Should I retake a 2200 SAT score?

Applying to College
1

<p>I posted this in the SAT forum and feel like my question applies to college admissions as well, so I don't know if this is against the rules or not, but I am going to post it here anways. ;p</p>

<p>Ok, I have thought about this and thought about it some more...and I still can't seem to make up my mind. I took the SAT during the fall of my junior year and now as a rising senior, I am debating whether I should retake it.</p>

<p>I have only taken the SAT I once and scored a 2200 (740 CR, 800 M, 660 W). I will be applying to Harvard, Stanford, UPenn Wharton, Washington U, and University of Washington, and maybe some other Ivies. </p>

<p>My biggest question is whether a score of 2300 (assuming that I can reach this) will help my overall application. Will an admission officer say, "Hmmm.. he seems like a good person based on his touching essay and great recs, and his E/Cs shows leadership skills and involvement in the community; plus he is ranked number 1 in his high school with a challenging set of courses....BUT his 2200 SAT score, 770 SAT II Physics, and 760 SAT II US History scores just don't cut it at Harvard, or (insert one of the school from above). REJECTED!!!</p>

<p>I mean how much importance is placed on the SAT, especially on the writing section, and will getting a 2300, as opposed to a 2200, REALLY help me AT ALL when applying to these top schools? (with the exception of UW)</p>

<p>Thanks in advance for comments.</p>

<p>Edit: I guess what I'm saying is that: If I get accepted, it won't be because of my SAT scores, and if I get rejected, it also won't be because of my SAT scores. Is this a reasonable assessment?</p>

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<p>I don't think it could hurt, but to be honest you're probably a shoe-in with the rest of your resume.</p>

3

<p>i dont know...as for the overall scores, it probably isn't do or die, but id say a 660 writing counts as a flaw. i'd try and get it up a bit, it's a pretty easy section if you've got good grammar, as you clearly do.</p>

4

<p>i'd say no, a friend of mine is in harvard with a "weak" 1310/1910. the sat1 means so little especially when your scores reach 2200. class ranking and aps/sat2s matter more. maybe i'm just discomfited at the fact that he got in after seeing the scores people post here.</p>

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<p>^ aps/sat2s DON'T count more than the SAT I.</p>

<p>and your friend probably was a URM/legacy/athlete or had some other amazing quality.</p>

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<p>^^ yes they do, at the elite schools.</p>

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<p>no they don't...apparently AP's don't even count that much for admission</p>

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<p>Umm... so should I, or shouldn't I retake the SATs in Oct. If I do decide to retake it, I feel like it will take some preparing for me to improme...
Are the effects of a 2300 compared to a 2200 worth it?</p>

9

<p>NO. Your 2200 is a special case. The only weakness in your SAT is writing, and lo and behold, most schools are still ignoring that section!</p>

<p>As it stands, your 1540/1600 will be what many schools consider, and that is a nearly flawless score.</p>

<p>On top of that, your SAT II scores are even more impressive. A 770 and 760 will never keep you out of a top school.</p>

<p>"no they don't...apparently AP's don't even count that much for admission"</p>

<p>Not true. APs are very influential, since they are a measure of a rigorous courseload. What you are talking about is AP scores which don't matter much, but taking the actual AP courses is very important.</p>

<p>"Are the effects of a 2300 compared to a 2200 worth it?"
Perhaps, mildly in most cases. But like I said, your case is unique, in that your writing score won't even be considered by many schools. So no, you don't need to take SAT again, just focus on your classes!</p>

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<p>yeah don't bother wasting your time on that. focus on something else.</p>

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<p>^^^that's what I was thinking, I guess I just needed some affirmation. I feel that with good essays and recs, my chances at Harvard and Stanford are just as good with a 2200 as with a 2300.</p>

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<p>well the higher score would obviously help...but it's not very important.</p>

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<p>Hi, I took the SAT in May recently and got a 2220 (770 Writing, 730 Math, 720 CR) and am wondering if I should take it again because of a weak Math score. I also got a 760 in Maths II and Physics each and an 8.5 in IELTS. Also what exactly are 'electives' supposed to be? In my country no such thing exists at the school level.
Thanks.</p>

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<p>Do not retake</p>

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<p>i had a similar (though slightly lower) 2150 after my first SAT, but that was with a 620 on reading. I asked my counselor if i should retake it or not (i got a 34 on my ACT) and he said it shouldn't make a difference in my application, but if i didn't get into some schools i would be kicking myself later wondering if i had just taken the test again if i would have gotten in. I think that advice made sense- i ended up bringing my score up to a 2270 and my reading was a 720. It was really as he said just so that I would not regret not taking it later, which is advice that you might want too.</p>

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<p>i think a 2200 is high enough where you'll never get rejected because of it, but low enough where you might want to retake it just in case</p>

<p>ur choice? :/</p>

17

<p>i'd retake it for sure if you are in any way not entirely satisfied.</p>

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<p>well, its really up to you...but when you think about it the colleges you are applying to receives thousands of applications, therefore you really want to make yourself stand out from the crowd.</p>

<p>Ill just share two other things.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>i have a friend who had a 2200 and had very impressive resumes and grades. She only applied to georgetown tho (she's an intl student and only applied to one college abroad) and she didnt get in... :(</p></li>
<li><p>i read somewhere that harvard received about 800 something PERFECT scores...however, they only accepted about 200 of them..</p></li>
</ol>

<p>...hope this helped :D</p>

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<p>Your choice really.</p>

<p>My case:
First time around I scored 2280 with 680 in writing. (8 on essay)
I retook it and scored 2380 with 780 in writing. (8 on essay)</p>

<p>I definitely think it was worth it, even though some people may call me crazy. If you have good scores and 1 section under 700, you might as well rewrite it; there's plenty of room for improvement in that one section. One more thing, writing is very easy to gain or lose marks. This is because it has less multiple choice then the other sections. That means one incorrect question leads to a bigger drop. </p>

<p>Your case is very similar to mine, I'd go for it. (go for the multiple choice, preparing for the essay is hardly worth it.)</p>

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<p>Hi im a freshmen and i took the PSAT practice test scoring a 192. IS that good? Can anyone tell me how much my score would increase by the time i take the PSAT in my junior year and my approximated SAT score?</p>