I am debating on retaking my last SAT. This will take place on November 7th 2020 and will be my third SAT (First was 1400). On this SAT, I got a 690 English and 800 Math. I am trying to study computer science at top colleges such as UC Berkeley and Cornell. Should I retake this score. I think that I will have enough time to study, but I was wondering if it was worth it as I need a lot of that time for school work and am really on the fence as if I get a worse score, it can actually hurt me.
First, a worse score isn’t going to hurt you. There are a very, very small number of schools that say they look at all of your scores, and even some of those say they will mostly consider your highest score. Others look at either your highest single test date score or a superscore of all your tests.
Second, if it’s going to impact school work and grades, then certainly not. Your score is above to well above the midpoint of admitted students at both schools. A few extra points is unlikely to bring more benefit than even a single grade in one class.
The 800 on the math portion is impressive.
What was your math score on your first attempt which resulted in a total score of 1400 ?
To what do you attribute the 90 point increase on your second attempt ?
Any SAT subject matter tests ?
Thank you for the reply. My math score on the first attempt was a 740. For the 90 point increase, I just found the second test easier lol. The tests were between a week of each other so I think it was just the difficulty of the test. I am going to take SAT subject tests early next year. I have decided that I am going to plan on taking it and if I don’t feel like it the day of the test, I will cancel it
I would not. I think that it is more difficult to bring up an English score with last minute preparation, since I believe that the skills required are based upon years and years of reading. The 800 on the math is wonderful. And a 690 on the English is not bad, especially for someone who plans to go into a math-based field. I think that you can probably at this point get better bang for your buck focusing your efforts on other parts of the application process. The only way I would consider taking it again is if you were to get immediate extensive and intensive one-on-one test prep tutoring from someone who concentrates on bringing up English scores. Such tutors do exist, they know their business, and it works. But it’s expensive.