Very Low SAT CR Score - How Much Will it Really Hurt?

Colleges & Universities A-Z Massachusetts Institute of Technology
1

<p>With my very low critical reading score, how much will it really hurt? Keep in mind that English is not my native language. Please be honest! I love criticism :)</p>

<p>Location: Richmond, VA
School: Public
Ethnicity: Indian
Gender: Male</p>

<hr>

<p>Stats:</p>

<p>SAT I: 2060 (800 M, 690 W, 570 CR) <-- Yeah, I know
SAT IIs: Math IIC - 780, Bio M - 740, Taking chem in January, expect 780-800
APs: Calculus AB (5), Statistics (5), Chemistry (4)
GPA: 3.85/4.8953 (Valedictorian has 4.908)
Rank: 6/418</p>

<hr>

<p>Senior Yr Courseload:</p>

<p>AP Biology
AP Calculus BC
AP Environmental Science
AP English
Biomedical Engineering
Advanced Math Topics
VA&US Government</p>

<p>(school doesn't offer as many APs, took most rigorous courseloads all four years)</p>

<hr>

<p>ECs on app:</p>

<p>Varsity Tennis (9, 10, 11, 12)
- 4 year varisty letter
- state championship team
- most improved award twice</p>

<p>Piano (9, 10, 11, 12)
- playing for 11 years
- 3 superior ratings in festival
- bach competition winner</p>

<p>National Honors Society (11,12)
- president of tutoring</p>

<p>Science Club (9,10,11, 12)
- co-found
- vice president
- organize activities, mentorship connections, design school projects</p>

<p>Math Honors Society, Math Modeling Team (9,10,11, 12)
- captain
- participated in contests such as Virginia Math League, Trig-Star, Math Modeling
- many first place awards</p>

<p>Awards Listed:</p>

<p>Intel ISEF Honorable Mention - international
Grand Prize Winner in International Space Olympics (science fair) - international
Math Modeling Competition - Meritorious Rating - national
Virginia State Science Fair - Grand Prize Winner - state
VJAS - 1st place multiple years - state
Top Score in National Chemistry Olympiad - regional
School Math and Science Center Scholar Excellence Award - School</p>

<hr>

<p>Summer Activities (worth noting):</p>

<p>Cancer and Engineering Research at VCU/MCV - 06/2007-current - 35 hrs/week
Volunteer at Science Museum of Virginia - 06/2006-08/2006 - 35 hours/week
Van der Meer/Nike Tennis Camps - occasional weeklong camps
Summer P.E. 9 and 10 - 20 hours/week
Travel (China, Japan, Turkey, Egypt, India)
Temple Volunteer - 6 hours/week</p>

<hr>

<p>Essays:</p>

<p>"Something for fun" - Wrote movie scripts - discussed some ideas
"Which program" - David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research
"World I come from" - how India and America have influenced me (included alot, essay was good)
"Something you created" - discovered an antioxidant that will improve stem cell processes
"Anything else" - essay in 3rd person that is a personal profile of me</p>

<hr>

<p>Teacher Recs: excellent
Counselor Rec: excellent
Interview: Pretty good, think I will get a very good report
Supplementary Material: Will send in abstracts of my research projects and maybe an extra recommendation from my mentor.</p>

<p>Overall, everything was pretty decent except for the SATs obviously. I think my essays gave a good description for who I am and the passion I have for MIT. My science project record at fairs have been phenomenol, I've gotten first place in almost every fair state, regional, and local level, and got Honorable Mention at ISEF and was the grand prize winner of another science fair. These are definitely my strengths. Let me know where i stand, and don't be afraid to be honest. Thanks!</p>

2

<p>your math 2 subject test score is probably the worst thing you have on your app. isnta 780 like… a 42/50 raw score?</p>

3

<p>CR will definitley hurt you, but everything else will cover. Relax, I doubt if you retake it, it is going to affect admissions. That resume is pretty top notch</p>

4

<p>^ i may consider retaking it</p>

<p>a friend of mine’s brother a few years back applied to MIT with a low-ish SAT score (i think it was a 1360 / 1600 – back when the SAT was just CR and M)… they wait-listed him, so he took the test again… he got a 1480 that time, and he had the score in to MIT (score report)… by the next week or week and a half, he got his acceptance letter</p>

