Very, very disappointed with SAT scores

Test Preparation
1

<p>This isn't your average person on here complaining that they didn't make a combined 1600 on reading and math and made a 1590 instead. </p>

<p>I have a big problem. This is the second time I have taken the test that is supposed to measure you in high school and I just looked at my results today (socres came out Monday as you all know)</p>

<p>I am very disappointed- My reading score went down from the first time I took it!- 530 vs. 560 and my math (I am not a math person) went up from 490 to 520. Writing which I know no college looks at went up as well from a 560 to 590. Why am I getting my highest scores in Writing when no college looks at it?</p>

<p>I want to cry. I am very disappointed in myself. I don't have a high GPA and I was counting on SAT to be my "please take another look at my appliaction". Obviously it is more of an incentive for a college to reject me. I guess I had no chance going into this game of high school. I went to the highest ranked high schools in my state (Texas) where the top 10% has a GPA of 3.85-4.0. Plus my father died my freshman year not to mention the battle of his estate with his new wife that is still ongoing. I don't even have the chance to explain what I went through with the college essays I have with me. "Why do you want to go to our university?" What kind of question is that? They all claim to not just look at grades and test scores but the total person. I don't think they do and with these test scores I got back I'm disappointed in myself and this system. Hopefully the ACT will make my chances higher but maybe I shouldn't count on that since I was counting so much on SAT.</p>

<p>I'm so scared for the months to come. I don't have a "saftey" it seems like all my colleges are reaches and I'm probablly going to be stuck here in Texas which I don't want to. Maybe that dream of going to Boston Univ or Northeastern in Boston is something of a long shot. Sure I'll fill out the application but with what I see on this board I don't think there is any chance for me. I hate to be so hard and negative on myself, but the truth is I was screwed when I walked in the first day of freshman year. All of the bad things happened throughout my high school years, I tried to make the best of it by being in band and working myself up. Band though is not getting me into college.</p>

<p>Sorry for the rant. I guess I just showed myself how disappointed I am right now. I don't want to even think about college after I mail those applications and essays in. I guess I should be looking at the application fee as a donation since it seems that according to the national average I'm not good enough- I'm just an average person.</p>

2

<p>Sorry to hear about your scores! If your dreams are much higher than you can achieve right now with your actual scores why dont you consider taking a gap year? Many people take that option and come out successful. All the best!</p>

3

<p>She gave good advice. </p>

<p>Also, it sounds like you went through a lot recently. I'd hold off on making any major decisions right now (going all the way to Boston is a big move!) until your emotions cool a bit. (I know... my father died and soon after my mom moved us from Washington to Wiscosin. Later, she admitted it was a mistake and that she really only wanted to get away. I don't know you well enough to say you're doing the same thing, but yeah... just be cautious, k?) </p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

4

<p>This is not the end of the word! I know a high school dropout who got GED, went to a no name college, and did well enough get into medical school. She is now doing much better than most people who went to big name schools. The importance of the college you go to is greatly over rated. It is possible to very happy and successful in life without going to a big name school. I would advise you to go the best state school you can get into. Once there, do your best. Once you are in the real world, how well you do in your job matters more than where you went to school.</p>

<p>I also know someone who was a National Merit Finalist, Yale BA and Stanford MBA who has been unemployed for the last five years. An Ivy League education opens some doors, but guarantees nothing. </p>

<p>Be positive. You are in much better shape than many people. With hard work and a positive attitude you still have world of opportunity ahead of you. GOOD LUCK!</p>

5

<p>I would like to mention a quote from the book ALCHEMIST:</p>

<p>" The darkest hour comes before the dawn. "</p>

<p>Think about it.</p>

6

<p>Northern... Whoa, there something wrong with this guy? I'm sure he can get a job SOMEWHERE.</p>

7

<p>Farsight... calm down... he dont seem to happy for sarcasm now</p>

<p>Umm... Try retaking. once again.. Prepare hard for it, take the online course and work. Read some good books to build vocab. </p>

<p>Math is in essence simple. Recheck your answers a few times.. there should be enough time left.</p>

<p>Gap ears may help, but I dont advise it. Get some safeties.. its not too late to apply. Your application will have date decaesed on it. and ifits in your freshman year, they will probably go easy on that year. Get some stellar reco letters and good EC's and ur fine...</p>

