<p>Should the SAT test be retaken if scores are "okay"? They could be better (800M, 750CR, 700W), but we were pleased my S did well. He's actually a pretty good writer, but didn't finish his essay (got a 9, I think), so there's where he could improve the most. But I really hate to have him waste his time retaking these standardized tests, especially since he's entering a very busy senior year, with college apps, lots of APs, ECs, and sports.</p>
<p>One other thing I've noticed somewhere. Brown suggested juniors take their first SAT in the spring and a second SAT in the fall of their senior year. Does that mean students HAVE to show the SATs twice, or is one test good enough? (PS: he's also done SAT IIs in USH-730, Bio E-750, Math-800 and APs mostly 5s. Possible schools: Dartmouth, WUSL, Rice...</p>
<p>What should we do? Your opinion really helps.</p>
<p>A 2250 on his first try is exceptional. You should very well indeed be proud of your son!</p>
<p>I personally do not feel the need. Schools already know that your son is a good test-taker. Will a 2300 make it more convincing? Maybe a tiny bit, but it won’t matter much.</p>
<p>Spend the time he would preparing for another SAT I on making ECs better or volunteering. Brown RECOMMENDS, because most people screw up their first ones. Your son is fine with just one. </p>
<p>that is a great score!! and most colleges are still hesitant to place lots of emphasis on the writing section because it is relatively new, so a weaker writing score is acceptable. so I wouldnt take the time to retake…he might do worse and all the hassle would have been for nothing, so I would just keep what he got!!</p>
<p>I don’t agree with not taking just because of a risk. However, there are other reasons why your son shouldn’t retake. First of all, a 3 point difference in essay scores won’t make too significant of a difference. In fact, I would be willing to disagree and say that your son’s multiple choice score is what is bringing him down. The average curve (In fact I haven’t seen a curve that fell out of this range) allows for an 800 with a 9 essay, assuming all of the multiple choice questions are correct. If your son can manage a perfect on that, I don’t see why not. Getting a slightly better essay score (which is admittedly easier) won’t do nearly as much good as getting a better multiple choice score. Those 30-40 points aren’t significant enough to justify a retake. </p>
<p>Besides that, your son’s situation does not require a retake. People retake a score because it falls significantly short of their goals-which is set at the average score for their dream school. No college will deny him entry just because of his SAT score. Although arguably, a 2350 would look quite a bit better than a 2250, the benefits of a higher score does not outweigh the stresses for studying to that point. Your son could use that time to buffer up his applications with some more ECs. </p>
<p>Basically, if your son can make a significant stride with minimal effort, go for it. However, if it takes too much of his time to improve by that much, then it’s not worth the effort.</p>
<p>But since I am a Math/Science person, and am applying to engineering, that Math score needed to be raised. So I did a lot of math practice, and got this</p>
<p>M-790
CR-740
W-710</p>
<p>So things mixed around. But a lot of top colleges superscore your SAT’s, meaning they pick the best score from each section, each sitting. You still report all your scores, but they do it in their heads when they look at them. So in reality, I now have</p>
<p>M-790
CR-750
W-800</p>
<p>Which is a 2340, and I am pretty happy with it. If your son didn’t finish the writing part, take it again, and see if you can improve. But if you’re worried about him having too much other school work to worry about, just don’t do too much review, a couple practice tests to work on timing should suffice.</p>