<p>I have two questions regarding the SAT tests, but since I am an international student I chose to ask them here:</p>
<p>1.Do US universities consider the best SAT I composite score of an applicant (best math score and best writing score) or the best score from one sitting?</p>
<p>2.How important are SAT II tests if I am an international student requesting financial aid? Are scores of about 700 in Writing and MathIIC good enough?</p>
<p>P.S. The universities I'm applying to are: Amherst, Bowdoin, Carleton, Colgate, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, MIT, Middlebury, Princeton, Swarthmore, U Chicago, U Pennsylvania, Williams, Yale.</p>
<p>Please answer my questions. Thank you for your time.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>It depends on the university. I know that most of them take your composite score, but there are exceptions so you should check with each university. </p></li>
<li><p>I find it hard to answer this question. Some would say that SAT IIs do not count as much as the SAT I, while others would argue that SAT IIs are of great help. I know that many colleges use them for placement and as a measurement of your skills and knowledge. I was told that any score above 700 is considered a satisfactory score, so don't worry. And yet, I know of people who did not take any SAT subject tests and still got full rides, so it depends.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>By the way, I am also applying to some of the schools you mentioned and I request full financial assistance. Good luck!</p>
<p>I was curious about the SAT II tests because I just took the Writing test yesterday and I'm not so satisfied with my essay.
Did you take any SAT II test? If yes, which one(s)? How about the SAT I test? I consider it more important than the subject tests? I know that the SATI measures your reasoning ability, while the SATII your knowledge of a certain subject, but which is more important?</p>
<p>I'd advise you not to make any conclusions about your performance on the Writing test. When I took SAT II Writing last month, I was very disappointed and thought I had done awful, but eventually it turned out that I received a satisfactory score. I have 710 Writing, 1450 SAT I (750 Verbal, 700 Math). I guess that since the SAT I is required of most colleges, they give more weight to it than to the SAT IIs, but again don't count on this.</p>
<p>Yes we are neighbours. We're probably the same for the admissions staff because I don't think they know much about either Romania or Bulgaria. As for financial aid, I need as much as I can get, so I'm requesting full financial assistance. How about you?
Which universities are you applying to?</p>
<p>By the way, which other SAT II's did you take besides Writing? I took 3 SAT II's yesterday and the SAT I in october (Verbal 720, Math 650 -> I don't know why the math score is so low. I was expecting 750 or more, the usual score I got when practicing. Anyway, I'm taking the SAT I again in december.)</p>
<p>Alex, I am certain that the admissions officers can differentiate between Bulgaria and Romania:) Though you are right that we both fall into the group of Eastern Europeans.
As for SAT IIs, I took Math IC, but I don't expect a very high score. Therefore, I might retake. Your score is fine as it is, and I am positive you can work on the math till December. You have chosen very great schools to apply to and all of them are very generous towards intl students. So good luck:)</p>
<p>I didn't mean to be so harsh on admissions officers. I'm sure they know enough about Romania and Bulgaria because they probably get applications from Eastern European students every year. Let's just hope that we'll be among those who get accepted this year. With financial aid.</p>
<p>Thanks, Alex. Though I am not quite optimistic, hope is all I have left right now:) Besides, I can always retake.
As for our chances for admissions, I know that nothing is certain. You seem like a very qualified applicant to me, and I will be glad to see you attend one of the wonderful schools at which you aim. By the way, I would encourage you to have a safety school in mind. You never know what might happen..</p>
<p>Why are you so pessimistic? You have a very good score. Your score is better than mine and, from this point of view, if Im a very qualified applicant then you are more qualified. But I understand you very well. Sometimes, actually very often, I feel that I have no chance and I might not get accepted by any of the universities Im applying to. Its probably just part of the application process, but its still very frustrating. </p>
<p>We, international students requesting full financial aid, are in a very weird situation: On one hand, there are the prestigious universities like Harvard, Yale, Princeton, etc. which are need-blind to internationals, but also extremely selective. On the other hand, universities that are a bit less selective arent need-blind to international students, so the competition for the limited funds is very keen.</p>
<p>Which university would you recommend as a safety? Im also going to apply to some Romanian universities, but they arent really safeties.</p>
<p>I agree that nothing is certain, but this shouldnt stop you from doing the best you can. Admission is indeed a random process to some extent, but we should use this to our advantage. If we manage to present ourselves in a convincing manner, Im sure it would give us an advantage over some applicants who might have better score results. Dont forget that the application procedure consists of many parts, not just the SAT scores.</p>
<p>Do you know anything about AUBG (American University in Bulgaria)? I realize it is not comparable to the prestigios schools of the Ivy League, but it gives substantial amounts of financial aid and follows the american standard of education. Perhaps, AUBG is not exactly what you are looking for, but it is still an option. </p>
<p>International admission is still a puzzle to me. I know some students with perfect applications who got rejected, and others with mediocre stats who got in. Of course, I agree with you, that this should not discourage us from giving our best and striving to achieve our goals. </p>
<p>As for frustration, I try not to stress out, though it is really hard to be serene at such times. I take this whole admissions process as a test for myself - If I am good enough, I'll get in; otherwise, I'll keep on trying. I wholeheartedly agree with another statement of yours - that being internationals and requesting fin aid puts us in a very unfavorable position. By the way, this is one of the reasons why looking for safeties is almost impossible in our case, because safeties have to be easier to get into, but the less selective schools do not give full fin aid, so we still have to accept the truth that safeties are hard to reach. I mentioned AUBG, just in case you cannot attend a us university, and you do not want to waste a whole year, but it still isn't a us safety.</p>
<p>Sorry for not answering sooner. I am really busy with school, tests, essays and others. I don't have much more time and I should send my applications. I just got my SATII scores and I must say I'm very disappointed. I got 720(MathIIC), 600(Writing) and 790(German w. Listening). I wasn't expecting such a low writing score but it's probably because of the essay. Right now it seems like I don't have any chance at the very selective colleges I'm applying to. Do you think I have any chance with such a low writing score? I will try to substantially improve both my verbal score (720) and my math score (650) on the SATI but it's impossible for me to take the SATII's again in January because of the deadlines imposed by most colleges.</p>
<p>How do you feel about the required essays? I find it very hard to find a subject to write about, now even more because with such mediocre SATII scores I have to impress them with my essays.</p>
<p>As for where I live, the city is called Sibiu and it's right in the middle of the country (in Transylvania).</p>
<p>Goodbye for now.</p>
<p>P.S. How did you do on the november test(s)?</p>