<p>During the past school year I took the SATs twice, and I'm sorry to say did not take them seriously enough either time. I took one practice test for the first one back in March and got a 2050 with 710 R 670 W and 670 M. I didn't study for the one in June (I won't go into excuses; I should have studied but I didn't) - and only improved 10 points overall, with a 730 in R but going down to 660 in M.</p>
<p>I still need to take Subject Tests - there are SAT dates in both October and November, correct? Would it be worth it for me to do some serious SAT prep over the next couple months and try for a 2200+, or is it too late? Do colleges not like to see an applicant taking the test too many times? I'm very strong in math and I think my nerves just get the better of me and I misunderstand some of the questions. I feel like if I just keep taking practice tests I can get over that and really improve my score.</p>
<p>Can I squeeze in one more SAT and also SAT IIs in the beginning of my Senior year and have them sent away to college in time? Is it worth it? Should I look into the ACT?</p>
<p>It would be risky seeing that you improved very little on your second attempt and even went down in Math which you believe is your strongest area and the one that should have had the most potential for improvement. If you are applying to the Ivy Leagues your chances of improving your scores enough to be competitive are not good and the scores you have now are probably good enough to get you into the vast majority of colleges, even some fairly selective ones.</p>
<p>yes, you can take sat 1 in october and sat 2 in november, i believe you cant send an early application in though. but you will be fine for the regular apps to any college.
If you think you can score better, go for it. Better to try now then to regret it later.</p>
<p>In my opinion, you should try a full-length practice ACT, just to see how you do. You have the same score on the SAT that I do overall (2060), and I’m taking the ACT in September. Roughly, a 2060 correlates to a 31 on the ACT, so if you can take it and score better than that, it might be worth your time to look into it. However, you should definitely take SAT II’s, 2 at least since Georgetown is now the only college that requires 3. </p>
<p>All in all, you seem to be in the exact same predicament that I’m in, even with similar scores (for me, 680 W, 700 CR, 680 M). Good luck with whichever option you choose. :)</p>
<p>EDIT: If you care, my plan (since I’m planning on doing ED) is:</p>
<p>Sept: ACT
Oct: SAT II’s (two, Math II and Physics; might do Literature if I can do well on the practice)
Nov: SAT (for the 3rd and final time; since I won’t know if I got in with my ED by then, I’ll take it anyway)</p>
<p>Thanks for the input everyone - and interesting how we are in a very similar situation shockprops, and I will take your advice on looking into the ACT.</p>
<p>I am planning on applying to a few Ivy Leagues (my two target schools being UPenn and Duke, reach being Yale where I’d love to go to but I know the odds are stacked high against me, especially where I’m at now). I have CB’s SAT prep book - I just neglected using it aside from the one practice test the day before my first test. A bit too much procrastination on my part and this will hurt me but I’m cracking down now. </p>
<p>Hypothetically let’s say that I can retake the SATs in October or November and score a 2200 (I do believe this is realistic). Would I have a better shot applying regular decision with a 2200 third-retake or ED with a 2060? Probably the former, right? Just how much does ED make a difference when applying to college? My plan was to apply ED to my safety schools that I know I have a good shot in, but then apply regular decision with better scores to the target schools like UPenn, Duke, Yale, etc., which are the schools I truly desire to attend.</p>
<p>If I were to score a 31-32 or higher on the ACT, should I just apply ED with that score?</p>
<p>The 2200 would be better, but make the third time your last time. ED itself does improve your chances of getting into the college by a decent amount, but you have to take the college tour, learn all about them, research about their classes, campus, etc. In doing so, you can incorporate that knowledge of the college to show the admission officers that you truly want to go to that school, thus giving you the full benefit of ED. </p>
<p>And also, a 31-32 on the ACT is <em>roughly</em> a 2000-2100 on the SAT, so I’d say try a full-length, real but practice ACT. If you can manage a 33 and higher, it might be worth it to apply with that and two SAT II’s (the ACT itself, albeit with the Writing portion of the test, is rather bland). </p>
<p>I’m not sure about Duke and Yale, but I know that UPenn allows you to submit November SAT scores to them as part of ED as long as you opt to fill in the “rush scores” bubble.</p>