Hi all,
I’m about to be a junior in high school. I took the new SAT (1600) in May (sophomore year) with zero prep just to see what I’d get and I scored a 1550. I know it’s a pretty good score, but that was a 790 CR and 760 M. I hope to go into engineering and comp sci, with my dream school being Cornell. and I know a 760 just isn’t too competitive when over 25% of students score 800. Cornell doesn’t have score choice, so if I apply they’ll see I only took the SAT once or I took it twice and either didn’t improve much or did worse. Will an extra 40 or fewer points in math really make a huge difference to Cornell, or any school for that matter? And please, don’t say I should retake it just because “everyone does.” If I retake it that’ll mean dedicating quite a bit of time towards improving and I need a good reason to do that. An additional note, I am planning on taking the Math II subject test (I botched math I with a 750 D:). Will a high math II score compensate for the lower SAT math score and save me the extra test? Thanks in advance for any advice.
@abbidon You won’t benefit much from retaking even if you scored an 800 on math. Save yourself a Saturday morning and do something more productive.
Last I checked, the 25-75%ile math scores for Cornell are [710,790]. So it is not true that “over 25% of students” score 800, and a 760 is competitive enough. The difference between a 760 and 800 is likely a couple questions.
You can take Math II if you wish, particularly if Cornell or other schools you’re applying to recommend/require it.
OK, there is not geed reason to do it if you’re going to put a lot of effort into prep. Your time is better spent crafting your essays. Regardless, your scores are more than fine. If Cornell (or any school) rejects you for a 1550, I doubt they would accept you with a higher score.
8-| Saying you botched a test with a 750 is disingenuous, IMO. Plenty of people would love to get a 750. It’s fine.
One thing does not “compensate” for the other. But again, both are fine.