<p>My S (junior) just got his results back from his first taking of the SAT. </p>
<p>He scored CR 730, Writing 770, Math 800.</p>
<p>Here's the thing..he thinks he needs to take it again, "I have to raise that CR score". I think he's nuts (athough I am very proud of him).</p>
<p>I know he wants to apply to some highly selective schools, but it seems to me 2300 is good enough to get in anywhere. And if it was the difference between 2300 and 2350 that kept him out of a school, maybe it wasn't the right fit after all.</p>
<p>My HS Junior son had similar first time scores. We thought it was worth his while to give it another shot (this January). He ended up raising one test by 10 points--the others were exactly the same. That's it for him.</p>
<p>On the other hand, my daughter had a 700V and a 790M on the old SAT. Since she had always expected an 800M, she took it again, as a matter of pride, but she also did a lot of vocab work. She got her 800M, but those flashcards also got her an 800V in the same sitting. I think it may be easier to "study" to raise the verbal than to raise the Math.</p>
<p>Yeah CR can only go up. Tell him to wait as long as possible before the retake though. Maybe study some more writing and read some more books for the CR.</p>
<p>Why on earth would you retake and try to do better than a 2300 score. That's a fabulous score, and NO school is going to admit a 2350 student over your son based on SAT alone.</p>
<p>I think the mom said that the kid wants to retake it not because he wants a more competitive score but because he just thinks he can and will do better.</p>
<p>If it were me, I wouldn't bother. On any given test, someone will score within a particular range. The CR score could go up, but the other two could come down. With such a high score (and without score choice) it doesn't seem worth the risk.</p>
<p>At the level of such high scores it isn't a few added points that will make the difference, it is the rest of the application.</p>
<p>Your son might want to think about taking the ACT instead. It is a somewhat different test so would be a confirmation of his ability. It also has a reading section. If he scores even more spectacularly on the ACT, he can submit both tests. ACT has score choice so he could even take it more than once and just report the best date -- seems ideal for a perfectionist!</p>
<p>If the student feels he can earn a HIGHER score, by all means ENCOURAGE him to take it again. This is not a situation where a third party -parent, tutor, GC- believes taking another is worth the effort. </p>
<p>One of the major benefits is that you will not engage in an endless battle of "what if" or "had I tried it" when the results trickle in. If the student scores regularly in the vicinity of 800 in practices, the case is pretty clear ... and a retake warranted. On the other hand, if the ractices yield scores in the 700-750 range, let it go. FWIW, for MOST students, the CR is very hard to improve and the results are very variable. Writing and Math are much more coachable than the Critical Reading. </p>
<p>As far as where a 2300 stands, please take a look at the 25-75 percentiles at the targeted school, and evaluate the odds of the score being in the ballpark or well above it. People easily conclude that scoring a perfect 1600/2400 or being valedictorian does not mean that much because 40/50% of them are rejected at elite schools. However, trading a 50/60% chance for a 5/10% one is still pretty compelling. No matter how much "experts" try to discount excellence, it is still AMPLY rewarded in elite admissions. </p>
<p>Spending four hours to eliminate future second-guessing is a small price to pay ... along with the 50 bucks for the test and a Machiatto. :)</p>
<p>I agree with xiggi. However, I also want to point out that a school's posted SAT range is different from your demographic's SAT range. I don't know what your family background is, or if your son has any particular hooks. But if he doesn't, look at it this way: Elite colleges can fill their class several times over with qualified applicants. All-around good students from middle to upper class northeastern families are the most well-represented group within that pool. If certain top colleges wanted to, they could fill their entire class with 1500 + scorers. However, adcoms recognize that there is a compelling interest in various kinds of diversity, and that some skills can't be measured by testing. Atheletes, URMs, regional minorities, people with artistic and musical talent, people with interesting or disadvantaged backgrounds, national math champions, children of rich donors are all people who could be accepted with lower scores because there is a compelling interest to having them on campus. </p>
<p>This isn't really a problem for the school, as most people recognize that a 1400 vs. a 1500 on your SAT doesn't mean all that much. However, SAT ranges are the most quantifiable way to assess a the quality of student a school attracts. This means that in order to compensate for accepting people in the above categories with somewhat lower scores, a school needs the "average" excellent student to score even higher. So, it is to your advantage as a student to have the highest SAT score possible - not because colleges will look at you as a better student, but because, all things being pretty equal, they want someone who is going to boost their published scores.</p>
<p>I posted a similar message on this board some months ago and received lots of good advice. My son took the SAT and scored 800 CR, 800 W and 670 M. The math score was low for him, since he had an 800 on the SAT Math IIc. He retook the test and raised the math to 740.</p>
<p>If your son is applying to highly competitive schools, he should retake the test. The study time and four hours to take the test are a pain, but will pale in comparison to the second guessing that might occur later.</p>
<p>Your son's not nuts. He may be obsessed. If the cost of taking it again is just a fee and some small amount of prep time, OK. But despite what's implied here, scores can also go down. When my son got his SAT I scores in his junior year, he said "enough" (770, 800 at the time). What more did he have to prove? He took his SAT II's in senior year (800, 800, 730), and should he have retaken? No reason in the world.</p>
<p>There are far more important things than "perfecting" these scores, and scores are only one part of the whole credential.</p>
<p>I remember that when my D was applying for scholarships, there was one scholarship that required a 750 on each of math and verbal to qualify. That was one reason she retook SAT even though she had a perfectly acceptable score.</p>
<p>There seems to be conflicting information regarding the risk of taking the test again and getting a lower score. Some say it could be detrimental to get a lower score, others imply that it won't because you use a composite score. </p>
<p>Does the composite score policy vary from school to school?</p>
<p>By way of background, we live in rural northern Michigan, small public school (100 class size). He is top of his class, accelerating classes and is an accomplished jazz pianist (has his own band that gets paid for gigs). Will major in ???who knows.. religion, philosophy, pre-med - depends on the day of the week (not music though).</p>
<p>His target schools are Deep Springs (#1), Chicago, Michigan(in-state safety), Carlton and maybe Columbia.</p>
<p>Go, I don't think increasing his score will increase his chances at those schools. At that level of score, differences are irrelevant. There are other more important parts of his application on which he should focus - high school record, difficulty of courses taken, essays and recommendations. He should be focusing on getting/maintaining high grades, selecting his courses for next year, thinking about essay topics, and deciding which teachers he should approach for recommendations.</p>
<p>Well, three of those schools (MSU, Chicago, Carleton) were on my son's list, and he got into all with what are equivalent scores to those of your son. It is just not going to make a bit of a whit of difference to his admission to those schools if he improves his test scores. His EC's and grades and letters of recommendation will matter more than any increment in his test scores from here on. Of course, he may still want to retake just out of curiosity. And he may well decide to add other schools to his list; but I sincerely doubt that further improving his scores is going to matter for any such school. Everything else that I've listed will matter more.</p>
<p>He applied to UM and MSU both. Declined MSU's full-ride ADS scholarship, treated UM as his true backup. Attended Chicago, turned down Williams and Carleton and Reed (my alma mater).</p>