Retaking the SATs as a college student...

<p>I am not exactly sure about retaking the SATs as a college student, but you retake them through collegeboard and stuff again right? Wait, yes I am right. </p>

<p>Well, do you guys have any tips or ideas about retaking it? Chances? What I need to do before I transfer (hopefully) to Rice. </p>

<p>Thanks so much!</p>

<p>Once you've attended college, your academic performance in that environment becomes MUCH more important than the SATs. The SATs are used to help level the playing field for evaluating students coming out of a multitude of high schools across the nation. A student transferring from another college/university is evaluated based on that school's credentials/reputation and the academic performance demonstrated by the student in that environment.</p>

<p>Rather than re-taking your SATs, you need to focus on raising your college GPA as high as possible. Recommendations from professors wouldn't hurt either. Always remember, you're not a HS student any more.</p>

<p>Thanks! Did you go to Rice? </p>

<p>And is there any advice on transfering credits? Because I am not so sure about that and I really dont want to spend all four years at the school I am at now, even though I am going to on a five year BBA and CPA plan thing.</p>

<p>You SHOULD only retake the SAT I and SAT II test if your scores are below the university's average. In my case, I'm retaking the SAT because I scored very low on the test. In addition, I am planning to take the SAT II Math 2C so that my test credentials are in line with everything else in my application, as well as putting my High School past behind me becase I never had the chance to study well for the SAT as a HS student.</p>

<p>I am somewhat interested in Rice. Is it very competitive to get into, what do admission officers look at the most when applying to Rice (gpa, rank. SAT's). Is the Rice/Baylor program difficult to get into?</p>

<p>I honestly think that SAT can/is the most important. I've seen some many ppl with average GPA but really great SAT and they got in. But some ppl with super duper GPA but low/average SAT dont get it. I've only met two ppl that didnt reach the SAT ..thingy, for Rice and got in, but a lot of other factors played (race, family working there).</p>

<p>I am just worried about transfering, but I am not exactly sure how the credits work. And as for SATI and IIs, I dont think Rice looks at the SATII. But the SATII is still probably on record, I am not sure. =/</p>

<p>Yes, I went to Rice.</p>

<p>I suggest you call or e-mail the admissions office and ask about the transfer process and its application. They can tell you exactly what they'll want/need from you. All the transfer students I ever asked at Rice mentioned that they had to work to get a high GPA from their original institution; I don't recall them mentioning the SAT. SAT/ACTs are important for freshman applicants, no doubt -- and Rice DOES look at SAT IIs -- but I got the impression that the SAT I was less important as a transfer applicant.</p>

<p>But don't take my word for it -- I wasn't a transfer student. Call the admissions office.</p>

<p>
[quote]
Rice requires all undergraduate applicants to submit an SAT or ACT score. Rice does not require a minimum score on these tests. If a candidate submits both an SAT and an ACT score, the committee will consider the test score that best enhances the application. In 2004, the middle 50% of ttransfer students who enrolled at Rice scored between 1300 and 1440 on the SAT.

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<p>This is a good indicator of the SAT score one should have. Regarding the new SAT, I do not know the official policy. Perhaps adhering to the principle 'score as high as you possibly can' is sound advice; I know it worked for me!</p>

<p>Nspeds, you are at Rice?</p>

<p>No, but I was a transfer candidate in the previous year.</p>

<p>The excerpt provided was taken from Part I of this year's transfer application.</p>

<p>Oh, hey do you know where I can find legal texts or something in that nature? I wanna be a lawyer one day =].</p>

<p>To be honest, I really really do love Rice, but I am not sure if I want to go there anymore. I was rejected once, maybe it was a sign. But the school that I am going to is pretty good, it has this awesome plan that I can get two degress from and be a certifited CPA (if i pass the test)in four or five years. I dont think Rice will offer me that. And although Rice has a better name and could get me into a better law school, I really want those degrees. What do you sugguest Nspeds?</p>

<p>I doubt my college could get me into a really good law school. =/</p>

<p>If by 'really good law school', you mean Harvard, Yale, and Stanford, then yes, Rice will put you in a better position for admissions. But the foregoing claim is too simplistic; there are many factors that are involved in choosing a law school, such as what type of law one wishes to undertake and so forth. Ironically, for instance, there are persons for whom it would be better to choose Yale over Harvard! These are persons who do not wish to focus on practicing, but would rather work in legal academia. </p>

