Should I retake?

<p>Hi all!</p>

<p>I got my SAT results today
2180 composite
CR- 800
M- 620
W- 760</p>

<p>I was just wondering if this put me out of the ball park for schools like brown/UPenn?</p>

<p>For a bit of context:
I am international student (UK). I am not requesting financial aid, or any loans or anything. I have good ECs (national rowing medals, editor of school magazine, lots of theatre, mentoring/tutoring younger students etc etc) and I will have really good references too. My GCSEs are 9 A<em>s and an A, my A-level predictions are A</em> A* A (this would convert to above a 4.0).
I will take my subject tests (English lit and French) this December and am expected to get between 700-800 in each ( I have done mock tests). </p>

<p>I also have severe dispraxia (a different form of dyslexia) which I plan to include somewhere in my application.</p>

<p>I'm applying for humanities, specifically with a view to majoring in philosophy (not science or math). </p>

<p>Given all that, is it worth retaking in January to get that math higher and reach a 2200? </p>

<p>Thanks! :)</p>

<p>But I’m not applying for maths or science- i’m applying for a humanity? And if they’re looking at individual parts, wouldn’t they be more impressed with the critical reading than disappointed with the math? </p>

<p>I’m inclined to think my score is pretty good and just leave it. </p>

<p>Who cares if I’m a bit weak at maths if the rest of my application is strong?</p>

<p>I don’t necessarily think you should retake. It might help a little, but I doubt much. In general I just feel retaking is overdone. You have good results, so why be a score grubber?</p>

<p>But: American universities, especially ones like Brown and Penn, are not like British universities: you are admitted as a general student, not as a specialist. You will take courses in many areas, not only your specialty.</p>

<p>So, math scores do matter, even if you are not doing anything related to math.</p>

<p>(Are any of your A-levels in a quantitative discipline? I know that’s unlikely, but if so I definitely wouldn’t retest.)</p>

<p>Hi NavalTradition, thanks for your reply!</p>

<p>I’n applying with humanities/languages as my provisional major subjects. I’m also applying to art schools and some UCs</p>

<p>I tend to agree with you- I think the colleges prefer to see one good score than a bunch of retakes. They advise you to only take it once or twice anyway.</p>

<p>I guess Brown is a better bet, as there’s no core curriculum- so no math requirement.</p>

<p>My A-Levels are French, English Literature, Philosophy and Ethics (religious studies). I did get an A* in Math IGCSE, and a gold certificate in the international math challenge maybe it’s worth including that somewhere.</p>

<p>I’d have to retake in Jan- do colleges actually look at this? I know the say they do, with the exception of the UCs, but do they really? I somehow doubt it.</p>

<p>I don’t think colleges will reject me/accept me on the basis of my math score. What do you think?</p>

<p>Thanks for your help
:)</p>

<p>bro you are in good shape to enter these top-notch colleges in the country, 2180 is a very strong score and if you arent requesting any type of financial aid you will be accepted right away</p>

<p>Actually, these top colleges are need-blind in their admissions process. Those SAT scores are average for Brown or UPenn, it wouldn’t hurt to take it again.</p>

<p>Somebody who worked for Brown admissions during a campus tour told me that Brown are not needs blind when it comes to international admissions. X</p>

<p>Also, they might be blind to the amount of aid you need, but they’ll know whether you ticked ‘requesting financial aid’ or not on the common app.</p>

<p>In fact, I just looked it up. There are only 6 colleges in the US that are needs-blind for internationals. Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Yale, Amherst and another one- I can’t remember. X</p>