<p>So in march I got a 2220 on my SAT.
800 M, 710 C, 710 W</p>
<p>I plan to apply to schools like stanford, cornell, rice.
I've got pretty strong ECs/essays/recs but I'm concerned that perhaps improving my score will give me that extra push.</p>
<p>So the way I see it:
Pros of retaking
-chance to improve scores
-chance to improve essay which apparently is read during admissions process</p>
<p>Cons of retaking
-not improving, this probably looks WORSE on the app than 1 sitting does.
-improving, but only by like a negligible 40 points.
-improving C+W then making a stupid mistake on math and blowing it lol cuz the schools i'm applying to dont superscore
-the stress of studying for the SAT again
-takes away time from studying for classes+doing college apps</p>
<p>Stanford is my dream school. Its range is 2010-2300. I am an Asian male so I'm guessing that it's best that I'm on the very high end of that range. </p>
<p>Do the pros outweigh the cons? Is getting that higher SAT score REALLY pivotal? Is my current one too low for stanford?</p>
<p>It looks like you’ve thought it through pretty well.</p>
<p>There’s a thread on here started by an MIT admissions officer, which sort of suggests that as long as all your scores are 700 or over, it won’t help much to take it over. (At least that’s my memory) … you should look at the thread. </p>
<p>IMO, there’s an certain elegance to an 800 on a single sitting. If the schools you’re looking at don’t superscore, then you will only get a marginal gain.</p>
<p>On the other hand, if they do superscore, and if you believe that they only look at the highest real section, there’s no real down side.</p>
<p>I remember when my eldest child was applying. At the tours, I spoke with admissions officers at the schools she was applying to, and was basically told that a retake wouldn’t make any difference based on her scores. If Stanford is your dream school, can you call them and ask this question?</p>
<p>The other possibility for you is to take the ACT. If it’s equivalent to or better than your SAT, send it in. If not, don’t.</p>
<p>I just took a discover stanford program over there during the summer. Personally, I feel your SAT is fine, and once you are over 2200, standardized test scores will not boost your application that much. You should simply focus on your essay and make sure it is best as possibly can be. At the tour, the admission reps said the students at Stanford are passionate about everything they do, and it should be clearly represented by the essay. They said if you were to drop you essay and middle of the hallway and cross your name out, the person who picks it up should immediately know the essay is about you and only YOU</p>
<p>Thank you guys so much for your reply. I’m new to CC and I’m shocked at the helpfulness of the community. </p>
<p>I will definitely check out the MIT thread thank you Zepher</p>
<p>I’ve pretty much decided that I will NOT be retaking it and just go with my current score. I think it really does make sense that even the best colleges will accept 700+ scores because the SAT has so much flux. I don’t know how many times you guys have taken the SAT but something like finding a single reading passage really difficult/boring can drop you to 700 or even below. And at times, making a stupid mistake that we all eventually do in math can drop you from 800 to 760. I believe that colleges understand this flux, and thus the 700+ rule.</p>
<p>I’ll spend my time revising my essays. Again thank you all.</p>