<p>No, it doesn’t matter at all. Great job!</p>
<p>RE HYPS ED - it takes more than SATs. It is possible that an ED app is appropriate for you, but one would have to know a lot more about your application and your family’s finances. Best of luck!</p>
<p>
@fairyfantasy: I was inquiring about Stanfordmania’s assertion that “3 attempts is the max they’ll tolerate.” Over the years, in my capacity as a standardized test prep tutor, I’ve worked with a number of students who have taken the SAT more than 3 times and secured acceptances at top-tier universities.</p>
<p>@Bartleby007 My SAT Prep Teacher also said the same thing about the “3 time rule”. I think I may take the SAT again afterall. Any tips on how to close gaps between 2290 and 2350-2400? </p>
<p>@glido Here’s my profile. Could you chance me?</p>
<p>SAT I: 2290 (CR: 790 M: 770 W: 730 Essay 8) (JAN 2014) 2080 (DEC 2012)
SAT II: MATHEMATICS II – 800 (NOVEMBER 2013) * I am planning to take Chem and Physics next
AP EXAMS: WORLD HISTORY (4) * I am also planning to take AP Cal BC, AP Eng Composition, AP Chem, AP Phys C, AP US History exams this semester
RANK ; 6 OUT OF 681 Top 1%
NON WEIGHTED GPA: 4.0 WEIGHTED GPA: 4.67
Income: 90,000</p>
<p>INTERESTED MAJOR: COMPUTER AND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING, CS, or BIOMEDICAL
【Background】: - Junior - Female - Asian - Suburban Public School - Texas
【Interested Colleges】: Yale, Harvard, Stanford, Cornell, Columbia, Rice, Carnegie Mellon, UT Austin(I have automatic admission), Duke, U Penn, MIT</p>
<p>Activities:
• Math Club/Mu Alpha Theta- Vice President (11th to Present)
• National Honor Society 11th to present
• Engineering Club - Treasury
• Symphony Orchestra(10th to present)
• UIL Number Sense , Math, Literature Criticisms
• HOSA - HOSA Dental Science District 1st Place
• All-Region Orchestra (10)
• Key Club (9)
• NYTHS ( A Community Service Club) (9th-11th)
• Quiz League (9,10,11)
• NSHSS Member (8-Present)
• Piano for 9 years
• TMEA Piano Ensemble for 4 years</p>
<ul>
<li>Tennis 2 years ( 2nd Place Mixed Doubles in 9th grade)</li>
<li>Teacher Assistant at Dallas Chinese School (Helps tutor 1-3rd grade students on Math and Reading)</li>
<li>Research at University of Arlington (summer after 9th Grade)</li>
<li>Dual Credit Sociology/Psychology(summer after 10th Grade)</li>
<li>Created a Chat Group for Chinese high school students in U.S. to help them with improving English and applying to college (currently 76 members)</li>
<li>Trilingual – Chinese(Native), English(Fluent), Spanish(Mediocre)</li>
</ul>
<p>Awards/Honors:
• Cardboard Boat Regatta 2nd Place
• Duke TIP State Recognition(from 8th grade)
• UIL Math Regional Invitational 3rd Place Team
• UIL Lit Crit Regional 1st Place Team
• UIL Number Sense 5th Place Regional
• Whitlock Theory Award
• World of Music Certificate</p>
<p>Classes Taken/Am taking:
*Before High School:
PAP Algebra 1 (7th grade)
Spanish I (8th grade)
PAP Geometry (8th grade)
Gateway to Tech (8th grade)
Common Application (Summer)
*9th Grade:
PAP ENG 1
PAP Algebra 2
PAP Biology
PAP World Geography
JV Tennis (9th-10th)
Orchestra (planning to take all 4 years)
Webmastering
Spanish II
*10th Grade:
PAP ENG 2
PAP Pre-Calculus
PAP Chemistry
PAP Physics
AP W History
PAP Span 3
JV Tennis
Orchestra
*Current Year (11th Grade):
AP English III
AP Calculus BC
AP Physics C Mechanics
AP Chemistry
AP US History
AP Euro History
PAP Computer Science
Orchestra</p>
<p>
@fairyfantasy: It sounds like your SAT Prep teacher knows what he/she is talking about.</p>
<p>Not sure why you feel compelled to retake the SAT to get a score in the 2350-2400 range. 2290 is pretty good already.</p>
<p>If you insist on retaking the test, an easy place to get 70 more points is your Writing score. Improve your essay to at least a “9”…and get 100% on the multiple-choice grammar questions. The Writing section is the easiest section to ace.</p>
<p>^^^^HYPS are all SCEA not ED. AS shk909 suggested, I think the lower tier schools with ED may have a greater admission boost than HYPS for a highly qualified early applicant, like yourself. </p>
<p>I think your scores are at a high enough level such that they will be a non-factor in your admission decision. In other words, you’re already academically qualified. Your M&V are near perfect. I don’t think chasing a 2300+ will help you much with the very top tier schools. Yale, for one, does not allow score choice. </p>
<p>When asked whether Yale looks only at a student’s best standardized testing scores, Brenzel said in an e-mail: “We do give primary consideration to the top scores attained. It can be helpful, though, to know how many times it took to achieve those scores.”</p>
<p>Source: <a href=“No choice on scores - Yale Daily News”>http://yaledailynews.com/blog/2009/01/16/no-choice-on-scores/</a></p>
<p>However, if you’re not busy with more important endeavors and you enjoy the challenge of prepping for standardized test, go for it. A near-perfect super score could help at schools like Emory, Vandy, WashU… etc.</p>
<p>For a backup I would recommend applying to Case Western. It’s early action, free application, generous merit aid, no additional essays, and a medium size research school with a half decently ranked engineering program. But only apply to CW if your top choice reach is not early action single choice (like Yale). You can do an early decision school like Cornell or do an early action like MIT and still do CW early action. </p>
<p>CMU will be both a match and reach if you apply to both CIT (30% acceptance) and SCS (12% acceptance). They count interest so either visit CMU or go to a local info session (register on website). There is also a possibility of double major if you get in SCS but not necessarily if you only get into CIT. Note that (unlike the ivies) CMU only matches all financial need if you apply early decision (but usually with more loans and less merit aid).</p>
