<p>So I've noticed through the years that I've been looking at this site that many students worry about their low SAT scores. Let me tell you that it is not the end of the world and here is why.</p>
<p>Last year I took the SAT and had a lot of prep beforehand (SAT classes..) I worked my butt off for months and after all of that i ended up with a 1970 (with a 590 CR). Not a bad SAT score at all, but I was planning to attend a place such as Brown, Penn, Dartmouth, Duke and so forth.</p>
<p>I was actually really upset with my grade and I thought I was never going to get into one of these schools. However, I took the ACT and got a 31 my first time, and my second time and my third time, until the fourth time when I got a 33. </p>
<p>I just got into Duke under RD in March and am very excited to attend. I just want to let you people know that the ACT is a great option for those who don't do well on the SAT (I know the vocab part on the SAT killed me) and that there is hope for everyone who is a great student both in and out of the classroom to get into an elite university. </p>
<p>I'm not a legacy and I'm a white male from New York.</p>
<p>I hope the end of junior year goes well for the rest of you and that you take my advice when you're trying to clear your head.</p>
<p>Congratulations. What your story indicates is that if one has excellent grades, but low SAT scores it may be that one will do much better on the ACT. Top colleges will consider student's highest scores on either the SAT or ACT, so if one doesn't do well on the SAT after prepping, it may be well worth it to take the ACT.</p>
<p>I will second this ACT praise. I got a 680 CR, 610 M at the SAT when I took it in my junior year. Good scores, not "elite" material. I retook it and got 690CR and 620 M...I reached my SAT peak. So then I took the ACT and ended up with a 32, which is the 99th percentile. The SAT is not everything!</p>
<p>Granted, I definitely didn't get into college based on my ACT score, but it made me feel a bit more confident to have a good score.</p>
<p>I'm intrigued by this topic, but no one provides any explanations.. will you help me out... how are you "bad" at the SAT? I really don't get it. Assuming you do well in English class, how do you have a bad vocabulary? What's so hard about the math problems?</p>
<p>It's not like any studying is needed, it was completely, utterly natural to me</p>
<p>Not everyone is a good test-taker. You may just be good at standardized tests. I know a girl who is extremely talented in writing/literature that got a 710 on the CR. Obviously that's a good score, but you would expect someone so good at english to receive a score closer to 800.</p>
<p>People can have high grades and low SAT scores if they attend a school that provides an inferior education or if they are able to attain high grades by doing lots of either extra credit work or work that would not be assigned at a more difficult high school. Examples of such work are getting credit for writing definitions of words, outlining chapters, or doing arts activities that are supposed to be related to the coursework. For instance, getting a grade for designing a book cover for a book assigned in AP English.</p>
<p>There are high schools where, for instance, the AP teachers don't use proper grammar and the teachers lack the ability to comprehend and interpret AP -quality literature. I've read recommendations written by such teachers. In such schools, few students pass AP tests, not due to the students' being unintelligent, but due to the teachers' weak teaching.</p>
<p>There also seem to be some students who do far better on then ACT than they do on the SAT.</p>
<p>I just want to defend myself and say that my school is a wonderful place to learn and really challenges its students. I took 4 APs prior to senior year (this year taking five) and have recieved a score of 5 on all of them (European History in tenth grade, US History, English Language, and Biology in eleventh). I just happened to do better on the ACT than SAT and i don't think my low score on the SAT means i'm bad at English (I did get a 5 on the AP after all)</p>
<p>Lala, no reason to defend yourself against my post, which also said, "There also seem to be some students who do far better on then ACT than they do on the SAT."</p>
<p>"know a girl who is extremely talented in writing/literature that got a 710 on the CR. Obviously that's a good score, but you would expect someone so good at english to receive a score closer to 800."</p>
<p>I wouldn't expect someone who is extremely talented at writing/English to get a score closer to 800. There are many very talented writers and readers who score much lower than that. And, a 710 is an excellent score.</p>
<p>lalala you seem like the perfect specimen for what I mean... how is it possible that you find AP English exam easier than critical reading? That blows my mind.</p>
<p>BTW, I got an 800 in writing, whereas my English teacher told the whole class that I'm no good at writing.</p>
<p>ee33ee, the SAT Writing section isn't really testing your ability to create an stylistically-mature essay with a unique voice. It's testing your ability to pump out a 5-paragraph essay with a somewhat-coherent thesis and potentially-fallacious claims to back it up. Writing a good essay for the SAT may not be writing what your teacher expects of a "good" essay.</p>
<p>No, it actually isn't even that - I got a 5, and then a 9 on the essay portion (guess what, a 9 is good enough to get an 800).</p>
<p>Anyways, my point is that the SAT is ridiculously straightforward, and although I know writing is not a completely reductionist process, there are components that are unavoidable for any "good writer": grammar, sentence completion, punctuation for heavens sake!</p>
<p>590 on Critical Reading and 5 on AP Language, when the latter tests everything that is in the former but with increased rigor and scope? Lil' Jon says, "Whhhaaaat?"</p>
<p>There are also some who find the ACT equally repulsive. I especially hated the science and reading sections.... I scored a 30 on the ACT but a 2300+ on the SAT I.</p>
<p>As somebody who got a solid SAT score (2030) and sub-par grades (3.33 UW/3.88 W), I think grades are far more important as they also show responsibility and strong work ethic. I had little of either and it hurt me when applying for college. Thankfully I got into a solid school (UCI) and will be going there next fall.</p>
<p>well it's easy to mess up on the sat. i'm pretty good at math...in ap calc this year...but i missed two questions on my sat and got a 740 on math.</p>
<p>a lot of my teachers and counselor expected me to get a perfect 800. i guess they don't understand that one test doesn't necessarily provide a whole summary of how much i've mastered a certain subject.</p>
<p>of course, i'm not complaining about my 740...i'm just saying that math is generally not too difficult for me.</p>
<p>i am definitely planning on taking the act later, so thanks for this thread=)</p>
<p>I find it completely believable that someone could be great at a subject and it isn't reflected in their performance on either the SAT or ACT. I know someone who as a high school student was getting to paid to write by a magazine, had won international awards for their writing, yet who struggled to get above an average score on the ACT/SAT essay. The time limit and the constrained form just made it very difficult for this excellent writer to get it done.</p>
<p>The SAT and ACT are not absolute indicators of academic success - they just give admissions officers a convenient way to compare students on the same measure.</p>
<p>My son was 4th in his class, had a 4.0 GPA, and got an 1880 on his SAT's. CR was the problem, only 550. I honestly think they had problems reading his handwriting. They should let kids type this section, that's what they've done the entire time through school. Anyway he has an amazing list of extracirricular activities and was accepted RD to every school he applied to including William and Mary, UR, and Columbia. He will be attending Columbia. He did submit an extensive typed essay, a portfolio of his papers, and had stellar recs from his English teachers and GC. Don't hang everything on a 2000+ SAT.</p>