<p>I am in a difficult situation. I'm currently a junior and received a 2020 (640v, 640w, 740m) on my SAT I from the April SAT I. I just took the SAT II Biology and I think I will get between 650 and 750. My goal is to apply Early Action to Stanford before the November 1st deadline. The problem is I have to take the SAT I at least one more time (maybe twice). Also, the SAT IIC Math is recommended by Stanford. Which test should I take on June 3rd and which test on October 14th? Should I even take the Math IIC or just take the SAT I two more times? Please advise me. I'm open to all suggestions.</p>
<p>Study for Math IIC and take it in June.</p>
<p>Thanks. Do any of you other parents have suggestions?</p>
<p>Assuming that you're taking the math now that preps for the Math IIC, take it now along with the SAT II in another other course that you're taking now.</p>
<p>Study hard over the summer in order to raise your SAT I. Without raising that a lot, I think the odds are very long on your getting into Stanford EA.</p>
<p>The deadline for signing up for the June 3 SAT or SAT Subject Tests was yesterday.</p>
<p>You are somewhat screwed.</p>
<p>You can sign up as a standby to try to take one test or the other in June, but you may not get in. If you don't, I suggest taking that Math IIC test in October. Stanford may only "recommend" taking SAT Subject Tests, but a lot of other competitive colleges require them. You're restricting your college choices if you never take any more SAT Subject Tests.</p>
<p>I suggest trying to find out whether you can still sign up for the June ACT. If you submit ACT scores instead of SAT scores to most colleges, you don't need to take SAT Subject Tests at all.</p>
<p>Obviously, you should have taken Math IIC along with the Biology subject test this month. In an ideal world, your guidance counselor would have gone over your testing plans with you earlier in your junior year and advised you to do this. Unfortunately, we don't live in an ideal world. (One of my pet peeves about the high school counseling system is that students are poorly advised about SAT Subject Tests. You are one of the victims of this problem.)</p>
<p>Definitely consider trying the ACT as well. D did well enough on ACT that she didn't have to bother taking the SAT again, which was such a relief. I think that Stanford still requires SAT II's along with the ACT (check in their materials), but ACT can replace the SAT I completely. Not to mention, you can take it as many times as you like without having to reveal any scores you don't like to colleges. And Stanford does definitely accept students who submit the ACT in lieu of the SAT. Good luck!!!</p>
<p>Uh-oh, need to clarify. With many colleges, students who submit ACT's also need some SAT II's, so acing the ACT will not get you out of taking SAT II's for some schools. Not sure if Stanford requires SAT II's to be submitted along with ACT's. If not, this certainly gives you another good option.</p>
<p>You need to develop some love for schools less selective than Stanford and really recognize that they also can also give you a fantastic education and entry to grad schools --first of all. Even if you get the test score boosts you plan to work toward, you should have good strong match schools that you visit and love and apply to enter. Kids with much higher scores are rejected or waitlisted at Stanford and many others with no explanation and little predictability, and I hope you are out there looking at some other wonderful colleges where you are in the top quartile with the scores you have earned now. You did great on the SAT and should be pleased but schools like Stanford require more.</p>
<p>Next thing to consider, if you are going to increase your test scores to the pool of Stanford acceptee levels, do you think you will fit in if admitted? Entry level courses are sometimes larger and graded on curves in a set of peers that in no way resembles a HS. Everyone had an A average in HS, and now the teachers know how to tease out the most talented from the merely talented on exams. </p>
<p>Our S also had a huge leap in test scores in October of his senior year which frankly made us queasy. He matured a ton spring of his junior year and woke up and decided he was serious about having choices for college. He was sure he could do better on his SATs. You have to understand that many kids in a school like Stanford made those test scores in the first or second sitting with little practice because they had very fine HS educational prep or they simply don't have to read test prep material to "get it right the first time."
However, my S who is at Duke now was in your boat at this exact time. He focused entirely on SATIIs in spring junior year and also missed the June registration deadline. No problem in our town to walk in and register, just get there earlier. But he stayed indoors on lovely May Sundays and took the practice SATII tests. Very few..actually none of his peers bothered and their scores showed it, but then very few of his peers took any SATIIs at all. We only have a 50% graduation rate in our HS.
He also NEVER took more than two SATIIs at a sitting, and the math SATII was the only test he took one Saturday in June. The tests are only an hour in length but since they are there as adjuncts on your application, you should only take them if you are prepared.
The SATII Math has a generous curve but you should practice test at least twice if you are aiming for Stanford. It is not tricky, and if you practice you might do very well on it.
Also, did you sign up for that service (not always offered) where you can see your answers and what you got wrong on your SAT? It may not be too late to request it. Call and ask.
My S spent the summer going over his errors and wising up on where he was losing points before senior year. He got much faster and more able to see what the SAT was all about from doing preparation in his room with a timer in test setting situations he would set up..no walking around, getting snacks and music. He added a ton of points to his test scores with being more test savvy and with taking chances based on gaining practice experience.</p>
<p>He is doing well at Duke but there are many many students in his courses that simply do not have to work that hard to get the scores. He is happy with his peer group and he is inspired by them and sometimes tutored by a couple of savant friends. But keep my cautionary notes in mind. Consider your temperament and how hard you like to study and what kind of peer group you are seeking. My son had a handful of colleges that he truly would have been happy attending, and that is also your best interest goal. The work is hard at all colleges if you are serious. Good luck and hope you are very pleased with your efforts. attach to your match schools regardless, even if you get those score increases you plan to go for.</p>