SAT Score Dropped

Hi! I’m having a huge dilemma rn, and I want a second opinion. On my first SAT, I got 1530/1600 which I was happy with, but I thought that I could do better. Thus, I retook it the next month, but my score dropped to 1480/1600. Should I retake the SAT one more time in March? I want to go to a top 25 university, specifically Stanford or Brown. I’m afraid colleges might look down on my application because my SAT score dropped so significantly in one month.

Do you have all the other credential s you’d need for those schools? Like SAT2s’ close to 800 etc?

Ya, I got a 770 on the Biology M SAT my freshman year and a 770 on the Chemistry SAT my sophomore year.

I would not bother to retake.

There is no valid reason for you to take the SAT again. As you found out, scores can go down just as often as they go up. If any college rejects you, it won’t be because you only scored 1530.

i wouldn’t waste your money on taking it again. a 1530 is an amazing score. no college will reject you because of the 1480 you got.

I am in the middle of a book about college financial aid that claims scores drop in about 1/3 of retakes. Submit the 1530 only (unless you are applying to one of the rare colleges that require ALL scores) and move on.

thats exactly what happened to me omg
I got a 1520 then retried and got a 1480 then retried and got a 1470
not worth it

In the current state of the SAT, would definitely not recommend retaking because it seems like the curves are getting worse and worse

Stanford and Brown are pretty competitive and while you scores are quite good, better scores might help. I would recommend practicing. See if you improve in practice. If you are able to meaningfully improve in practice and are able to consistently score better, sign up for a test. There is no need to rush. You already have a 1530 and there is nothing wrong with taking the SAT even at the beginning of your senior year.

Several other things:

  1. Try to get at least a 750 on each section, if you don’t have at least a 750 on each section already. Colleges like Stanford and Brown like to see academic strength across the board.

  2. The curves are often bad, but they are also often not. You may luck out and get a better curve.

  3. If you elect to take the test again, practice seriously first.

  4. Moving 50 points or so in one direction in the other is pretty normal. I wouldn’t worry about that too much.

Best of Luck!

“I’m afraid colleges might look down on my application because my SAT score dropped so significantly in one month.”
Why would they do so? Just don’t send them the 1480 score.
1530 is already a more than enough score for the T30s
The general rule of thumb is that once a score crosses around that 1530 mark, it’s pretty meaningless to retake. Colleges won’t reject a person if he has a 1570 and his competitor has a 1540.

This is common. Once you get a very high score, it’s extremely tough to improve it. At that stage, you are literally talking about one more point or so to bump a score higher. It’s just too easy to get three wrong, rather than three more right. Stop while you are ahead.