Should I Retake a 760 (Math II)?

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

I took the SAT2 Math II Subject Test in August and I found out that I got a 760 and that I’m in the 63rd percentile. :frowning:

It honestly wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be, and was probably more like the Princeton Review and Kaplan books than the Barrons books. I skipped 2 and was 100% sure I got at least 2 wrong. That means my raw score (2x 0pts for skip and 2x -0.25pts for wrong) would have been at most 46. If I could know my raw score, that would be great, but I can’t.

My dream colleges are Cornell, MIT, Yale, and Carnegie Mellon. I remember reading somewhere that the middle percentile (25 to 75) for Math II scores at MIT was 760 to 800, so with my score, I would fall into the bottom 25% at MIT.

I don’t know if this score keeps me competitive, since standardized scores are the first thing admissions officers see when reading applications. I don’t know if my ECs are that strong either. I want to major in computer science/artificial intelligence, so math and physics are important there.

Also, if I do retake it, when would be a good time? I’m aiming for national merit on PSATs, the time between now and October is gone in preparation for that. I’m planning on taking the real SAT in November, and hopefully I should score well on that the first time. I think December could work, but it depends on my homework, since APUSH and Honors English 11 are real time hogs (my Honors teacher is just as hard as the AP teacher).

May is too close to APs. Calculus BC and Physics 1 are much more important. That leaves June, since I’m taking the Physics subject test in August. I don’t really want to study for 2 Subject Tests, and it’s not like I’m going to forget precalculus after May. Only problem I foresee are final projects for AP courses (and a final exam for AP CS Principles)

Anyways, I basically want to know if I should be retaking this test and what your opinions are on the best time to take it. I’m leaning towards December, since June 2 is the day after my birthday and I don’t want to spend it studying. Thanks.

2

I should add that I talked to some people in another thread, and one of them got an 800 skipping 4 questions. This would mean that a raw score of 46 would be an 800, and that I did not get this score. :frowning:

3

The problem with the Math 2 type tests is that only people very good in math take it, unlike the regular SAT where everyone takes it. So for people that are very good in math, you are above average. :slight_smile:

4

This came up at a college admissions tour we took our student to at one of those colleges. It’s a great score, just as you mentioned for those dream schools, the other students do very well too. The answer was basically “if you have the time for it, and it won’t drive you crazy with doing well in your GPA, APs, SATs and extracurriculars, you might benefit from for retaking it, as it can be used as a filter.”

HOWEVER - They also emphasized that getting an 800 on the Math Subject test doesn’t guarantee you would get into their school either! They are doing a holistic assessment.

Your focus really needs to be on your coursework and regular SATs. A different college admissions officer said something like for SAT scores, the SAT is considered 80%, the subject tests 20% - that may vary by school of course but just emphasizing the subject test is a smaller component.

Given you are a junior, seems like you have outlined a good, focused path for your junior year. Assuming you do well on Nov SATs, you could consider retaking the SAT II Math subject test either Dec. or end of August next year. You should leave room to superscore your SAT though. Maybe don’t rule out that out for May or Aug? Good luck!

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@MDSparkle I’ve decided to take the real SAT in December since my parents said I would get more time to study. I may be able to take the subject test in June again, but I feel like I would be pretty burned out after AP exams. I’m taking the Physics subject test in August, and I don’t want to study for two exams. It may be possible to do the test in October of senior year, since I won’t be applying Early Action to MIT/any other school (getting Eagle Scout in December of that year). I would receive the scores by October 20, so it should be fine.

I’ll talk to my guidance counselor about it. If he thinks I should retest, then I will, but if he doesn’t, then I won’t.

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Sounds like a plan! You definitely have to find your own balance. Again, the one other thing you might want to keep in mind is leaving time to take the SATs a second time, since several of the schools you mentioned “superscore”.