Debatable - little remains to do otherwise
You’re missing one of @planner’s points. If you’ve exhausted the resources at your high school, HYP expect you to be a self-directed learner – and that doesn’t mean retaking the SAT over and over again (even if it is for business reasons). They expect students like you to be taking free on-line course such as those at EdX and elsewhere. They expect to see a drive and passion to achieve something beyond what is being offered at your high school – that’s what college’s want to see from the student’s they admit! They want to see motivation and the capacity to do more. Here’s William Fitzsimmons in his own words:
Best of luck to you!
My son took the SAT, 1 error in math section on a “count on your fingers easy” question, tough curve and wound up with a 2360.
That’s where you’re similar. Where you’re different is that he found many other things to do, some academic and some social.
If I were an AO, and I’m not, at a school that expects to see all SAT scores, I would wonder about the applicant who took it a second time, and if I saw a third attempt, the application would move out of the pile it had been in. Honestly, “little remains to do?”
grindboy: you’re veering in the wrong direction. re-ordering the pots and pans in your kitchen that Saturday would be a better use of your time than to take the SAT a third time after two 2370s. You’d be the kind of person I’d quickly get away from at a cocktail party…
Consider this. Jeff Brenzel, former admissions Dean of Yale said:
“At the same time, we are not particularly drawn to one-dimensional students who have made their sole or primary objective in life amassing the largest number of honors or AP courses conceivable, accompanied by multiple efforts to achieve the world’s highest test scores.”
http://questions.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/17/qa-college-admissions/?_r=0
He’s addressing HS students who are seeking what you’re seeking. But maybe he’s addressing Yale aspirants and you’re fulfilling the one of the negative stereotypes of a Harvard aspirant…
^^ That’s why Yale requires applicant’s to submit ALL SAT scores from ALL test dates; their making a judgement call about who’s one-dimensional. @grindboy: At this point, I’d cross Yale off your list.
yo. my first time taking SAT, my math score was 720. Second time? it dropped to a 660…
Super score is your friend. That’s all they care about.
FYI, to those advising @grindboy not to retake the SAT - it appears he has already applied to HYP (with impressive credentials) and is not retaking the SAT in at attempt to strengthen college applications, but simply as a personal challenge to discover if he can get a 2400. I could think of better ways to spend a Saturday morning, but I’m not him.
For those considering retaking a 2350+ SAT in a attempt to strengthen their applications, I agree with @gibby and @Planner - it’s liable to hurt your chances, not help them.
On a related note, I’ve considered retaking it myself to see how my scores would compare to the last time I took it - 35 years ago! Most likely I’d be humbled…
i sometimes wonder if CC users who list a slew of perfect ACT, SATI, SATII and AP test scores are perhaps just floating their fantasy statistics to see the response. I know with my own kid, she found it logistically challenging just to schedule the minimally required SAT I, SAT II tests.
I would think adcoms might take pause if a kid is choosing to use a lot of his/her free time to pursue standardized testing.
Also, couldn’t this type of student be waylaid by well-intentioned teacher and/or counselor comments such as “Johnny is an excellent test taker” or “High test scores and grades are very important to Susie.” ?
At least for my kids, all these tests occurred over a period of three years. So, although it was somewhat logistically-challenging, frankly, there were other commitments that were more demanding. It helped that my sons repeated very few exams. Mostly one-and-done. When I read of kids taking the SAT for third and fourth times, and then maybe repeating some subject tests, etc., that starts to feel overwhelming. But if I add it up, each son took, on average, about five tests per year, and that included the PSAT twice, which was taken in-school on a date in the fall when nothing else was happening.
Regarding recommendations and counselor comments, one hopes that most of these folks would know to avoid those sorts of comments.
My experience differs from that of some others. The youngsters I am aware of had no problem whatsoever scheduling standardized tests. Some, if not most of these youngsters, also were involved in extra-curriculars that often occupied weekend time. Based on this experience, I do not share the opinion that it is logistically challenging to schedule standardized tests for a regular teenager. Maybe my community is an exception, though
Separately, I don’t know how useful it is to spend time to try to figure out the motives, truthful or untruthful, of 16-17 yr olds who post test scores…or parents who post their kids’ test scores and/or prestigious acceptances, or youngsters or parents who post other credentials.
Maybe just take posters at face value or ignore them.
I understand that one can be under the weather on any given given weekend morning. Maybe even twice. Taking the test again under those circumstances makes sense. But, that’s obviously not what happened with a nearly perfect result.
So, if I were presented with repeated near perfect results, I would come to the view that the applicant lacked imagination, was a one-trick pony lacking a second trick, was score-obsessed, lacked a meaningful and intrinsic measure of self-worth, didn’t have anything better to do, or was a perfectionist. None of that is good. I am not an AO, so my belief that “one and done” is optimal is just a belief; I can’t act on it.
I agree with most of the posters. I would question the sanity of anyone retaking the SAT with near perfect results. Harvard is looking at the whole picture . Only 5 to 10 per cent of the admit-tees are because of academics only They want a class of leaders. They want people who can make a difference in the world. The question the applicant has to ask is why does my application stand out. Hopefully it is not because you took the SAT 6 times
Hi to all, I am international, currently at IB 12-th grade, all 7s, total 45 plus a certificate of French. Amazing extracurriculars, essay, perfect recomendations, but low SAT (1420). Toefl 115. SAT Math 2 - 760. Any chance of being admitted? Thanks to all.
^^ According to the SAT concordance table, a 1420 SAT is equivalent to a 2020 on the old SAT: https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/pdf/higher-ed-brief-sat-concordance.pdf.
And a 2020 SAT is below Harvard’s 25th percentile scores for admitted students. See C9 data on Harvard’s Common Data Set: http://oir.harvard.edu/files/huoir/files/harvard_cds_2014-15.pdf.
So, unless there is something else in your application that you would be bringing to the table (world class recruited athlete, musician, chess player, debater etc), your chances of being admitted as an international student from France are not great.
FWIW: According to the International Statistics website, Harvard College (the undergraduate school) only admits about three (3) students every from France. To be admitted, you really have to be the best-of-the-best from your country. Is that you? I don’t know as it’s impossible to tell from the information you posted: http://www.hio.harvard.edu/statistics
MODERATOR’S NOTE:
Closing old thread which should not have been resurrected. If you have a new question, start a new discussion.