I took the SAT in December of 2018 and I got a 1410. I do not know if I can really improve my score from that. I am signed up to take it again in June and I plan to take SAT Math 2 for sure. My GPA is towards the lower end. I am planning to apply to Comp Sci program at University of California, Riverside. My GPA is high enough for that school. I don’t know if I should take the SAT again because I am not sure if I can do better. What if I do worse than that? Can someone give me some advice?
We recently asked some former admission reps the same question regarding my daughter. They said: “don’t take it again if you 1. know you can’t do better or 2. simply don’t need to.” If your scores are good enough for where you want to go and you are really unsure, don’t. But if you think you can and want to make yourself more competitive, do some work with Khan Academy for free.
im going to throw this over to @Gumbymom she knows all the stuff about the UCs and their admissions!
You’re above the 75% percentile for your SAT score at UC Riverside right now - which can help offset your lower GPA (depending on how “lower” it is). You’re statistically likely to improve if you take the test a second time, and you might be able to improve on an area of weakness. Riverside requires that you submit all scores so IF you think your 1410 was freakishly high then you might want to stick with it. You don’t provide information on the strength of the other aspects of your application - and they may impact your decision too. Good luck.
UC’s take the highest total score from a single sitting and I will not hold bad scores against you. If you do not think you can improve, then it may not be worth your time retaking, however CS at all the UC’s is very competitive so I see no downside in trying to increase your score.