as for 2300+. If scoring 2300+ means you’re capable of getting perfect why not at least give it a second try? In today’s college application world every little thing matters. That’s why you edit and re-edit your essays even though statistically it probably won’t make that big of a difference.</p>
<p>The admit rates for the perfect scorers are higher because those are also the kids that win national math competitions, get Intel awards, are nationally rated debaters, published authors, etc. If scores alone made such a difference, all perfect scorers would have gotten in everywhere, but most top schools (HYPMS) reject over half of them. Just go to those forums and look at SCEA results - above 2200 or so the scores seem to have no effect on admissions decisions (all the adcoms also tell that to students at info sessions, but some choose not to believe it - and then you see all the whining “It’s not fair, my scores were better, why didn’t I get in”)</p>
<p>Right, nngmm. When my son got near-perfect scores the first time out, we told him he was home free in that department. I think it was a much better use of his time and energy to write and direct a play, to put extra effort into his school work, to write poetry and perform it slams or just enjoy another Pynchon or Nabokov novel. Heck, I think sociallizing with his friends was a better use of time than cramming for a re-take.</p>