Rising senior: are September ACT and October SAT a bad strategy?

Ok here’s the deal. I have taken both the SAT and ACT before and I got a 1530 and 34 respectively: I know they are objectively very good scores but I know I can improve. The problem is that the only remaining test dates that I can possibly take them again are September for the ACT and October for the SAT. Right now I am signed up for both because I want to maximize my chances to possibly get a 35/1550+. Is this a bad strategy. I can’t do the July ACT (out of town) and am taking sat 2s in August. So these are the only workable dates. Is this a bad strategy? Should I just bite the bullet and submit my 1530 (again, I know this is a very good score. Plz don’t take this as me being condescending) I am applying to ivies, namely Brown, Dartmouth and Yale and am planning on EDing to Penn if that is any help

Your 1530 is excellent. I think you would be better off spending the time on your applications and not studying for additional standardized tests. Good luck.

You have already signed up for both tests, so you have already paid to take them. Your scores are great, so either skip the Fall tests and submit the scores you already have or spend 2 Saturdays taking tests to see if you can improve. Remember that your test scores are only part of the application. I’m assuming your grades/rigor and ECs are excellent as well. ED is a good plan, but these are all lottery schools.

I don’t think going from a 1530 to a 1550 is going to make any difference. As previously mentioned, I’d spend the time perfecting your applications.

Think about the opportunity costs. Is there anything you can do in your school clubs or academically that would improve your application more? Are you taking difficult classes this coming fall (you should be if you’re going for top colleges). The time you spend studying for a marginal improvement on the SAT and ACT could possibly be spent in better ways.

Since you’ve signed up and paid you could go ahead and take them, but if the test date approaches and you discover you have a major assignment due or an opportunity to enter and win a contest, don’t feel bad for opting to skip the test.

Note that ED to Penn favors legacy and other hooked applicants. Are you legacy at Penn? Do you have some other hooks like recruited sports etc. ? From your screen name, I do not think you are URM. Low income or first gen? If you are an “average, excellent” , unhooked, upper middle class student, you may need to expand your list for ED options.
Here’s a link to an article for ED . Note that 25% of Penn’s early admits were legacy.
http://www.thedp.com/article/2017/12/early-decision-ivy-league-philadelphia-upenn-admissions-legacy

Nope, I’m an unhooked Asian male. By expand my list for ED options, do you mean not apply to Penn ED even though it’s my number 1?

@vivekkp I think you should look another universities as well and then decide if Penn ED is right for you. Does your school have Naviance? Do you have someone guiding you through the process? In the link I shared earlier, Penn has 25% legacy and another 11% first gen in ED admits. These two groups,are mutually exclusive by definition, and so 36% of spots are already filled by criteria you don’t even qualify for. Add in the recruited athletes, and you portion of the pie is shrinking some more.

Someone else already mentioned your list has too many reaches. You need to have a range of universities to apply to, unless your strategy is just the Ivies plus your state flagship as safety. High probability you will be at your state flagship if that’s the case. That’s fine, as long as you are aware of it.

ED to your first choice as long as you can afford it, you are qualified to attend Penn, ED will be your best chance.

Also, in case you aren’t aware of the new 2018 concordance table, 35 corresponds to 1530-1560 (though how any college will use these tables is anyone’s guess and it’s best to consult each school’s class of 2022 profile when it is posted in the early fall).

There’s no difference between 1530 and 1550.
You may even be better off taking different subject tests in October + the one you scored below 750 on from August. In particular, make sure one of your tests is in Humanities or history.
Applying Ed to Penn makes sense of TS your first choice. The rest of your list, in particular your matches (acceptance rate 25-35%) and safeties (State flagship honors + at least one more), matter much more.
What’s your current list?

I am taking math 2 again in august, which i got a 770 on in may. I took lit in june, and havent received my score, but I dont think I did too well, so am planning to retake it in august too. I took physics last year and did very well, so am planning on taking that in august as well. I am applying as a humanities major but the lit subject test is the only one I feel I can do well on considering my school doesnt have APUSH or AP World and I only took U.S history in 9th grade.

If you’re applying as a Humanities major, you should have English Literature and either history or foreign language. You don’t need an AP class to take the subject test - have you taken regular or honors global history?

nope, neither. I don’t think I’m going to be able to take another subject test outside of the three Ive signed up for. I’ve already been studying very hard for all three and I don’t want that to go to waste. My ECs are very humanities oriented thoguh, so I dont see that being too great of an issue.