Should I retake the SAT?

Test Preparation
1

Hi,

I took the SAT School Day last month–the first time I took the SAT–and got a 1580 total (780 CR+W; 800 M).
My essay score was less stellar, being 6/5/6.

Certainly, I recognize how high my total is. At the same time, I signed up for the SAT in June before receiving my score, anticipating a lower score.

I researched how the essay is scored and receiving a 7 or 8 on a section seems to be quite rare.
For my colleges, I’m only considering applying to Michigan and MIT.

My first question is that does the SAT School Day hold less value than the regular SAT for colleges? And second, should I retake the SAT this June?

Thanks.

2

No, do not retake. Read the gazillion threads/posts about this. The answer is the same. NO.

3

Is this a serious question? If your goal was1600 or bust, by all means retake. Otherwise, you are totally wasting your time, money and energy, and run the high risk of doing worse. FWIW, I have never heard of a single person getting a 24 on the essay, except for someone on CC, so take that with a grain of salt.

4

Oh. please.

5

Since you have already registered for it, you can just take the test and use the free score report for additional college application. Otherwise, it is likely a waste of money. It does not matter if you can improve or not as you get a good score already.

6

Don’t retake it. A 1580 is exceptional.

7

Instead, focus on preparing for SAT II’s (if you haven’t already) or work on extracurriculars.

8

Thanks for the input guys. I cancelled my SAT retake because I felt like there’s probably nowhere to go but down in my case.

I’m taking the Physics subject test in August in order to apply to MIT (already took Math II last November).
Although my essay score was pretty average, the essays that really matter are the ones on my college application.

9

Take the sat subjects instead.
Retaking would actually look bad - it’d mean you’ve lost all perspective as to the purpose of education.
Also are you seriously only applying to Michigan and MIT???
What’s in state for you? What’s your parents ’ budget?

10

@MYOS1634 I agree with everything you said. SATI is not everything; because colleges like MIT recieve numerous applications from applicants that score so high on the basic tests (SAT, ACT), you need other tests to stick out. If you are majoring in a science or something like that try to take math IIC and several science options.

11

@MYOS1634 My state is Michigan. With in-state tuition and half of my family being alumni, it’s been my de facto front runner since I was little.

I want to become an economist. MIT, being one of the most renowned in econ, is my reach school.

I don’t want to apply to other top econ ones such as Harvard, Stanford and Princeton for four reasons:

  1. I honestly don't have the same passion for those other schools as I do for Michigan/MIT, which will be reflected on my application. I've self-studied econ from MIT OCW for years.
  2. MIT's new Mathematical Economics major is my ideal major: getting a strong math background without needing to take upper-level theoretical math courses that don't pertain to econ.
  3. Applying to numerous other top schools will make it look to Michigan/MIT that they're just another school.
  4. MIT is already a long shot for me even if I get accepted because my family's income is probably too high to receive any significant financial aid.
12

Actually, I meant, what are your matches and safeties?
For a student with your stats, a match would have 30-35% acceptance rate, and a safety 40%+.
Colleges don’t want to be fallbacks, but they don’t know what other universities you apply to. They do care about your expressing interest by filling out the Request info forms, visiting if possible, etc.
I agree Michigan is the one to beat but hopefully you’re also applying to a few more universities in the match and safety categories.