<p>so if you have a low score but everything else is about set, you might want to consider taking the test one more time and see if you can raise it up at all</p>

5

<p>yeah, just the one score is keeping you down, and since MIT superscores… all you’d really have to focus on is CR. in these regards, really, you can only go up!</p>

6

<p>Yeah, i’ve already taken them twice though. I’m taking SAT IIs again in January, but maybe I’ll do what Peytoncline is saying, take it in March or April of next year and just send it to them, maybe they’ll consider it. It kinda sucks becuase it’s the only thing on my profile that’s really bringing me down.</p>

7

<p>well, if you get denied, then it won’t do too much good</p>

<p>this guy i was talking about got wait-listed, so he got the opportunity to take it again</p>

<p>2 times isn’t bad at all; 3 is usually a good cut-off point; 4 if you’re really desperate </p>

<p>are you taking the one in december?</p>

8

<p>No, everyone told me not to take it three times so I didn’t sign up :frowning: I shouldn’t have listened to them though. I’m taking the SAT IIs again in January, I’m pretty sure I’ll get Math 2 up to 800 and Bio and Che close to it.</p>

9

<p>a third time is fine, i don’t know who told you that 3 times is not good; everyone on here will say that taking it a third is all right, but that it should be the last time you take it</p>

<p>you can still do standby on december if you want and have the scores sent to MIT</p>

10

<p>three times? this is a test you arent supposed to study for.
I hear after a certain number of times, that shows obsession, which is a really bad impression for colleges</p>

11

<p>^ that’s why 3 is usually a good cutoff; after 3, you’re really pushing it (diminishing returns as well; the more you take it after a certain point, the less you’ll improve and the more time you’re wasting by taking the test again)</p>

<p>but 3 times is fine</p>

12

<p>Are you actually retaking a 780?</p>

13

<p>^ 780?</p>

<p>oh, you mean his math II score? no, we’re not talking about that… whoever said that the 780 is the lowest score on the app was thinking wrongly i guess</p>

<p>he’s talking about his CR score (570)</p>

14

<p>Yeah - my dreadful CR score. I’ll try to retake it, and yeah, I didn’t mean it would be easy at all. I just wish I didn’t have this one hindrance that completely doesn’t fit into my application, and I’m just hoping MIT and other schools don’t throw me out for that one score.</p>

15

<p>One of the admissions reps told me that they really don’t care how many times you take the SAT. I don’t see why they would lie…</p>

16

<p>So I’m just double checking, retaking SAT in January is perfectly fine, right? My SAT scores is very low (especially CR too, but WR too) right now. Would they automatically not consider me because my SAT scores are really, really low, when I hand in the application in December?</p>

17

<p>Retaking in January is fine. You should send MIT a note asking them to be on the lookout for your new scores – the January scores arrive pretty close to the absolute deadline, so MIT should know that they’re coming.</p>

18

<p>I won’t be able to. I’m taking SAT IIs in January, since some of my schools require 3. :frowning: I guess I’ll just have to hope for the best with the scores I’ve got.</p>

19

<p>bump! anymore comments?</p>

20

<p>Wait, so are you considering retaking the SATs as a standby this Saturday? That’d be the best thing to do imo. I’d take the ACT on the 13th as a standby also if possible, for backup in case you don’t score that well on the SATs. I’d try it, you may find it surprisingly easy. CR is also very, very hard for me, but on the ACT those analytical skills are not really even needed. The test places more weight on you math and science skills, which is the main reason I score much better on the ACT. The english section is really, really easy, as all you have to do is be able to identify basic grammar and some relatively easy analytical/rhetorical questions. The reading portion of the ACT is EXTREMELY easy, which would likely benefit you, as it requires almost no analysis at all. You just need to be able to find the answers in the passages. Seriously, I got a 500 on CR but a 32 on the ACT (roughly equivalent to a 2150 SAT). The ACT just works better for me and it just might for you.</p>

<p>Anyway good luck, you seem like a student who would really fit in and enjoy MIT, and I hope you get in. Hopefully they look past a relatively insignificant CR score and admit you for your EC accomplishments.</p>