<p>My scores C:</p>
<p>Critical Reading:700 (95%)
Math: 790 (99%)
Writing: 670 (93%)</p>
<p>I think I can improve CR, I couldn't answer around 4 questions because of time, and my essay score surprised me (got a 7, thought I'd get more).</p>
<p>What do you recommend me to do? I really want to get into MIT!</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Are you international?</p>
<p>If so the score seems great. If English is your native, they may expect something higher. Anything about 700 is generally said to be good.</p>
<p>Be aware that writing is said to be not considered by admission officers, so don’t focus on it much. Instead focus on SAT2s, ECs, GPA and have fun :D</p>
<p>Actually, don’t sweat. These scores are great, and they will NOT make or break your admission to MIT.
MIT considers 700 the satisfying score for any SAT subject–reasoning or subject–and they make this VERY transparent, unlike other schools. Since there is always a plus/minus ~30 “score range” for any SAT score, getting a 670 is the SAME THING as getting a 700. That is, to an MIT admission officer, there’s absolutely no difference between a 770 and an 800.
They want to see you spend more time developing and even perfecting your interests (academic, co-curricular, and/or extracurricular) than taking SAT’s repeatedly until you get 800’s.</p>
<p>btw, for those who are taking the SAT for 15 or 17 times (and perhaps even getting a 2400 consequently): you can list SAT as one of your main extracurricular activities. =D</p>
<p>^ Lol Jeff…
“What do you do in your spare time?”
“I’m a professional SAT-taker.”
“O.o”</p>
<p>Thank you! Spanish is my native language C:
Then, I’ll focus on my “everything else” more, and see if I have time to improve my SAT after that :P</p>
<p>Since there is always a plus/minus ~30 “score range” for any SAT score, getting a 670 is the SAME THING as getting a 700.</p>
<hr>
<p>Well, MIT says that above 700 is considered good. It’s true that 670 and 700 represent virtually identical aptitudes, but I don’t think you can use that logic. You could just as easily say that 730 is the performance that MIT wants, but that they say 700 because they are using the +/- 30 pt. logic.</p>
<p>I would say the OP’s scores are very competitive, especially since they don’t care about the writing. I don’t know how the international status of the OP affects this, as it is much more competitive for internationals, but my feeling is that the SAT’s are fine. As someone said, if English is not their first language, then the scores are awesome.</p>
<p>for the love of god don’t take the SAT 15 times </p>
<p>don’t even take it more than a couple times except under exceptional circumstances</p>
<p>@Phoestre: a 670 on a single SAT subject is GOOD ENOUGH FOR MIT assuming a holistically compelling application. Chris specifically said in this post (<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/massachusetts-institute-technology/939227-reminder-no-one-not-even-me-can-give-you-accurate-chance-mit.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/massachusetts-institute-technology/939227-reminder-no-one-not-even-me-can-give-you-accurate-chance-mit.html</a>) that doing well on the SAT’s means “scoring <em>around the 700 range</em> or higher.” Unless you disagree with me on the English definitions for “around” or “range,” there should be no more doubt. </p>
<p>If it helps, I got a <700 score in one of my SAT subjects.</p>
<p>^Hey, it seems you misunderstood me. I was talking in comparision of native and non-native speaker applicants. However both ways, as I said above “Anything <em>about</em> 700 is generally said to be good.”, I see no conflict between what you say and I say :)</p>
<p>Ooos, I meant to address to collegealum314 because s/he was the person who responded my first comment. Sorry Phoestre. XD</p>
<p>So yea, @collegealum314: don’t freak out if you, your son/daughter, or your friend get a 670/680/690 on a subject, cuz these scores are all considered in “the 700 range.”</p>
<p>Ok, now I am getting confused ^^'</p>
<p>I’m going to clarify. That was my first time taking the SAT. Would it be worth it if I prepare it for a few more weeks and get W:700 R:730 M:800 ? Would it actually look BAD on my application if I didn’t improve? I think maybe I will have to repeat it since if I don’t get admitted at MIT I need a merit scholarship at USC, which from what I hear requires >700 scores</p>
<p>Those 3 specific scores you use as an example (i.e. improving <= 30 points on each subject) make no difference in MIT admissions, but you can consider retaking the SAT for USC.
You can choose to send/report only one set of scores, so no it won’t “look bad.”</p>
<p>Btw diegovb, this is completely unrelated to MIT, but I got a merit-based scholarship from UCS without scoring >700 on EVERY SAT subject. Thus I’m not sure if your source was accurate. You can always call them to clarify however.</p>
<p>Conclusion: I would totally invest time on something else instead of studying/taking the SAT again, if it’s not absolutely required by other schools that you score >700.</p>
<p>If you’ve only taken it once (or even twice), I’d go for it. Seriously, everyone’s always like “Your scores are fine”, and yours ARE great - but, you don’t want to leave anything on the table. Your profile can ONLY go up. If you get lower scores next time, colleges will just look at the higher ones. If you get higher ones, same deal. Also, if you haven’t had a lot of experience, a simple retake can make a large difference (from personal experience, my score went up 150+, even though I only managed to find a couple hours to study). You’ll simply be more familiar with the test and know what to expect on a retake, and that can help a lot.</p>
<p>I just know that I wouldn’t want to hear back from colleges and be thinking to myself “What if I had only…?” Maybe higher scores won’t improve your application, but with such tough competition, who knows? Either way, you’ll feel like you’ve done everything in your control - which, IMO, makes it worth the retake whatever the outcome.</p>
<p>By the way, congrats on doing so well!</p>
<p>Thank you very much! You all have been very useful!</p>