<p>Take the ACT and the SAT. If yoyu get a good score... the colleges will pointedly ignore your pervious ones, no holding it against you - period. </p>

<p>Giving up hope is killing yourself. Focus on the SAT... remember, the SAt shows nothing.. maybe work upto the 2050 mark and ur game.. for BU</p>

<p>You are hovering around the 50 percentile mark... 2050 with a breakup of 650 each is 89 percentile in CR and 85 in maths.....</p>

<p>Best of luck
May the scores be with you</p>

8

<h2>Farsighted You wrote:</h2>

<p>Northern... Whoa, there something wrong with this guy? I'm sure he can get a job SOMEWHERE</p>

<p>Well this Yale/Stanford graduate did get a very good job at one of the most prestigious management consulting companies right after he graduated, but he decided that the job was too boring and took a couple of years off to write a novel. He never finished the novel. He kept holding out for the perfect job, which never came. He has had job offers, but none that were acceptable to him. His spouse is a Stanford graduate and makes a decent living, so is still waiting for the perfect job. If he was starving, I guess that he would have taken one of the offers.</p>

<p>The point that I am trying to make is that going to big name schools may help on the road to success, but does not guarantee it. Not going to big name school does not condemn you to a life as loser. Many people do quite well in life after going to no name schools. The SAT and high school GPA are relatively irrelevant in the long run. Many people who do well in high school start screwing up in collage and end up losers. Some, who did not do very well in high school, get their act together in college. Once you are in college no cares about you SAT or high school GPA. After you get first job, even your college GPA is irrelevant.</p>

9

<p>OP:</p>

<p>I think your post is ridden with logical fallacies:</p>

<p>The tone of your post indicates that you regret going to "one of the highest ranked high schools in Texas." Why? Didn't you recieve a better education there than you would have at a mediocre high school? Haven't you been challenged and given opportunities many high schoolers don't have? Aren't your teachers excellent? Don't you appreciate what you've learned there? Or does your appreciation for school stem only from what grade you get?</p>

<p>You imply that the competitiveness of your high school is part of the reason why you have a low GPA. If so, you should have worked harder to stay competitive if your school is that hard. How many nights a week, on average, did you give up several hours of sleep for extra test (school tests or standardized tests) practice, or for homework thoroughness? If you got an average of over 5 hours of sleep a night, you weren't putting in over time, which you could have if you wanted to raise your GPA. How much of your free-time did you spend studying on your own volition, either for schoolwork or just for learning's sake? If it's less than 75%, you could've done more. </p>

<p>Moreover, why did you expect the SAT to be a factor that would make colleges "take a second look at your application"? If the SAT tracks high school performance, and your high school performance was not where you want it to be, what made you think your SAT score would be where you wanted it to be? Again, the logical conclusion is to spend more time on high school academics, boosting GPA and SAT simultaneously.</p>

<p>This kind of statement confounds me: "I hate to be so hard and negative on myself, but the truth is I was screwed when I walked in the first day of freshman year." What is that supposed to mean? That high school was rigged against you from day 1 of freshman year, and that's why your scores are dissappointing? Is it supposed to mean that you're dumb, and shouldn't have gone to such a competitive high school? I can't tell if you're deprecating yourself or blaming others. </p>

<p>You say you poured yourself into band to work your way up but that "Band is not getting me into college." Why? Are you not good at Band, or do you think/assume it's just not a factor in the admissions process? When you signed up, did you expect that years down the road it would be a major factor into getting into college? As your GPA underperformed, did you consider the tradeoff you were making between GPA and band? Or was band an escape from academics? If so, why were you escaping from academics when you knew the SAT was related to academics and that you wanted your SAT to significantly increase? And what was the initial motivation that made you pursue band as a passion, but now makes you regard it as something inconsequential?</p>

<p>You've been given a lot of good advice by the other posters as to what to do next. But I think part of what you should learn is to control your destiny and take responsibility for your decisions. Humans have a tendency to run themselves ragged making random yet heroic attempts to achieve things. Then on the let-down, they toss their hands in the air and exclaim "I've tried everything! It's hopeless!" </p>

<p>Before you do that, ask yourself those questions, and consider all the things you didn't do, or could've done different.</p>

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<p>Although the antecedent post may be a harsh and difficult to hear, it is very correct.</p>