Should I retake???

Test Preparation
1

<p>First of all, I am an international student studying in the US (junior).
Ok I have already taken the SAT two times, one in march and one in may.
On the March SAT I got 730CR, 780Math, and 660W (I know..)
On the May SAT I got 800CR, 790Math, and 670W (OK ***!?!?!)</p>

<p>I am happy with my CR and Math scores, but I know I can do so much better on writing!!!! (writing is supposed to be my forte actually..) I have done plenty of practice tests on writing, and regularly got above a 750. Somehow I just kept messing up on MC (got a 66 out of 80 in may, idk how that happened..maybe I should practice more?) I feel like maybe it's because writing doesn't really concern me and I tend to be a little loose on the writing sections... </p>

<p>My question is, assuming I can raise my writing score by about 100 points in October, is it worth it to retake the SAT, given that my CR score might go down to a 750? Will colleges look down on my 800CR?? Will they think that I am obsessing over the SAT?? (which I am not, I just know for a fact that I can do so much better on writing) I know there are some schools that don't look at writing at all (UChicago and Cornell), but those very elite ones certainly do. And for those elite colleges, how much do they weigh the writing score relative to reading and math, especially HYP?? Do they really superscore?</p>

<p>Thanks in advance everyone!</p>

2

<p>Hello. I received a score like yours, with a CR 800, M 740, and writing 720, for an index of 2260. I think math for the May 5th test had a harsh curve, although you did very well on that section. I lost most of my writing points on the essay (oddly enough, I have practiced over 50 SAT essays). </p>

<p>Anyway, the common etiquette is that one should not take the SAT more than three times. I will be taking it only two times because I have to take the SAT IIs. If I were you, however, taking it a third time would allow you to…

  1. Create a strong superscore
  2. Receive a perfect CR+M score for UChicago and Cornell
  3. Get all of your scores in the 700s</p>

<p>The only downside would be if you got an index below 2260. I hope this helps!
Oh, by the way, I don’t think colleges would call you obsessive just because you got an 800 on one section and still wanted to retake.</p>

3

<p>Hi JuniorMint, thanks for the quick reply!
Yeah and I was really really close to getting a perfect score on math too…I know what I did wrong the moment I walked out of the test center…(it was a stupid median question…)
It would have been cool had I gotten a perfect 1600…But I am really not too concerned about a 790 on math either haha…
I feel like I just need to prepare for the writing section, and I would do SO MUCH better. Because I’ve always felt like the grammar was easy and the essay was formulaic, and my college counselor told me to “ignore” writing and just get a higher reading score (and i guess I accomplished both…)
My only concern is if my CR score drops down to, say, a 750 or 730. Because I crammed a lot of vocab for the May SAT, many of which I have already forgotten by now…Taking the SAT again means I have to pick them up again and restudy the vocab for CR… Would a 800CR in may and a 730CR in october hurt me? How would HYP look at this?
I am not too worried about getting into UChicago, because I go to a school that has traditionally maintained a very good relationship with UChicago. And I think UChicago is a great school and there aren’t many schools that I would take over UChicago. So I just need to know how the very top-notch schools would look at this (HYP, Stanford, maybe columbia or upenn?)
Thanks!</p>

4

<p>Hello again,
While I have less to lose, because I only had one 780+ subsection, I think it is worth the risk to try and bring your writing score up. Colleges understand that scores and scoring curves vary from test to test, which is why their percentiles for admitted students vary so much. HYP ask for your whole testing history because they know you are not going to ace each section every time.However, I think they would most like to see three sections in the high 750s.</p>

<p>As to how colleges feel about the writing section, I presume that many hold less value in it when compared with the CR, M, although your writing score still contributes to your total index, which colleges certainly care about. If a few colleges, such as Cornell, do not even ask for the writing section, it must not be entirely liked. HYP might be suspicious of a lower writing score, although your supplemental essays could quell their concerns.</p>

<p>I have heard that once you score 2250, especially if you lost very few points on the CR+M, then you should focus your efforts elsewhere. However, if you do not have brilliant ECs and awards, you should probably aim to be near the 75% percentile for your reach colleges, which is why I am retaking the SAT next week.</p>

<p>Harvard: 75% = 2380, writing range 690-790.
Princeton: 75% = 2380, writing range 700-790
Yale: 75% = 2380, writing range 710-790
Columbia: 75% = 2360, writing range 700-790
UPenn: 75% = 2300, writing range 670-770
Stanford: 75% = 2330, writing range 680-780</p>

