Testing Strategy

Colleges and Universities A-Z Dartmouth College
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<p>My son is a junior. We just completed a tour of 10 colleges in the Northeast. and Dartmouth was his favorite school. He spent a long time taking to the guys in the Outdoor Club as this is one of his most important criteria for a school - he's an expert skiier, a gifted rock climber, certified in Wilderness medicine, etc. He is considering applying ED in the fall.</p>

<p>He has taken a very rigorous course load with the appropriate amount of Honors and AP classes. He has a 4.3 GPA. For SAT II's he has a 730 in Biology and 780 in Chemistry. He is considering majoring in Philosophy/Int'l Relations/Env. Science and wants to go to law school.</p>

<p>He has good community service, a couple student leadership positions, is studying 3 languages, was selected to participate in a selective international program, taking an independent study course in ceramics. So he is a pretty well rounded kid. He'll have good references and I assume he'll write a good essay given his writing skills.</p>

<p>He scored a 690M/750CR/800W on the SAT and a 32 on the ACT (11 on the writing). </p>

<p>Should he take the SAT again to try to raise his Math score?
Does Dartmouth consider the writing scores?
How will Dartmouth evaluate those test scores relative to the rest of his record?
What are his chances of ED acceptance?</p>

<p>Thanks for your advice.</p>

2

<p>Put bluntly, the Math score is at the lower cusp of the mid-50% of students. That said, it means at least a quarter of the students received a lower score in the Math portion. So ... if he has a chance to retake the SAT, he may as well, if it is not too big a burden. There's really no reason not to.</p>

<p>As of last year, the Writing portion of the SAT was looked at but not really considered ... though I believe as they gather more data on how the test is scored, etc, that it will begin to hold more weight in admissions ... so, basically, it is not that important.</p>

<p>It's hard to say how they'll view the scores against the rest of his record ... obviously, with his GPA and the like, they'll see a motivated student ... and from his scores, they'll probably see somebody who excels in the 'verbal' areas over the 'math'</p>

<p>ED acceptance ... I can't say he's a slam dunk. But nobody is. he's not an immediate reject either. Take from that what you will.</p>

3

<p>Hi MidwestDad</p>

<p>Welcome to CC and the Dartmouth board.</p>

<p>(gosh I hate chance thread and I don't usually respond to them)</p>

<p>Dartmouth does not look at the writing scores in the admissions process (they end up being used for placement). </p>

<p>I would retake to raise the math score (something about hitting that psychological mark700 mark would definitely increase his chances). Read through the Xiggi method for SAT prep to see if it helps</p>

<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=68210%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=68210&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Is the 4.3 weighted or unweighted (many selective schools take out the weighting because there is already and assumption that they are taking the most rigerous courses the school offers and they refer to th school's profile).</p>

<p>Is your son a strong enough skiier to be recruited (he should definitely contact the ski coach)?</p>

<p>attaching link for skiing</p>

<p><a href="http://dartmouthsports.com/SportSelect.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=11600&KEY=&SPID=4723&SPSID=48891%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://dartmouthsports.com/SportSelect.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=11600&KEY=&SPID=4723&SPSID=48891&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>attaching link to the recruiting questionnaire for skiiing</p>

<p><a href="https://secure03.scoutwareforms.net/dartmouth/ski_q/cgi/questionnaire.pl%5B/url%5D"&gt;https://secure03.scoutwareforms.net/dartmouth/ski_q/cgi/questionnaire.pl&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>I agree that ED maybe his best route (especially if he can get recruited) .</p>

<p>good luck to you</p>

4

<p>The 4.3 GPA is a weighted score. It's probably a 3.9 unweighted.</p>

<p>He is not a racer, so he wouldn't be recruited by the ski team. </p>

<p>He is registered to take the SAT again in May so he has the opportunity to raise his math score.</p>

5

<p>My advice would be to study the math questions in the blue book to become familiar with the types of questions that are likely to come up on the test. I didn't need to improve the other two scores, so I skipped those sections during my practice tests and managed to raise my math score from 650 to 760. I agree with sybbie that a score over 700 would look much better, and based on his current score it really shouldn't be difficult to achieve with some practice. Good luck! :)</p>

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<p>Although both subject tests are extremely strong, since he is considering a social science major, can your S squeeze in a humanities subject test, such as US History? Strong scores in different disciplines helps an applicant stand out.</p>

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<p>MidWestDad, good luck on your son's application. I wish him well, cause I'd really like those who love Dartmouth to get in. He has more than enough academics to excel, though I understand that any improvement in scores, as advised by other above, is a plus.</p>

8

<p>Hey, Midwest Dad.</p>

<p>Is he from an under represented state, like not the Chicago area (sorry, Chicagoans, please don't take offense)? What was his ACT math subscore? I agree that the 700 mark has a certain degree of magic.</p>

