Retaking the SAT

Test Preparation
1

<p>I'm going into senior year and got a 2280 (800 CR, 740 W, 11 E, 740 M) on the March SAT (my only time taking it). I know that this is a great score for any school and I am not at all upset with it. However, my PSAT (236) and practice test scores both made me think that I was going to get around a 2360 on the SAT, and looking at my online score report, on the test, I missed an "easy" question in both math and writing. Furthermore, something went terribly wrong with the "improving paragraphs" section in writing, because that's where I missed 3 writing questions! Between every PSAT and SAT practice test I have ever taken, I don't think I have ever missed ONE question in the improving paragraphs section, much less three!! And though I don't know <em>for sure</em> which questions I missed in math, discussion on CC after the test led me to believe that at least one of the two I had missed was because of a very stupid mistake. I wasn't originally planning to retake the SAT, and I wouldn't if I had a 4.0 GPA and great ECs. However, I am reconsidering now, as my GPA is a bit low and my ECs are very mediocre. </p>

<p>I'm just curious what would happen if my score went down. I don't think that this will happen because of the reasons I listed above, but would I be penalized by top schools (I'm looking at Chicago, Stanford, Brown, Duke, and Princeton) if my score went down a few points? If my CR somehow tanked and my other two sections went up, would they "superscore" it, or would they act like the worse test never happened?</p>

2

<p>Most schools allow you to choose which scores you want to send them, so if you end up doing worse then just don’t send the new scores. But I think you should be fine at those schools with a 2280 as long as you write solid essays. Some schools superscore and others don’t, so I would check the policy of each school you’re applying to.</p>

3

<p>It is not a surprise if you scored 80 points lower than expected, but I would not rely on the PSAT score as a prediction. You know the PSAT has less questions so there is a huge margin of error. If your practice scores are consistently higher than what you got, you may give it another try. However, it would be more important to get the other stuffs like SAT2 and essays ready. Don’t waste too much time just to get a slightly higher SAT score as you are already in the top 1%.</p>

4

<p>Ok, I was wondering about only sending some of the scores. I thought you had to send a full report for most top colleges? </p>

<p>Also, I’m definitely doing SAT subject tests before retaking the SAT. They are definitely a bigger priority since I haven’t done any yet. I’m looking at doing the subject tests in October, and then the SAT in November.</p>