I took my first SAT in January and got 1130/1600, and a second time in March but only improved by 10 points 1140/1600. I I was really disappointed with the results, so I signed up for the ACT in June. Surprisingly, I found the ACT much more suitable for me and scored a decent score of 25. My mom is insisting that I take the SAT again in August for better chances but I am unsure about whether or not my first two SAT scores will hurt me as colleges look at all SAT scores. Should I take it a third time or is the ACT score enough? I have a weighted GPA of 4.38, decent extracurriculars, honors/IB/AP classes (UC GPA 4.07, if that helps anything)
Schools (in order of preference)
-UC San Diego
-UC Irvine
-Pepperdine
-Loyola Marymount
-UC Riverside
-Cal State Fullerton
-Cal State Long Beach
- Azusa Pacific
-UC Santa Cruz
Your ACT composite of 25 is slightly better than your SAT of 1140. I would try the ACT again and aim for a 30+ for the best chances at UCSD and UCI. Do some prep this summer and see if you can bump it up.
Your ACT is within range for the rest of the schools on your list although on the low side for many, but just due to the increasing competitiveness of the UC’s and Cal States, having a higher test score to go along with our solid GPA will definitely help your chances.
Cal States will superscore your SAT and ACT. UC’s will ask for all test scores, but they use the highest score from a single sitting.
I believe Pepperdine super scores the SAT but not the ACT. Not sure about LMU or APU.
Don’t retake the SAT. Your ACT is a little better and if you prefer it, it’s is more likely you will be able to improve on it… I am a test prep tutor and I really see no advantage at all for you to take the SAT again. It’s a waste of your time and money.
Taking the SAT three times could signal too much interest in tests, so at most take the ACT again, you’re a little below the UCSD range, in range for the others.
Let’s say I end up retaking the SAT for the third time and score at least a 1250 (totally hypothetical) and not retake the ACT. From research, I found that a 1250 is higher than my ACT composite of 25. Should I submit the SAT scores to the UC’s or stick with my single ACT score? Which is riskier, the SAT three times with average scores the first two times and improvement the third time, or the decent 25 ACT from a single sitting?
The SATs taken three times is much riskier, they single sitting ACT will look much cleaner in the app.
I wouldn’t bother taking the SAT again. My S took the SAT twice, got basically the same score both times so we stopped there.
If you take re-test I would consider preparing more and trying the ACT again since that seemed to be the better test for you.
My top schools on my list are all UC’s requiring the SAT with writing. However, the first SAT I took was without writing. If the UC’s see the first score will this still hurt my chances, even if it was without the essay? My mom already signed me up for my third SAT (second with essay).