<p>Mathematically speaking, however, I am not sure if Rice would help significantly. Very few students have a 3.8+ GPA and score above a 175+ on LSAT, and given the admissions numbers for Top 5 law schools, their acceptance into one of them, provided that they are not convicted felons, can be assumed. In this case, what undergraduate school you come from will not help as much as, say, what major you choose. Typically, top law schools prefer intellectual majors to pre-professional and narrow majors.</p>

<p>Finally, though Rice will offer one better placement into top law schools, one should not submit an application by taking that solely into account. There are other factors, such as the strength of the undergraduate program you wish to undertake, the campus, community, and the overall undergraduate experience that should figure in your decision. Rice is not only a university, but an intellectual community, which does not focus primarily on professional goals, but rather on attaining intellectual satisfaction among like-minded peers (in my opinion). If your interests are purely professional, then perhaps Northwestern University, for example, would be a better fit.</p>

<p>"Typically, top law schools prefer intellectual majors to pre-professional and narrow majors."</p>

<p>so, as long as i have a good GPA and do good on my lsat, then it wont matter what college i went to right?? yay!</p>

<p>what can i do, as a freshman, to prepare myself for that test or for law school?</p>

<p>I don't know. When I went to law school, we had folks with all sorts of majors there, as well as some "non-traditional" students who had worked for years before deciding to go to law school. A good GPA from a decent school, good LSAT, good ECs & teacher recommendations, all the regular stuff are helpful.</p>

<p>Before worrying about any test, I'd advise you to consider volunteering and/or observing the courts, to see what goes on (it's really NOT like TV). Many folks like the TV glamour much more than the practice of law. Debating, speech, research & writing are all helpful skills in practicing law. You could take some of these as courses or do some as clubs. </p>

<p>Logic and math are part of the LSATs as well (or at least they were when I took them in the late 1970s)--you can look over the LSAT books (available at libraries & bookstores) to see what the tests look like & what subjects they cover. More importantly, logic is useful for most people's future lives & is strenghtened by math & science courses, as well as classes in logic (at least the university I attended taught a course in logic, which I enjoyed).
Time management & organization are life skills that you can learn now as you begin your college career & use for the rest of your life, including as a law student and in the working world, in any field or endeavor. Other skills you can start building that will be useful is learning to really listen to people (people skills are VITAL to success in law & most fields) and take good notes and be able to summarize important information succinctly.
HImom</p>

<p>
[quote]
I don't know. When I went to law school, we had folks with all sorts of majors there, as well as some "non-traditional" students who had worked for years before deciding to go to law school. A good GPA from a decent school, good LSAT, good ECs & teacher recommendations, all the regular stuff are helpful.

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</p>

<p>I did not mean to say that non-intellectual majors are automatically rejected; I just made the claim, which can be substantiated, that there is a preference for intellectual majors.</p>

<p>
[quote]
so, as long as i have a good GPA and do good on my lsat, then it wont matter what college i went to right?? yay!

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<p>Once again, it is mathematically probable that you will be admitted into a top five school. However, there are two caveats of which one should be aware:
1) Do not commit the gamblers' fallacy: what is probabilistically the case is not necessarily so in real life.
2) It is enormously difficult to attain both a high GPA and high LSAT.</p>

<p>
[quote]
1) Do not commit the gamblers' fallacy: what is probabilistically the case is not necessarily so in real life.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>For instance, if I decide to flip ten coins, that half of them will actually turn out heads is not necessarily the case.</p>

<p>Edit: Also, graduating out of any college will not suffice; the school must be reputable. By 'reputable', I do not mean 'Ivy League' or 'Top 25', but a school that is generally respected and recognized by others as good academic institutions. Doing community college is not sufficient (though a person at Harvard Law School informed me that they did matriculate a few community college students). From my perspective, you would want to leave the least amount of this process to chance, and try to control everything. Technically speaking, the less respected, the greater the risk.</p>

<p>Is applying to law school like applying to college? </p>

<p>And what does it mean when they say "liberal arts" college?</p>

<p>Also, even if I don't transfer to Rice, should I still take the SATs? I read somewhere that even grad school look at your SAT. =/</p>

<p>This thread has gone off topic, I believe. However, grad schools don't look at the SAT. You take another test called the Graduate Record Exam (GRE's). That is what they use to judge. </p>

<p>If you have more general questions, you'll probably get more answers by posting in one of the general forums.</p>

<p>Good luck in your applications.</p>