Terrible SAT Scores ):

Colleges and Universities A-Z Massachusetts Institute of Technology
1

<p>Hi all,</p>

<p>Before the SAT results were out I was pretty confident and aimed at some super reach schools (including this...). But after today, I don't think it's practical anymore. I've taken the SAT 3 times already and I'm not over 2k. I know SAT scores aren't all, but I need to at least be in the "acceptable range", which is usually 2100 or above. I plan to retake the SAT, but I'm also afraid that by taking it 4 times it will show something bad about me in the application...any advice? I feel like my app is pretty decent, it's just the SAT scores dragging me down.</p>

<p>Should I retake the SAT?</p>

<p>Thanks for your opinion!</p>

2

<p>You can use score choice, so no one needs to know you’ve taken it four times.</p>

<p>I wouldn’t take it again until you’ve done something drastically different from what you’ve been doing. How have you been studying? Did you read the blue book and do the practice tests in it?</p>

3

<p>Yes, I’ve been using the blue book and PR practice tests to practice. Personally I think I worked really hard on it and the scores didn’t reflect my effort put into the test. Does this mean I’ve reached my limit? My CR and W improved, which is good, but M dropped terribly, and I have no idea what happened.</p>

<p>The only thing with score choice is that most elite schools do not accept score choice; they want you to report all tests you’ve taken (although this is not the case with MIT, but other ivies do)…</p>

<p>Personally I would say that my ECs are pretty strong, probably one of the strongest in my graduating class. How holistic do you think schools like Harvard, MIT, UPenn is? Is a score below 2k going to affect me a lot?</p>

4

<p>I don’t know anything about Harvard or UPenn.</p>

<p>Keep in mind that MIT considers your highest score in each category. This means you’d have your initial, higher math score, and you’d also have your new, higher critical reading and writing scores (assuming you report those tests). You should be above 700 in each category; ideally you should be within the middle 50% ranges here-- [Admissions</a> Statistics | MIT Admissions](<a href=“http://mitadmissions.org/apply/process/stats]Admissions”>Admissions statistics | MIT Admissions) --but the important thing is to be above 700 in each category.</p>

<p>I’m actually not sure if MIT uses the writing section. They did not when I was applying, but that was a few years ago.</p>

5

<p>mm then did I kill my chances? My math is above 700 if we take the highest…but my writing is just below and reading is way down there…</p>

<p>What does this mean? should i be taking it again then?</p>

<p>Thank you so much for your input, it really helps!</p>

<p>Also, what was your situation when you applied to MIT? Could you share your experiences or some comments about it?</p>

6

<p>If your writing and reading scores are below 700, you should do as much as you can to bring them up to 700. If that means taking it again, you should probably take it again. However, unless you dramatically change what you’ve been doing to prepare, your scores are not going to get significantly better. If you’re scoring below 700 you might want to do more than just the practice tests in the blue book. You should also read through the chapters and chapters of text that come before the practice tests, and you should be paying very close attention to what problems you get wrong and why.</p>

<p>My situation when I was applying to MIT was very different from most. I was already going to my safety school as an early enrollment student, and I had already taken the SATs the year before to get into that school, so I didn’t have to worry about taking them again. I also didn’t have to worry about applying to non-reach schools or getting into a good college.</p>

7

<p>Thanks for the advice!</p>

<p>Just a few last quetsions though, do you think SAT scores outweigh GPA in terms of importance in admission decision? or vice versa? How much does essays weigh exactly? How about ECs?</p>

<p>You’re very helpful!</p>

8

<p>Also, what chapters that come before the practice tests are you referring to? Do you mean tips given by the books that are at the beginning? For CR I’ve been studying a lot of vocabs and I know they’ve helped me a bunch. What else do you recommend doing for improvements on CR and Writing? (my essays has been a consistent 9, so I’d really have to boost my MC scores)</p>

9

<p>I don’t know what you can do for the writing MC except have a good understanding of basic English grammar.</p>

<p>The blue book has a section of text for each section, and these precede the practice tests, which are all at the end. If I recall correctly these sections make up the bulk of the book.</p>

<p>For the CR section I carried these around and read them while I was waiting for buses and stuff: <a href=“http://img.sparknotes.com/content/testprep/pdf/sat.vocab.pdf[/url]”>http://img.sparknotes.com/content/testprep/pdf/sat.vocab.pdf&lt;/a&gt; I crossed out words once I consistently got them right, then got it down to 50 or so words that I still didn’t know and kept working on just those until I had memorized the entire list.</p>

<p>The best thing you can do is practice problems (from the blue book, not Princeton Review) and to understand why you get problems wrong when you get problems wrong so that you don’t get similar problems wrong again.</p>

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<p>Have you attempted the ACT at all? Some students do significantly better on ACT than SAT.</p>

11

<p>Take the ACT. I’ve never heard of anyone improving their scores as much as you want to, sorry to say. I think you’d do much better on the ACT</p>

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<p>Thanks for all the advice! I can’t take the ACT since Im not in the US…</p>

<p>What are the chances of getting into top schools like this with an SAT below a 2k? How unique or outstanding do you have to be? :S</p>

13

<p>There are ACT test centers all over the world. [Test</a> Center Codes - International | ACT Student](<a href=“ACT Registration | ACT Testing Dates | The ACT Test”>ACT Registration | ACT Testing Dates | The ACT Test)</p>

<p>If none of those is within range of you, there is still the option of arranged testing. <a href=“http://www.act.org/aap/pdf/arranged.pdf[/url]”>http://www.act.org/aap/pdf/arranged.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>is English your first language? is the TOEFL an option for you?</p>

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<p>I’ve taken the TOEFL and scored pretty well on it. But I still need the SATs though</p>

16

<p>Crawlingonfire- odds are that you will not improve dramatically unless you drastically change the way you prepare…if I can assume you are a senior, time may be against you. You should prepare the strongest application you possibly can with what you have - ec’s, GPA, essays, etc. and know you have the done the best job possible. With that being said, you MUST apply to more realistic schools- elite is not everything. Your chances at these schools are very low, holistic or not, so please find some great schools that match your stats- there are many! Good luck!</p>