<p>hello, i have a few questions regarding the SAT retake process</p>
<p>so i scored a 34 on the ACT (w/o writing) and a score in the 2200-2250 range on the SAT in highschool. i am planning to apply to schools that are strong in my major, and these includes schools like uchicago, penn, cornell, duke etc... which have high averages for standardized test scores</p>
<p>this may sound insane, but im not really happy with the scores i received. for a lot of the schools i am looking at, my scores are in the 25th-75th percentiles; for the "best" schools they are around the average for incoming freshman. i want the strongest application possible and want to stand out to people viewing my application, and i think i can score much higher on the SAT if i retake it, maybe in the range of 2350+, which would be a pretty good increase. i also have a kinda weak HS record in terms of GPA, with an unweighted GPA ~3.5, and im hoping high test scores can somewhat negate it. i don't want any part of my application holding me back, and i would like to improve any part of my app that I can to the fullest</p>
<p>so here are some of my questions</p>
<ol>
<li><p>if i think i can score a hundred or so points higher than my current score, to 2350+, should i retake the SAT? ideally, i would like to have a perfect score. I would use the time during my college's winter break to study, and take it in january, so I wouldn't exactly be distracted from my college studies and wouldn't lose anything from a retake</p></li>
<li><p>if i did retake it, and scored significantly higher, should i also submit my SAT/ACT scores from highschool to show that i did not do terribly on it the first time? i realize that taking the SAT in college may be seen as having an advantage, and admissions committees may suspect that the reason I retook it was because I did badly the first time, so I would like to dispel that notion</p></li>
<li><p>even though I took the ACT w/o writing, which is not accepted by most institutions on its own, should I send it as a "supplement" to my SAT scores, or would it be completely disregarded because it was without writing?</p></li>
<li><p>how do transfer admissions committees view retaking standardized tests in college? i know that some schools, like NYU, don't allow it. but for the ones that do, is it seen as a postive thing? is it even more necessary since i am coming from a not very well known state university?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Q1: You should definitely retake the SAT if you know for sure that you would score higher!!! It can be viewed as a big plus by many colleges.</p>
<p>Q2: You don’t need to send them your old SAT scores if they don’t ask for it. SAT score choice is a great tool to use. But schools like UPenn and Columbia require you to send them all. All these colleges want is your stellar SAT score. In this way, they could claim how smart their potential student pool is.</p>
<p>Q3: It’s up to you. If you feel like to send your ACT score, then go ahead. If I were you, I would do though. Since your old ACT score is 34, not a 35 or 36. If you could get a 35 or 36 on your ACT, then you should send your ACT score to these schools too.</p>
<p>Q4: Definitely a positive thing. I have mentioned here before. They want your great SAT score to show off!</p>
<p>I disagree with Jack. The SAT is a college prep test; it’s used to see how well you would do in college (how effective it is is another story). You’ve already taken college courses. This means that even if you do well, it doesn’t mean as much as if a freshman applicant got the same score, because you’ve had additional material/preparation. If anything, I think they would expect you to do better. But since the purpose is to see how you will perform in college, your actual grades will mean much more.</p>
<p>Send your high school scores, don’t bother spending the time and money to retake the tests, and show that you belong to be there with concrete evidence - with grades and killer essays.</p>
<p>I think Jack and the OP are mistaken on several things. </p>
<p>Firstly, I think most people would reject the premise that anyone will certainly score higher on a future administration of the SAT, let alone by 100 points. </p>
<p>Secondly, schools like Penn and Columbia want much more than just a stellar SAT score. Sophomore transfers to top schools are expected to have high school transcripts that mirror those of matriculating freshman - the presumption is that successful sophomore transfers are those who would have gotten in as freshmen had they applied. Consequently, I don’t see a great SAT mitigating a weak or mediocre high school transcript if you’re a sophomore transfer. (And if you’re a junior transfer, your SATs will be even less important.) I would look at a high SAT score as a generally necessary, but not sufficient condition for admission.</p>
<p>Finally, your score is very much in the ballpark for top schools. You are literally talking about going up by less than one percentile point (assuming that you are able to improve your already very competitive score), which, IMO, doesn’t justify the amount of work you’d need to put into test prep that is better spent on your current classes/transfer applications, but it’s really your call.</p>
<p>alright, so your positive that i shouldn’t retake it? again, i feel like i wouldn’t be missing out on anything or compromising my college work, because i would be studying during winter break, and a higher score can only help, right?</p>
<p>i also very briefly spoke to a brown admissions officer involved with transfers at the university today. i asked him about retaking the SAT/ACT (i didn’t tell him my scores), and he said it’s really not necessary and the scores aren’t really important, as they look at primarily your college GPA/coursework. so i guess you may have a point</p>