Should I retake the SAT or take SAT Subject Tests? + other questions

Transfer Students
1

<p>I go to Florida State Honors and currently have a 4.0 GPA. I want to transfer to (ideally) Brown University, but I will be applying to other top universities, such as Harvard (yes, I know the chances are very, very slim), Yale, Columbia, and Cornell because I have heard Brown gives bad financial aid.
However, my main worry is in terms of the SAT.
I currently have an SAT I score of 2040 (730 CR, 620 M, 690 W), which is slightly below the middle 50% for most of these school, and I have taken no SAT subject tests.
I skipped a grade, so I am sure that if I take the SAT now at the age of 18, I'll do much better than when I took it at 16.
My question is, should I retake the SAT I for a higher score and take a couple of SAT Subject Tests, or does it look bad to the transfer committee if you take the tests once already in college?</p>

<p>Also, can someone tell me what top schools take into consideration when reviewing transfer applications? I am worried my high school unweighed GPA will hurt me, as it was very, very poor for reasons that I will not go into, though I am hoping that being a College Board National Hispanic Scholar and an International Baccalaureate diploma recipient will balance out my poor secondary school record.
I also have lots of community service hours and have received a couple of extracurricular competition awards, such as Future Business Leaders of America and Odyssey of the Mind.
I am Hispanic, bilingual, and I have played soccer competitively and have been published in the local and university newspaper, if any of these things matter at all.</p>

<p>If my high school GPA will impact be severely, should I wait until next year to file a transfer application so that they have more of my college coursework to look at?</p>

<p>Thank you for your time!</p>

2

<p>For a soph transfer, a 4.0 for 1 semester and retaking the SAT and/or Subject tests is not going to overcome a sub 3.0 HS UW GPA and 50% class rank for the level of schools you have listed. Also, your parents going to college (anywhere) precludes you from being first gen.</p>

3

<p>Then I should wait until next year and apply for a junior transfer if I keep my GPA high?</p>

4

<p>@peg92
I see you are my arch nemesis!!! I also want to transfer to Brown.
I think your scores are perfect, especially when you factor in the fact that you took them at 16. If you really want to though, you can take it again and get a higher score(maybe in the 2200 and above range). This will show how much your aptitude has grown in the past couple of years.</p>

<p>Bonne Chance mon ennemi :)</p>