<p>Hypothetic scenario: 2 students with everything the same, except their SAT scores.
Say one has something like a 690 Reading, 710 Math, 700 Writing
The other one has a 800 Math, 780 Writing, and a 630 reading (me...).</p>
<p>The first one has a lower overall score but is a lot more consistent.
The second one has a higher score and clearly excels at math, but is extremely poor at reading. My question is, how badly will this effect my app? I am worried about my application due to my SAT score. Looking at my ED school's mid 50% range of students for the SAT, only TWENTY-FIVE PERCENT of students accepted had under 690 for CR!! It made me feel really anxious and that now I have no chance at getting in. Though the other parts of my application are all very good. I also did fairly well in high school english (A-/B+/B+/A. My HS is heavily heavily focused on the humanities) </p>
<p>If you know anyone with a scenario like mine (with a large discrepancy between Math and reading) who was still able to get into a prestigious college without crazy ECs (RSI, national champion runner or something) but generally a very well-rounded, strong application, please let me know.</p>
<p>I normally wouldn’t recommend this, but you should consider retaking the SAT–your scores are a little lopsided and judging by how you did on the writing section, could do a lot better. Some schools also only look at CR+M, so that’s another incentive to retake. But even if you don’t, a 2210 should be good enough for competitive colleges. </p>
<p>Good luck! </p>
<p>@Coriander23 I’ve always been extremely weak on the reading section. After taking a class, my writing score went from mid 600s to high 700/800. For writing all I had to do was learn all of the grammatical rules and I lucked out on the test day because there weren’t many idioms on the test. For reading, by the end of my prep class I was still stuck at mid-to-high 600s. On test day I couldn’t concentrate on the reading, and there were more vocab questions that I didn’t know than usual. </p>
<p>Also, define “competitive.” I know I have a good chance at getting into an in-state college (UVa), but it looks like because of my reading score I won’t be able to get into anywhere better.</p>
<p>It’s a shame, really. Makes me sad.</p>
<p>I am going to tell you something differently. Last year, my daughter was in a similar boat. CR 790, Wr 770, Math 680. Her PSAT math was a 67 (despite being Natl Merit Commended); she had taken multiple practice SAT math tests and never gotten above a 670. This SAT was in March of her junior year. So many people here on CC posted that she should retake the SAT; others told us that her chances at her dream Ivy were low because it wasn’t the “magical 700” and because it was such an outlier compared to her other scores.</p>
<p>Her GPA showed her earning As in honors math (and she got a 5 on the AP Calc A/B test her senior year). She earned an 800 on the SAT II English Lit and a 780 on the SAT II Spanish. We sweated – wondering if her decision not to retake the SAT “ruined” her chances. But her response to us was “I am never going to get higher and it isn’t worth the time I would have to spend continuing preparation. If XXX [Ivy] doesn’t want me because of this single math score, so be it.” </p>
<p>She was accepted ED to her dream Ivy and is now a freshman there and loving it. Go with your gut instinct. If critical reading is not your thing, then don’t take it again. Focus on the other areas. Spend that extra time and do well on your AP exams and your subject tests (if you need them). Only retake it if you think, based on your practice tests, that you confidently can improve.</p>