Should I retake a 790 on math 2? My other stats are solid enough to put me in decent reach for CMU.
The difference between a 790 and an 800 is statistically insignificant IMO. Even if you were to retake and get an 800, this could hurt you, as some of these colleges that evaluate holistically, like CMU, may wonder if there is more to you than a test taking drone who has nothing better to do on a Saturday.
Move on. Do not retake. Spend the time finetuning your essays, which will help you more than a 10 point bump on a subject test.
thanks @skieurope
bump for any other suggestions?
I agree with @skieurope : don’t retake. There is almost no difference between a 790 and an 800.
I agree as well, don’t retake. Essays are way more important.
Plus why do you assume you would go up the 10 points you need, when you could just as easily go down 10 points?
Don’t bother. You aren’t a drone for taking a subject test twice, but someone might question your judgement for thinking a 790 wasn’t good enough. My younger son got a 790 on US History, a 720 in Bio (E) and a 600 on Math 2. Since he was applying to some schools that required 3 subject tests he decided to substitue the Math with Lit. and he figured as long as he was taking tests on a Saturday morning he might as well retake the other two and he figured he’d see if he’d do better in the M version of Bio. Wouldn’t you know it, he got exactly the same scores in US history and biology though thankfully his Lit score was much better than the math.
You’ll be fine for CMU. Essays and whatever accomplishments you can rack up will matter much more to CMU.