<p>If you are guaranteed into UT Comp Sci or Engineering then you have an awesome backup and you can really concentrate on super reaches but know that they all have pretty long additional essays. Once you get the common app done you are only 50% there so plan lots of time to write.</p>
<p>If you really think you can get a much better score, go for it. Otherwise, you better save your time and energy for something else.</p>
<p>Fairyfantasy - your application will be very strong! You will be in the running for any school to which you apply. Remember that many of the top schools are aiming for a “balanced” class - they are not seeking merely the best grades and scores. You will do well in the college admissions game. Do not allow your heart to fall for any one school. Love thy safety. Godspeed.</p>
<p>fairyfantasy - Sounds like a lot of good information to digest and a lot of work ahead.</p>
<p>Make sure about your parents’ financial support on at least half tuition anywhere - I would hate for you to do all this work on the ‘college admissions game’ then find out you are going to a school where you didn’t have to do all this work. </p>
<p>My DDs had a much more relaxed senior year of college without adding extra anxieties. They both got their test scores up (one in Oct, one in Dec) in their senior year to improve their scholarships at a very short list of schools.</p>
<p>Just read enough on CC to see students with great stats thinking they would get more merit on their schools of choice, and the parents looking at cost-benefit on S/D’s degree and drawing the line on what they will approve.</p>
<p>@Bartleby007 @arwarw @billcsho @glido @SOSConcern Thanks for the advice! I decide to focus on AP, SAT subject, and EC’s right now. I may take the SAT again in October if I have time.
@KathleenA Thanks, but what does SCS stand for? Stanford Computer Science?</p>
<p>Don’t overlook laying the groundwork for your recommendation letters. </p>
<p><a href=“The Art of the College Recommendation Letter - The Atlantic”>The Art of the College Recommendation Letter - The Atlantic;
<p>@Bartleby007: Conversations with the directors of admissions at Columbia, Penn, WUSTL (where I was admitted at Olin), and friends who’re at a number of Ivy League schools. Colleges that require applicants to send all scores (Penn and Cornell spring to mind), do so because they want to ensure that an applicant doesn’t take the test so many times it becomes a hobby.
What I meant by “tolerate” was that they (being colleges that do not allow the use of Score Choice) wouldn’t usually consider scores past the third attempt, unless there were extenuating circumstances.
Obviously, there’s no hard and fast rule about this. However, as someone mentioned previously, the three-time rule is regarded as a common practice. </p>
<p>@Stanfordmania: When someone states in a strong way (as you have) something that is inconsistent with what I’ve been told by admissions officers and what I’ve observed, I feel compelled to say something.</p>
<p>First of all, you state that the “three-time rule is regarded as a common practice.” If the colleges that accept Score Choice far outnumber those that do not, how can you make this claim?</p>
<p>Secondly, you cite conversations with directors of admissions at Columbia, Penn, and WUSTL as sources for your claims. It would be curious, indeed, if the directors of admissions at Columbia and WUSTL stated in clear terms that their admissions committees “wouldn’t usually consider scores past the third attempt, unless there were extenuating circumstances.” Columbia and WUSTL accept Score Choice reporting, so I’m not sure how the committees would ever know the total number of times an applicant may have taken the SAT…unless, of course, the applicant chose to disclose that information. Is it possible that you’re getting some of your information mixed up? Schools that do not accept Score Choice include: Penn, Cornell, Yale, and Stanford. Since the admissions committees at those specific schools would be able to see the total number of times an applicant took the SAT, it’s likely that they have in-house rules of thumb regarding what constitutes excessive test-taking.</p>
<p>FYI, I’ve personally known students who took the SAT more than 3 times, yet somehow they secured acceptances at 3 of the 4 no-Score-Choice colleges mentioned above. Perhaps these students are outliers?</p>
<p>@Bartleby007: Perhaps this is due to an incorrect choice of words. As stated previously, there is no hard and fast rule. </p>
<p>Obviously, this only applies to schools that a) Do not accept Score Choice and b) Where an applicant has sent more scores than the “in-house rule of thumb”. I assume that the OP intends to send all three scores and a fourth if s/he takes the test again. </p>
<p>Refer to b) for schools that accept Score Choice. </p>
<p>Now coming to your claim about the “in-house rule of thumb”; I make the assertion that three attempts IS the in-house rule of thumb for schools that do NOT accept Score Choice, based on my conversations with directors of admission at said schools, as well as students from those very schools. Of course, there are always exceptions, and one can never generalize such things. I very nearly took a fourth attempt, because my first went badly (I was very ill) and saw a nearly 300 point increase after my third, and was keen to shoot for a 2400 (I got a 2240 with a crappy Math curve). Maybe the students you know are/were on the same boat, i.e. have a reason for taking the test more than thrice. </p>
<p>@Stanfordmania I am thinking of taking it for the 4th time,too. I had the flu or something the 2nd time I took it,. How do you convey to the colleges the reason you took the SAT 4 times? </p>
<p>@fairyfantasy I’m afraid I haven’t a definite answer, sorry. Ask your high school guidance counselor to mention it in her letter when you apply, perhaps?</p>