<p>My daughter got 740 on each of the three sections of the SAT, total of 2200. I am thinking that she should not take them again and just focus on the SAT 2s which she is taking in October in biology and U.S. History and on the other parts of the college process. While she might like to go to Yale, I have a hard time believing she will improve that much and she needs to do well on the subject tests, plus she will need to work on the essay...that will stress her out and we will still be doing visits and she will be taking three AP courses this year. I think she will have enough on her plate without having to take the SAT again when she did so well the first time (actually second--she took them in 7th grade for a summer program but they didn't count).</p>
<p>She is in a fine range, obviously, and should focus on other aspects. Sheesh!</p>
<p>Look at this way: there are many who will firmly believe that their life will be over if they do not get into HYPS or some others and that they need to raise a 2200 to above 2300 to get into HYPS or even others. They will retake the SAT and raise a little and then retake it again and possibly get into the 2300s; they then score 780s to 800s on their SAT IIs; then they apply to HYPS … and then get rejected by all of them. Does one really want to go through that? Those colleges are to a great extent like a lottery trying to get. They accept a low percentage, 10% range, vast majority who apply are within the middle 50% ranges and ultimately the choice between applicants becomes subjective – someone’s essay might peak an interest, something else just looks a little better. Personal view is take what you have and work on other things.</p>
<p>Sheesh!!! That’s what I was thinking…but just confirming.</p>
<p>No one noticed that 740x3 =/= 2200?</p>
<p>^I noticed that. The score would be a 2220.</p>
<p>I have similar “problem”-yeah like a 2220 (2250 for my D) is a problem! But I think taking the test ONCE and scoring that well is impressive. The 740 on each section I would have preferred actually to my D’s breakdown, 690R, 760M, 800W. I just think getting a 740 on each test puts you near the 65-75%ile in each of the top schools. And the CR score seems to be the one that if they have a doubt they will look more to. The thing is you are bound to go down on one score, like in my D case the 800 W was not a fluke, she sample tested always near that high, but the CR she sample tested one time a 790…but to take it again and if you read the SAT results, they say kids who retake it with the scores in the ranges we are talking about–for example my D–800W–went down avg. of 60, Math 760 went down an avg. of 40, CR went up an average of one point. Now she could well duplicate this and get a 750 on the CR, but my guess is the odds of going down on the other 2 are high and I do not believe that they really only look at the super score only. If they did they would only ask for the super score, and they do not. They say they will use the super score, but come on, if you are reading an application and one person took 3 times to get a 2300 and the other took one time to get a 2220 or 2250 wouldn’t you think of them as roughly the same at a minimum?
That is the way I feel anyway, I think one sitting score over 2200 is good and if the other stuff is in line then you have a good shot at any school. But I am sure you will get 100 differing opinions. None of the admissions books really addresses this well that I have read…Good luck!
W</p>
<p>I guess I would think that way if I took that much stock in the tests. Despite the fact that my daughter did so well on them, I am not a big fan of standardized tests. I more believe that she is a good candidate for a competitive college because she does well in very challenging classes and has taken/is taking college level courses and doing well, not because she can figure out what test makers want.</p>
<p>^^There are few things I trust the colleges on, but I believe them when they say they superscore. I really wouldn’t worry too much about your score dropping on the other sections.</p>
<p>Did she take biology and US history last year? Most Ivies require SAT IIs so she should probably focus on getting high scores (700+) on those first and then see if she needs to retake the SAT.</p>
<p>first of all great job on the SAT! that score is pretty good.
NOW focus on her SAT2s! they are pretty important to the admission process.as a rule of thumb, anything under 720 esp. for a history subject is not going to cut it.</p>