<p>Does Duke use superscore as the only criteria when considering your SAT1 score?</p>
<p>I ask because I am taking the SAT1 once more on November 1st to submit ED(will be my 3rd SAT) and for the first time I will use prep books, etc. and study. I am focusing most on Math + CR because they are most important and also, I already have a score of 760 on writing. I want to be sure that if i raise the math and reading scores, while writing drops a little, the superscore will be the factor that matters, not the one-sitting score. And hopefully, taking it 3 times wont make me look bad. </p>
<p>Basically: to an adcom will this look roughly the same in their eyes?:</p>
<p>Common sense dictates that one try is the most accurate show of ability. </p>
<p>But at most schools, a data entry clerk summarizes your scores and inputs them into a system (positive). It is my belief that the adcom only sees this summarized superscore(might be true).</p>
<p>Does it matter, though? Is there anything you can do about it at this point? Just go with it and hope for the best instead of worrying about it…</p>
<p>You took the SAT twice before without studying and at least looking at a prep book? Why?</p>
<p>Two things. First, in your example the adcom will absolutely not see it as roughly equal at all. The committee will wonder how Student 2 scored poorly in M+CR in those first two trials (I’m not saying 600-650 is “poor” in absolute terms, but compared to what you want your superscore to be) and if, because of that, the third test is a fluke. They’ll probably also wonder if the improvement in M+CR was paid for with the price of a lower W score. Second, the adcom is not stupid, if they see a dramatic drop in scores for a section, they have to ask why. One reason might be because a student was trying to take advantage of the superscoring.</p>
<p>In the end, however, noobcake might be right and some assistant will be the only person that sees the whole spectrum of your scores and only sends the best to be evaluated. The thing is that no one knows for sure. Why take that chance? Try to do the best on all sections without relying on something else. Realistically, 2130 and 2200 differ very little in the whole of the app. Worry about other things.</p>
<p>Ok, my son was admitted to Duke (one of his reach schools where he expected to be waitlisted) with the excellent scores he nailed at the last minute (October, senior year), which were 200 points over his junior year scores. Yes, he finally cracked the book for prep in his room a couple of Sundays…and figured out where he was “going wrong” when previously he was quite naive about standardized testing..and we live in a corner of the USA where no one preps for these things.
I would have thought that he would have been flagged for suspicious improvement or something..(we were floored), but he also had near perfect SATIIs, so…his SAT finally was on par with ability.
I am not recommending this path, but it is quite possible to get into Duke with your final score. He was a great 16/17 year old but had simply not matured enough to WANT to do well till it all became very real to him at the last minute.
Go after your best score by all means and quit obsessing on what they will “see or not see”…is my advice.
Instead, focus on what you can contribute to Duke in your essays and mean it. My son’s projection of what he would do while at Duke was predictive of what he really accomplished. His essays were very clear and he has been a part of specific corners of Duke life.<br>
They have plenty of top score applicants who are all alike in stats. Focus on your contribution to your class and to the community that is Duke.
good luck.</p>
<p>HiWei: I know it was stupid not to prep but I think two reasons played into it, both of which are obviously my fault. 1) Nobody from my school/area really preps for the SAT so i didnt wanna “waste my time” prepping for a test that I falsely believed you couldnt study for, and 2) I scored 75 on the math portion of the PSAT (1 careless mistake) my junior year before taking it for the second time so i thought i would be fine on the SAT in the following May. BUT i was enrolled in a math class when i took the PSAT and when i took the SAT i saw math problems, knew i could do them, but couldnt remember how. Now I am confident that if I had reviewed a little (which i will do next time), I would have done significantly better. I got the Barron’s 2400 book and in the practice tests from the Blue Book I am consistently scoring around 750 in math and 690-720 CR so I feel confident about the upcoming test.</p>
<p>Having said that, I appreciate all the advice and I see that the consensus is to just do as best as possible on the final test and see what happens, because a good score will definitely help regardless of what the adcom sees, and changing past scores is not an option. I’ll just spend time prepping for the SAT and concentrating on areas i have control over like essays, etc. Thanks for the advice!</p>
<p>If you bought the Real SATs…which I recommend..the Blue Book..then by all means buy the book by another company that publishes the answers to the blue book…Fulsome answers that clarify the best way to answer each type of question…my second son took “open book” Blue Book test and focused on COMPREHENSION of ANSWERS and TEST QUESTION STYLE and his personal first line errors…first..then work on speed. My best advice…Testmasters Complete Solutions.<br>
recap. Comprehension first. Speed and completion of each section second. Two different skill sets.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice Faline2 and i’ll definitely look into that. I’m also taking the ACT in September w/ writing and i’ve been prepping for that as well and early practice tests have me consistently in the low to mid 30’s so i may end up not actually submitting an SAT lol. But thanks for everyone’s advice, it helps a lot!</p>
<p>^^True, but if i submit the strong ACT w/ writing, it carries equal weight as the SAT1 and SAT2 tests, so i would not have to submit either SAT score, correct?</p>
<p>Since when does Duke require SAT2 if you submit the ACT plus writing?!?! I thought that if you submitted your ACT w/ writing score, you did not have to submit any SAT1 or SAT2. Am i mistaken?</p>
<p>MY BAD. For some reason I thought you were applying to Pratt in which case you’d need SAT II Math, but you never mentioned what school you were going for.</p>
<p>If you’re applying to Trinity, your plan will work. Sorry for the mix up.</p>
<p>That’s the beauty of taking the ACT. I’m going to take the ACT five times to maximize my scoring potential, yet I will only send my one best score to colleges. Not to mention the ACT is a more fair test…I love the ACT XP.</p>
<p>In my opinion, taking the ACT 5 times is a little excessive. If you study for the test the first time (reading a book, taking practice tests, reviewing answers), you should only need 1, max 2, runs at the ACT to understand the pressure of the test and how to manage it best. That means you should probably reach your “scoring potential” on the second or third ACT. You don’t learn something new about the test every time you take it, and keep in mind that it’s like $50 per test?</p>
<p>Like many people have said before, do try hard for a good test score but don’t forget it is not the only part of your application by any means.</p>
<p>I remember sitting through the 4 1/2 hour New SAT and was like, “I don’t care what I get, I’m never taking another standardized test before grad school again.”</p>