Does anybody know how college admissions look at a test score that I really messed up. Most of mine are ok:
New Sat: 2270 (1510 on the old sat?)
PSAT: 227
SAT II Chem: 800
SatII Spanish: 770
SatII US Hist: 780
AP: Wrld Hist 5, Spanish 5, Chem 5, US HIst 4
BUT THEN THERE"S MY SAT II MATH level 2 where I got a 680.
I now wish I hadn’t taken it at all but its there and I don’t know how bad that’ll look. Do you think they’ll just see it and say, “oh she had a bad day” or will that have serious consequences and eliminate me for scholarships?
<p>You don't have to submit it, do you?</p>
<p>retake will fix your problems</p>
<p>All of the SAT and SAT II scores are on the same report. </p>
<p>The standard admissions advice is that they only look at your top three SAT II scores. Of course, they will see it because it is on the report. It is a bit like a judge telling the jury to ignore the fact the prosecuting attorney just said that the defendant confessed before he saw his counsel.</p>
<p>Really though, I don't think it matters. Your other scores are high enough so that you can reasonably apply to any college. The most important thing is difficulty of curriculum, then gpa/rank, and then standardized test scores. They won't split hairs between applicants who have test scores in your range. A 1550/1600 is no better than a 1600/1600. What you have to work on is standing out from the crowd and looking unique based on EC's, essays, and recs. You need to show "passion" and long-term commitment to one/two EC's rather than have a long list of unrelated activities with little involvement in any.</p>
<p>If you would feel more comfortable, you could attach a short explanatory note along with the essays about the score. I wouldn't even recommend it. The app form probably only has room for three SAT II's and so they probably won't even see the score on the CB report anyway.</p>
<p>It's only going to be an issue if you want to be major in a heavily math-oriented field such as Engineering, or want to go to Caltech or MIT.</p>
<p>Yes, for engineering majors, the most important thing on the app are probably the SAT I Math and SAT II IC/IIC scores.</p>
<p>Just a little question.. If you screw up badly for your first time SAT.. i.e 1860 and subsequently move on to get 2200, will the first SAT affect your admission to top LACs? Will admission officers actually look at the fact that you did badly the first time round??</p>
<p>I wouldnt worry about your 680 on your SAT Subject Test. Unless you're applying to a VERY competitive college that requires SAT Subject Test in Math Level 2, dont worry about it. If you're applying to a school for scholarships, it probably wont be as competitive, therefore it is probable (not definite) that your 680 is very good considering only the best take SAT Subject Tests.</p>
<p>I knew when I clicked this thread that the "terrible test score" would actually be quite good.</p>
<p>I don't think a 680 is bad, correct? It's a very high score. Especially considering that every other score is extremely high, it'll easily balance out. I guess you could take it over if you think it's that bad.</p>
<p>yea, a 680 isn't terrible even by the standards of TOP TOP colleges. It might detract if your other scores weren't as stellar but honestly they aren't going to care if one score is below a 700 (unless you are a math/engineering major blah blah as mentioned above). I know many people with SAT II scores in the mid 600's who have gotten into the ultra-selective colleges. Don't stress and congratulations on your great stats!</p>
<p>The 680 is actually pretty bad. Most of the SAT II's are centered on 600, but the SAT II Math IIC is centered much higher. As always, a good score is the score that you need. With a 2270 on the SAT I, I assume you are applying to colleges where you need three SAT II scores in the mid 700's. But as said, they really only take the three top SAT II scores. The more I think about this, they are probably just going to take the scores from the application form and not look at the CB score report, except perhaps for verification purposes. In the case, the 680 won't be on the app.</p>
<p>screwup: Everyone has some SAT scores that are lower than others. If you take the SAT three or less times, they will probably take the best subscore from math/cr/writing and put them together. If you take it more than three times, they will probably average everything together, which is worse. Because of the mix of old SAT and new SAT scores this year, nobody knows what they will do at specific colleges. The only good advice is to take the new SAT at least once because they may require it. You don't have a problem.</p>
<p>which colleges average the scores?</p>
<p>That particular statement about averaging scores is a generalized statement from the college guides. It does make sense, though, because otherwise some people would take it 12 times and pray for statistical aberations. </p>
<p>However, the issue this year is how they are going to mix and match the old and new SAT scores, since probably nobody has had the time to take the new SAT three times already. There is no way of knowing how any specific colleges are going to treat old and new scores since they probably haven't even totally decided yet. Also, it is unknown how much weight they will give to the SAT I Writing or how they will compared it with the now obsolete SAT II Writing. The new SAT I Writing is centered on 500, and the old SAT II Writing was centered on 600. On the plus side, there is nothing you can do about it so don't worry about it.</p>
<p>get a life, a 680 is fine unless it's like MIT or caltech</p>
<p>I was harsh in saying that the 680 was a bad score. It is actually an average score for the SAT II Math IIC test. It is just a very bad score for the OP. An unhooked applicant to a top 10-15 school should have a SAT of at least 1500/1600 and three SAT II's at least in the mid 700's. The OP has this, and so the score is very bad in the context of applying to those schools.</p>
<p>The issue, though, is really about the SAT II's. The now obsolete SAT II Writing and the SAT Math IC are sometimes required, but the rest of the tests are self selected. The average score varies but is typically around 600. However, the people taking the SAT II's are aiming at the top schools, and the particular tests that they take are the ones that they consider themselves very good at. Because of this, getting an average score of 600 is good due to the competition (although still not impressive to the very top schools). </p>
<p>The relevant thing here is that the SAT Math IC and SAT Math IIC tests are scored on different curves. I just looked it up, and the average score on the SAT Math IC is typically between 580-590, and the average score on the SAT Math IIC is typically 655-665. The IIC test is known as a test that you should take in order to get at least one high 700 score. It is, however, a test that pretty much only applicants planning to go into engineering ever take, and so it is very difficult for somebody else to compete with that group of test-takers.</p>
<p>The SAT Math IIC test covers more material and at greater difficulty than the SAT Math IC although neither cover calculus.</p>
<p>Result of a SAT test taken during freshman year can be erased??</p>
<p>I don't think there is any way to have a score taken off of the record except to call immediately after having taken it. You can cancel in the next day or two after the exam date. I think the colleges are aware of the problem, and they don't want people to avoid taking the tests. That is probably why they say they only look at the top 3 and why some colleges say that they will only use the test if it helps you. Their importance is less outside of the top 10-15 colleges. Tier 1 schools use them to try to distinguish between the amazingly qualified, almost identical, and too numerous top applicants.</p>
<p>yeah, on the report, it said a 680 was a 51 percentile, which doesn't look good. oh well i'll just hope the colleges don't see it.</p>
<p>why dont you just retake it?</p>
<p>Why is Math IIc one of the most important scores at math/engineering schools (such as MIT)? I mean, so many people applying have high scores so it seems like they would look at something else. Isn't an 800 around 90th percentile?</p>