<p>Hi Everyone! Before I begin, let me first say that normally, I would be thrilled with a 2290. Nevertheless, it is a pretty skewed composite score, as I got:</p>
<p>800 on math
790 on writing
700 on reading</p>
<p>Should I retake the test to try and bring up the reading score? I am always comfortable with SAT math and don't anticipate much change if I take it again, and the writing I don't think I would do much worse in a second time (but I definitely could).</p>
<p>PS: I'm looking at mostly Ivies for college. A majority of Ivies will superscore</p>
<p>2290 will put you above the midpoint of accepted students at the most selective colleges. The difference between a 2290 and 2400 is at most 3 right answers. I expect that college admissions officers know that.</p>
<p>I would recommend that you first do as many practice readings as you can, and see what you score. If you can’t consistently get above a 750 or so, don’t retake. A 2290 is already probably considering an elite score, so the only reason why you should retake is for a morale boost.</p>
<p>^ I wouldn’t get ahead of myself there; I don’t think it’s ever less than 3 right answers, and it’s certainly not typically 3 answers unless OP has some weird calculated blend of incorrect answers. It’s typically 4-6.</p>
<p>If it’s your first and you can improve for sure, then go for it. But improvement is necessary if you do.</p>
<p>@RunningForLife I’m going to be a senior next year, these scores are from my first time taking the test earlier this month. I know a lot of the schools I’m looking at have 700 (or even 710) as the bottom 25 percentile benchmark for reading. Then again, I’m at at least 75th percentile in Math and Writing. Is there any harm really in taking it again?</p>
<p>If you’re Asian, definitely retake it. Other races, eh it’s your call. How confident are you that you’ll improve? How much time will this take away from your essential college application essays?</p>
<p>@theanaconda, I’m Caucasian, so I think that helps a bit (it definitely adds a bit more weight to my math score) As far as improving on critical reading, it’s always been my weakest section. That being said, I brought it up from a 66 on the PSAT. I just don’t want the 700 on the CR to be a deal breaker for any colleges. If it had been a 690 or below I would definitely have to take it again, but I just don’t know if a 700 is good enough. </p>
<p>Again the question I’d ask is, are you going to do something else with that time that is more useful? It also sounds like you’re unsure of whether you can raise your score any further so I’d probably say no but I don’t know your exact situation </p>
<p>Tbh, colleges view most scores above a 2200-2250 as the same. The only reason I’d suggest retaking it is to boos the CR score (top colleges like to see at least 750 in each category), but especially if you’re applying for a hard science/math/engineering programme, I think your CR score is fine. Colleges recognise that not everyone can be perfect at everything, plus, you have an excellent writing score, which will certainly help if you’re going for STEM (there are way too many engineers/scientists going into college who don’t know how to write or communicate ideas effectively). :)</p>
<p>@LAMuniv yeah, I am definitely looking into something along those lines. I also just got my ACT scores back today:</p>
<p>Composite- 35
Math-36
Science- 36
English- 35
Reading- 32 (I think these tests are trying to tell me something!)</p>
<p>Based on my ACT scores, I think that reading is just not as strong as the other stuff, but still hopefully good enough. I do think that my strengths in the other parts of the standardized testing help offset this.</p>
<p>@WasatchWriter I was thinking about submitting both but am not sure whether I should. Most of the schools I’m looking at do consider SAT writing. </p>
<p>Complete waste of time to retake it given your scores. Well within range for every school in the US. The rest all depends on the remainder of your academic resume. Good luck and congrats!</p>
<p>Nothing wrong with both. If the rest of your app catches the eye of an admissions officer, he/she will probably choose the scores that look best for that school when you get presented to the whole admissions committee. For example, the AO at Williams thought my daughter’s ACT superscore looked better than her SAT superscore, even though they were very close.</p>
<p>@theanaconda, It was actually quite strange. DD sent her best two SAT scores to all her colleges, but only her best single ACT score. Somehow the AO decided she liked the ACT superscore better, and called us and her GC to get all the ACT scores. I can only guess that she was looking at the older self-reported scores on the Common App and worked out the superscore that way.</p>
<p>The bigger lesson here is that when an AO at an elite school likes you, they’re willing to work overtime to get you admitted.</p>
<p>Do not retake the scores. Our daughter had a 2250 on her first and only SAT – 790 crit rdg, 770 writing and 690 math. We as parents were so worried about the math score (despite As in AP Calc and a 5 on the mock AP – actual score not yet in, she always ran out of time on the SAT practice tests). After numerous practice tests, she never could get above a 690 math. So she stuck with the 2250 - and showed off her academic skills by doing really well on her AP exams and subject tests, and her grades. She is going to Dartmouth in the fall.</p>
As far as improving on critical reading, it’s always been my weakest section. That being said, I brought it up from a 66 on the PSAT. I just don’t want the 700 on the CR to be a deal breaker for any colleges. If it had been a 690 or below I would definitely have to take it again, but I just don’t know if a 700 is good enough. </p>