<p>I took the october SAT and didn't practice at all cause I thought I would be focusing on the ACT and got a really bad score.. 600 math, 640 reading, but 780 writing(9E). I practiced somewhat for the january SAT and got a 710 math, 710 reading, and 730 writing (2150 total), but I want to superscore and send in the first test with the 780 to make a 2200 superscore.</p>
<p>My question is, will top schools including Harvard and Princeton view the first test unfavorably? Would they understand that it was only my first test, and that I increased on all of the sections (but decreased slightly on reading)? Or would they see the 600 and 640 as REALLY bad because so many people apply with 2400s first time? If you were in my position, would you send the 2150 single sitting or 2200 superscore? </p>
<p>Thanks so much everyone and good luck with everything you're doing!</p>
<p>Superscore. 2400 is not something admissions committees are after. Each and every top school could have easily filled its classes with 2400~ students, without reading a single application, but they don’t do it right? There’s a reason for that. Test scores aren’t everything. Good luck!</p>
<p>Harvard’s current first-time degree seeking freshmen enrollment is 1,662. There were 360 perfect scores in 2012, as per the above figures from the College Board.</p>
<p>Also consider that these perfect scorers are split between at least every top ten school, and probably most, if not all of the top twenty, and further, some probably attend their state flagship institutions for financial reasons, or to be closer to home.</p>
<p>Even if you take all of the students who scored at a 2300 or above, this total is only 8077 for 2012. So, maybe Harvard could have its cup runeth over with these exceptionally high scorers, but again, not all of them are going to Harvard, and I’m certain that many of them wouldn’t go if they were admitted, because the choice of attending a school is about more than prestige.</p>
<p>All this to say, Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, and many others do super score, but many schools like Yale and Stanford do not. I suggest that OP research each specific school he/she is applying to before making decisions that will affect the strength of application items.</p>
<p>Also, while I wrote above to disprove the idea that top schools could pick exclusively perfect scores to fill their classes with, this is not to say that test scores are everything. JasonCalv gave good advice in that there are other considerations to be made when accepting students, and in reality, there is no score above a 2100 that will keep you out of a top school (with the possible exception that you somehow manage two 800 sections and a 500, but that’s not you, so don’t worry).</p>
<p>Good luck going where you want to go, and doing what you want to do, OP.</p>
<p>The above poster is essentially correct except that Yale does superscore the SAT. They do not participate in the Score Choice. They also do not superscore the ACT.</p>
<p>I apologize, I understood requiring scores for all test dates to mean that they would not super score. I don’t know why a school would require all scores if they were going to super score.</p>
<p>The spirit of the post is still the same. A high score is distinguishing, but doesn’t stand alone in the process, and please research your schools.</p>
<p>Thanks so much everyone! This really calmed me down. I talked to one of my friends’ parents whose kids have gotten into Harvard, and she said the improvement actually looks better than someone who gets a great score the first time because it shows drive to do better. Thanks again!! :)</p>