Do you think if someone tops let’s say 2250 with a 700+ in each category then there is really any difference between a 2250 and 2300-2400? Is there a certain point where colleges just know you are smart enough? I’m at a 2250 (800 math, 750 writing, 700 reading) and hope to go to Medill at Northwestern and have taken it 3 times so I don’t want to retake again just to raise reading, because my overall score is very good and might already be above the “cap” or limit colleges set. Thanks.
I think that is an average score for selective schools but not in the top 25% and yes they do make these distinctions. So, make sure the rest of your package is strong.
Yes, and 2250 is roughly it. If the rest of the package looks good, that score will be fine.
FWIW, that’s my daughters superscore, and she’s a Harvard sophomore.
IMO, no.
You do realize that the SAT is not an intelligence test, right?
Again, only my opinion, but if your 3 other tests were all fairly close to 700 CR, it’s unlikely to raise appreciably the 4th time. Additionally, AO’s may question if there is more to you than just a test taking grunt with nothing better to do on a Saturday. Good luck.
The ivys reject lots of applicants w a 2400.
I have heard a few people talk about 2250 as the threshold score and if the rest of your application is strong, I don’t think a few more points on the SAT is going to make the difference and your time could be better spent elsewhere.
@uesmomof2 would 2240 be fine with 800 740 700
It gets you a seat in the big room. Now will that be enough to get you a seat at the main table? Who knows? It depends on your other factors and the combination of academics and “other” factors that your competition will have.
I think you’re certainly viable, stats-wise, to aim for some reaches. Certainly no guarantee for success but worth a try
Your scores are fine. I assume your grades are also. The door is open. Now the question is what your recommendations and essays say about you. That’s where the real decisions get made.
I am not a college admissions officer but I don’t see a statistical difference between 2250 and 2240 with those subsection scores. I also haven’t looked at the range for Northwestern/Medill but I suspect those scores are within range. But if you were asking me this question in the fall of your junior year and had only taken the SAT once, I might say at that point to take it again because why not.
I had this same question as well. 33 ACT and applied to Duke ED
Please remember that the average SAT score for any elite college is averaging the lower scores from URMs and athletes.
For whites and Asians, you must score in the 75+ percentile to be considered.
@IQTrumpsEffort I’m white and at a 2240 is that okay?
You have as good a chance as anyone of getting in: 6-8%. A higher SAT will not help if the rest of your profile is undistinguished.
The 75th percentile is roughly a 2390-2400 for Stanford and Harvard. Not all asians or whites who get accepted get that kind of score.
If you have taken it 3 times already, then don’t take it again. A 2250 will not be the reason they reject you.
^^ That’s not the 75th percentile for Harvard and Stanford.
750+ in each portion of the test places you in the top tier of applicants’ test scores.
@rdeng2614 “The 75th percentile is roughly 2390 - 2400 for Stanford and Harvard”
Neither Stanford nor Harvard publishes their 75th percentile composite SAT scores, but given their 75th percentile composite ACTs of 34 and 35 respectively, it’s pretty reasonable to assume that the 75th percentile composite SAT for both schools is somewhere in the 2250 - 2340 range.
I’ve taken each test only once (34 ACT and 2200 SAT), and I’m a horrible test-taker. I loathe the process with every fiber of my being - I can’t focus during exams, so I balk at the prospect of taking another without convincing incentive.
I have a feeling that once you’ve got a 34/2250, your “achievement range” extends all the way to the top regardless, and I refuse to pay the College Board another 50 dollars to take the SAT to raise my score to a 2350. I know I can do it if I actually study, as some of my acquaintances have, through taking the test 4-5 times, raised their score from a 2070 to a 2270, from a 2130 to a 2360, etc. Once you’re above 2150, imho, you can do pretty much anything depending on the day.
Getting a 35 vs. a 36 makes essentially no difference to Harvard. Since the 75th percentile SAT/ACT scores for top universities are already near-perfect, it is statistically impossible to distinguish yourself on the basis of test scores at these universities.