<p>His application should emphasize his interest in language. I'm honestly not sure that the math will matter, because a male plus languages plus writing may make for a strong candidate.</p>

<p>Depending on what his ACT math subscore is, consider a retake of ACT, not SAT. My thinking is this - if you are strategizing test scores, and frankly, at 690 you are in the region of strategizing, he is plenty prepared enough for Dartmouth, then you can select which ACTs to send. So if he does worse not better, no one sees them.</p>

<p>Dart seems to be score oriented, especially in the ED round. I say this because D came from an underrepresented state, wrote an only OK essay, submitted nothing extra, and had all test scores in the low to mid 700s (one 800 in English). It just seemed that in the ED round she was admitted because there were no holes in her academic record, she came from an underrepresented state and we were full pay.</p>

<p>I may be shortchanging Dart, but I really think that they are looking for kids that want to go there, kids who have visited and know what the school is like. I think that they compete strongly for high stat kids with HYPS, so that a high stat kid who is willing to apply ED has some real advantages. I believe that they are truly need blind, ie, the fact that we are self pay did not play a role in the decision, but I include that for the sake of honesty. I guess the moving target is "what is a high stat kid" and gender, this is the first year they had more female matriculants than male.</p>

<p>Good luck, it never hurts to emphasize in an essay how good a fit Dart is. D is a soph this year, the year she applied, he would have been a strong applicant, each year seems to be a little harder.</p>

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<p>personally, i wouldn't worry about the math score, but i guess that's cc for you</p>

10

<p>Thanks for all of the valuable feedback. </p>

<p>ACT math score was a 32 and not from Chicago.</p>

<p>How does Dartmouth use the ACT scores vs the SAT scores?</p>

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<p>Hooey, I don't remember, I'm not sure that info is on the website, either. D used score choice, and only submitted her first set of ACT scores. SHe only took the SAT once. It has been awhile, but I think 690 is higher than a 32. D sent both because her subscores flip-flopped, she actually did better on ACT math than on Eng, and vice versa for the SAT.</p>

<p>I agree with others that his scores are probably just fine, but in a way that makes it harder. No adcom is going to say he needs to repeat, but if he is denied or deferred, you'll wonder about the scores.</p>

<p>How does he feel about this? What does the GC think? Does he have a knowledgeable GC? Statistically he may well do worse, rather than better, so if he isn't committed to really prepping, the effort may well be wasted. ALso, another reason for going with the ACT is that if he repeats the SAT, he is truly in danger of looking like he is score chasing - they will see that 690, and think he is trying to break 700.</p>

<p>It is a tough call, but OTOH, I don't think he can really make a wrong decision.</p>

12

<p>I think he should study the math from the Blue Book and retake.
You might want to read through the "Official Decisions" thread at the top of the page get an idea of his prospects compared to some CC applicants who applied in recent years.
Good luck!</p>

13

<p>Oops! I mean the "Dartmouth College" page.</p>

14

<p>Just in case you're worried, I thought I should post this to assuage your fears a little--</p>

<p>My SATs were 770V/620M/720W. ACT was 29. SAT IIs, World Hist-660, US Hist-770, Lit-730.</p>

<p>Basically, my scores were significantly lower than your sons (especially math!) and I got into Dartmouth. I'm not a minority, a recruit, or a first generation college kid. I just put together a sparkling application, my friend wrote me one of the nicest peer recommendations I bet the board has ever seen, and I'm really involved in my extracurricular activities. Scores aren't everything, and a 690 is really nothing to fret about. Have your son take it again if he wants, but if he doesn't beat the score, don't expect that to ruin his chances by any means.</p>

15

<p>Thanks to everyone who replied to my questions. I'm new to this board (and the college search process). I find the discussion on the Dartmouth board and the other boards on CC to be very valuable. </p>

<p>I read some stuff on the Yale board yesterday about an article in their school newspaper about how they don't participate on these boards and don't consider them valuable. A admin officer from John Hopkins responded that they consider this to be an important opportunity to interact with students and parents. The admin officer at Tufts who did maybe the best information session we attended on our spring trip told the group not to use college confidential. I can't believe that these schools are so close minded that they pass up the opportunity to be involved in this community. </p>

<p>My son is taking the SAT again in May in an effort to improve his math score. His GC agreed with taking it again. </p>

<p>As student06905 posted, its possible to get admitted with an overall strong application. However, there is such a paranoia attached to this whole process that I think my s would regret not having tried again.</p>

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<p>At the end of the day, win (accepted), lose (rejected), or draw (waitlisted), you and your son want to make sure you did everthing possible to maximize his chances. </p>

<p>He has nothing to lose by re-taking the SAT.</p>