<p>Wow, that list slightly scares me…
So, I wish you good luck in whatever you decide. I assume you would be taking the SAT again in the fall, so you have time to practice acing it, although to many, you already have! Sorry for the long response…
Wish me luck next week!</p>

5

<p>hey! WOW thanks for the thorough reply!! I am probably going to talk to my college counselor about this sometime soon, but this really helps me to decide!! (right now I am thinking I probably will retake it, simply because I know the writing score does NOT reflect my capabilities, but we will see :))
And the 75% percentile…jeez…25% of the students at HYP got above a 2380 on the SAT??? that is scary if you ask me…
While I do have some very cool/original ECs, and I have taken the AP English Language&Composition test in may (which is about 50% essay writing, and I most likely got a 5), I still don’t want colleges to be questioning my writing abilities based on that 670. Do you think a 5 on AP Lang would prove to the colleges that I can write?? Obviously it can never “prove” anything, but it would help to quell their concerns right??</p>

<p>Thank you so much JuniorMint!! your input is invaluable!! you don’t sound snobbish at all unlike some others on CC…Best of luck on the SAT next week!!! Hope you make the 75% percentile!</p>

6

<p>and when you said “they would most like to see three sections in the high 750s”, you mean the superscore right?? Because I am not sure if I will have enough motivation to drive myself to memorize those 1000 vocabs again…</p>

7

<p>

[quote]
Harvard: 75% = 2380, writing range 690-790.
Princeton: 75% = 2380, writing range 700-790
Yale: 75% = 2380, writing range 710-790
Columbia: 75% = 2360, writing range 700-790
UPenn: 75% = 2300, writing range 670-770
Stanford: 75% = 2330, writing range 680-780

[quote]
</p>

<p>Those statistics are misleading. Colleges provide the 25th and 75th percentiles for SAT scores, but don’t add the CR and M numbers together. Individuals may have scored in the 75th percentile for one section and the 25th for another though my example is extreme.</p>

8

<p>^^^ No wonder they are so scary! I got them off CollegeBoard, although I should not have tallied the CR+M+W. This sight appears to have tallied them as well: [The</a> 50 Best Colleges & Universities 2011-2012 Top School Rankings](<a href=“http://www.thebestcolleges.org/rankings/top-50/]The”>http://www.thebestcolleges.org/rankings/top-50/)</p>

<p>To 007,</p>

<p>Yes, I meant superscore, although I think you could get 750s in a single sitting. Personally, I only encountered three words I did not know in the vocabulary and writing sections, so I do not think memorizing 1000 words is vital. If you are worried about getting lower scores on the sections you have already scored high on, in an attempt to raise your writing score, I would not stress it too much. You already have a highly competitive index (2260), and with another go, your superscore should be near perfect. </p>

<p>Although I said HYP might be suspicious of your writing ability in light of your writing score, I actually have no clue what they would think. It is only suspicious in comparison to your other sections. I think your AP scores and essays should prove, or at least indicate, that you are a strong writer and, as it happens, might have had a difficult essay question, or a headache, during your SAT. For example, I have had a fair deal of persuasive writing practice, but my essay was either flowery (I tried using specific vocabulary) or formulaic (five paragraphs, three overused examples). </p>

<p>I heard some good advice in how to evaluate your SAT score. If you think you did worse than you expected, even if it is a high 2000+ score, then it is a bad score for you. If you think you achieved your full potential, even if that is a 1750, then you did well. If you did well by any standard, as you have done, but feel you could do better, then it is an ok score. Overall, if you think you can improve, then retest.</p>

<p>In any case, you can decide if you want to retest by seeing if I raise my score!</p>

9

<p>HAHAHA definitely! I wish the best for you–that would really give me a confidence boost!
And to be honest with you, i think SAT essays ARE formulaic, and SAT essay graders have strict guidelines to follow when scoring; in fact I think that is one of the main reasons why colleges don’t look at SAT writing as much. I have seen numerous posts as to how to get a 12 essay by simply remembering a writing structure and basically plugging in different words and phrases to complete an essay, literally. While I do not attest to the validity of those 12-point formulas, they certainly have some truth.</p>

<p>For me personally, essay isn’t even the main problem. Somehow, yes, somehow, I manage to do poorly on MC during real tests. I usually get a raw score of 75+ on my practice tests, but got a 66 on the real deal…Don’t know how that happened, but I guess I will just have to try harder and focus more on the writing, which I had to some extent ignored since I thought I would do well based on the practice tests that I took.</p>

<p>In any case, you have provided really valuable information! And I wish you the best next week :slight_smile: make sure you pm me when the scores come out so I decide whether or not to retake lol</p>

<p>Sincerely,</p>

<p>007</p>