<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 730? 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? And if so, do they REALLY ONLY look at your superscore? Or do they still consider all of your scores from each subsection? And is there really any point in retaking the SAT? What would you do if you were me?</p>
<p>BTW, I took the AP English Lang test in May and am expecting a 5. Would that clear any doubt in the colleges' minds about my writing ability?</p>
<p>Thanks in advance everyone!</p>
<p>Hey, jamesbond1. To answer your questions in order:
- Your writing score is on the low end of Harvard, Yale and Princeton’s middle 50% acceptance range. However, your full score, 2260, is on target. Retake it if your writing score is going to bother you forever. If (and this is a conditional, I am not attempting to suggest that this will happen) you don’t get admission from the top three, you don’t want to be running hypotheticals in your mind like “My Writing SAT score made them reject me.”
- Harvard, Yale and Princeton superscore. The admissions committee may be confused by your fluctuating critical reading scores, but they will only consider your highest.
- The general rule of thumb is not to take the SAT more than three times. Though, my college counselor (who was on the admissions committee of Princeton for 7 years) thinks that two is better. An anecdote: I know someone who took the SAT five times and got into UPenn. Ivies don’t have enough time to mull over the implications of your character as implied by your standardized testing habits.
- I don’t think I’d have the drive to retake the SAT for a third time. But, that’s just me.
- The point of retaking the SAT is to get a better score. You’re in a position to do that. Go for it if you’re motivated.
- Your English AP will not compensate for your “low” Writing SAT score, but it will benefit you in the application process.</p>
<p>Hey nelkypie, thanks for the response!
How do competitive colleges like HYP look at your SAT Writing score? Do they put just as much weight on it as CR and M, or is it like meh…? I know you can’t necessarily read the minds of the admission officers, but what’s the process like? Do they look at the score and move on to other parts of my application, or would they question my Writing?
I just talked to my college counselor today (who was on the admission committee of UChicago and Columbia a few years back), and she said not to waste my time on writing because it “doesn’t count for much, and no college would question my ability based on my CR and M score” and told me to spend the time working and refining my applications instead. I don’t buy it completely… What’s your take on this?
Thanks again.</p>
<p>Well, I certainly think that any school would look at, say, a 750 more favorably than a 670. But I do agree with your college counselor; the math and critical reading sections were the original two parts of the SAT and they are looked at more critically for this reason. Your writing score is in the middle 50% of accepted Harvard, Princeton, and Yale students, so I’d say you’re fine.
SATs aren’t even close to the most important thing on your application. It’s the qualitative, not the quantitative information that’ll ultimately set you apart from a sea of candidates with ~3.95s and ~2300 SATs. Fine tune your essays rather than wasting time studying for the SAT!</p>
<p>Sounds like a plan! haha. such a relief to hear someone to say that!
But i definitely don’t think my writing score is in the middle 50%…more like a little under the 25th percentile for HYP… 
BTW, just out of curiosity, may I ask which institution do you want to attend/are attending/have attended? Are you a student as well or are you a parent?
Thank you for all the help, definitely a relief!</p>
<p>Ah, sorry, your score is in the bottom 25% of admits. I was looking at the statistic for applicants. Regardless, your composite score is still competitive.
Quick question: why are you interested in Harvard, Yale and Princeton, specifically? </p>
<p>I’m a rising senior at a New Jersey boarding school and am looking into universities with strong neuroscience programs.</p>
<p>I’d just stick with the scores that you have. They’re very good.
I’ve noticed that sometimes students who are known for being very strong writers are disappointed with their writing scores, and actually score much lower than their abilities. It makes me think that the test is structured in a way that doesn’t really reward writing talent. I think this is especially true for creative writers, probably because of the scoring, which is very formulaic.
Your counselor is giving you very good advice. Focus on the other aspects of your application. Make your essays shine.</p>
<p>@nelkypie
Yeah lol :(…I am a rising senior as well, and I also live in Jersey (although I do attend a private school in NY)!! woohoo!
And that’s a very good question, and my answer is probably gonna sound like that of just about every other applicant that’s interested in HYP: the name and prestige. A VERY VERY bad reason, I know, but I just can’t help it. Coming from my Chinese family background (i’ve lived in china for 14 years…so quite a good amount of influence coming from there), HYP is every kid’s dream, and I was lucky enough to be able to study at an extremely competitive high school here, so I do want to make the most out of what I have and have a shot at my dream schools.
However, I am not limiting myself to those schools, I am also very interested in schools like Columbia, UChicago (for their core), Georgetown (for DC), and some top LACs. I am definitely more of a humanities person than I am a science/math person (quite ironic I know…) But it would just be a dream come true if I can be admitted to one of the Holy Trinity 
And good luck to you!!! Neuroscience is one of my few interested subjects in the realm of math and science lol</p>
<p>@moonchild, thank you! yes I’ve seen posts on how to get a 12 on your essay…While maybe not entirely valid, it certainly tells some truth about the nature of the writing component of the exam. And I’ve always seen myself as a very strong writer, whether in chinese or english, and it’s one of the few things that I can say I am proud of (that’s why I took AP Lang because the essays on the exam are just so much better…better is a vague word, but I don’t know how to put it, it just feels like it is what an “essay” should be like).
But really my main problem on the writing section is doing very very badly on MC on test day. On the May exam I got 5 MC’s wrong–usually I get around at most 1-2 wrong. I guess I’m just not good at remembering the rules on the spot…
Thanks for the advice!</p>
<p>Fair enough regarding your prestige comment (I’ll admit, I asked because I suspected you’d answer as you did.) Just make sure you apply to a couple safe schools that you like. An anecdote to illustrate why: one of the top students in my school (we’re a boarding school that sends 25% of our grads to ivies and ivy level colleges and this girl had above a 4.0) only applied to ivies and got rejected from every single one. Thank god she had west point as her fall back, but her complacency almost screwed her over.</p>
<p>Take it again. 670 is too low for a section that’s easy to study for. Try to bring it up to an 800. If you can’t, try for a 750. Also, if I were you, I’d try to prefect the math to 800. Good Luck!</p>
<p>^^</p>
<p>Contrary to CC thinking, colleges admit students who don’t score a 2400. </p>
<p>You are lucky in that superscoring will be very easy for you.
Critical Reading doesn’t fluctuate that dramatically
Math depends on the curve, so you might get an 800.
Writing should not be hard to improve.</p>
<p>Don’t retake if: you might score significantly lower overall
Retake if: you can score or superscore much higher</p>
<p>Good Luck 007</p>
<p>Yeah but do colleges ONLY consider the superscore? I’d imagine that most would consider the superscore but also the entire testing history…My CR score is bound to go down to maybe like a 750 (and that’s with restudying the vocabs…which I’d hate to do… )
aghhhh!</p>
<p>Honestly, they ask you to submit everything so they can superscore for you. They understand that you might not be consistent over all of your sittings, and they want to create the best profile for you that they can. Admissions officers don’t want kids withholding scores that might help them!</p>