<p>So I have a crazy, neurotic dilemma. Got back my Dec. SAT today and my results were:
CR: 750
M: 730
W: 760
Overall: 2240</p>
<p>Obviously this is a fantastic score, but not completely to my standards. I'm looking at HYP etc. so I was aiming for 2300+. I'm especially upset by math because I knew it all, I just must have made dumb mistakes. Any advice on whether I should retake it? I have strong ECs and straight A's at a competitive school, so it's not as if I don't have other things going for me, and I know it's not just about the SAT. Also, I didn't study at all, so I know if I actually prepared, I would likely improve. To retake or not to retake? That is the question...</p>
<p>If correct, if I was told, that Princeton rejected half of the applicants near 2400 like one or two years ago. (I don’t remember the link that a person posted on the CC although it was given).</p>
<p>^ He can retake it again, but I don’t see anything wrong with his current score. Usually students aim for the highest scores of averaged range that they can get. Cause anything in 2200+ is near excellent.</p>
<p>Statistically, your chances of doing better on a retake are not good. According to College Board, people in your score range are statistically apt to do worse. I know that most schools superscore, and so some people would argue that you should always retake – it can’t hurt, they say.</p>
<p>But I still believe that you’re better off not re-taking.</p>
<p>Short of the elusive, perfect 2400, I don’t think that most colleges would “respect” your application a whole lot more if the only difference in it were a second SAT score of, let’s just say, 2340 versus 2240. A perfect score of 2400 might turn heads – but do you know the likelihood of getting that? And the chance of your score going DOWN is higher than the chance of it going up.</p>
<p>What would look better to you if you were “judging?” A single 2240? Or a 2240 and, say, a 2130, even if there were various higher numbers that could be superscored to achieve a “better” overall result?</p>
<p>I KNOW what the admissions people say – we’ll look at your best score in each category. But I’m still prone to believe that a single 2240 looks plenty fine and that you might otherwise be wasting your money and time – and to what end?</p>
<p>If you’re not “good enough” now, then why would you be “good enough” after achieving an additional, let’s just say 120 points on a standardized test (if you’re darned lucky and if you’re a statistical anomaly).</p>
<p>I think people here go a little overboard on the standardized testing thing. A 2240 is a good score. It’s going to get you into the kinds of colleges that are good for you. It’s going to very likely earn merit awards at schools that are not ivies. It’s a good score.</p>
<p>Thanks, SimpleLife. Yeah, I see the statistics on my score report and they are a little disheartening, but considering I really didn’t prepare at all, I believe I should improve. I think I probably will retake.</p>
<p>Hey HopefulEagle, you’re correct that they turn away a lot of 2400s, but that’s because people who were rejected had little to no extra curricular activities. I talked to an admission officer, and they said that if you don’t have a sport or some sort of art, your chances are rather slim, even if you do have a 2350+.</p>