what should i do about a (relatively) bad sat2 score?

Applying to College
1

<p>here's my situation:</p>

<p>i have 2400 SAT I (superscored three tests), CR 760, 720 and 800 (impt)
2400 SAT II Phy Chem Math2</p>

<p>acting on the advice of some CCers i've talked to, i took SAT II Literature in January 2008 to "balance out", since my SAT IIs are currently all science and math. I took it despite the fact that i've been on a pure sci/math curriculum for the last 2 years of school, and i didn't take literature in the last 4 years of school. i thought colleges would understand my choice of SAT IIs when they look at the school curriculum i've been on, but still, i have it a shot.</p>

<p>wellllllll i didn't do well! I'm guessing my score is 650s to 700. now i have a dilemma of whether or not to cancel it.</p>

<p>** if i don't cancel it, and i do send the January 2008 Lit score to the schools who still accept Jan scores: **</p>

<p>1) would my relatively low Lit score undermine my CR score? i know i've been to 3 CRs, but my last one, my final word on CR, was an 800. and then they see a low Literature score... it would hurt the impact and significance of that 800 CR wouldn't it?
2) would that relatively low Lit score hurt me overall (relatively), since I already have perfect SAT I and SAT II scores? should i just leave it at that, and not send them the low Literature score? which choice is better for me?
3) would that relatively low Lit score actually help me? is it a good score in my situation? since i'm a pure science student, i don't think it's a bad score for me, but they might not think so, especially in the light of (1) and (2). and I have no damn way of reading their minds.</p>

<p>if i don't cancel it, and i don't send it, and i don't get in anywhere:</p>

<p>1) since i have another year of military conscription to go, i can apply for colleges again at the end of this year, which means i'll need to keep my SAT history looking good since i might possibly need to use it again. so if i DON'T cancel it and DON'T send it this time round, and I sign up to take SATII Literature again in June after much more practice, will that better June score supersede this bad Janaury 2008 Lit score? I'm sure they'll see all scores though, and they'll STILL see how I got a low Lit score in January 2008, just two months after getting a 800 on CR in October 2007.</p>

<hr>

<p>my current choice at the moment is just to cancel it. that score is useless anyway, so i should just cancel it, unless it WOULD help me in my particular situation. so if the consensus is that the ~700 Literature score wouldn't help my case, it's probably useless to me and i'll cancel it.</p>

2

<p>i didn't really read your post but omg perfect sat I and sat II scores. dang.</p>

3

<p>The literature test is very strange. I was also expecting a low score - 550-650 - but got a 780. You probably did better than you think.</p>

4

<p>hmmmm. Bowler, how many questions did you get wrong/omit?</p>

<p>oddduck: you must be new here. haha, i see that you ARE new here!</p>

5

<p>I didn't read all of your post either, but you probably did much better than you think. Don't you need a compelling reason--such as equipment malfunction (calculator)-- to cancel SAT II scores? Also, as an aside, try writing in crisp, clear sentences. Obviously you are brilliant, so why not show it in your writing? All readers are impressed by writing that demonstrates clarity of thought; something of which you are clearly capable.</p>

6

<p>I just can't be bothered to do that when I go online, but won't anyone take the time to read my entire post? :(</p>

<p>you can cancel the scores for all the SAT II tests taken on a particular test date for whatever reason you like. you just can't choose to cancel individual tests taken on the same day, except for Math tests if it's due to equipment malfunction. and, even so, if equipment malfunction's your reason, you need to report it during the test itself.</p>

<p>did I do much better than I think? I don't know. I got low 700s on my practice tests, and I feel that I did comparatively worse on test day itself - omitted more questions, felt unsure about many others. I have no way of knowing how well or how badly I did, but I just don't feel good about it, despite reassurances that the lit curve is unpredictable.</p>

7

<p>The military conscription thing in your post totally confused me, perhaps that is why others are not replying. Huh? </p>

<p>Okay, I think you should not cancel the score. But Don't mail it yet. </p>

<p>If it is a 660 type score, I would say, don't mail it. Your colleges will be like, woah this kid takes only math and science sat 2's, what if he is totally illiterate. Then they'll remember the CR of 800 and they'll be like, never mind he can read yay! The low lit score would just confuse things more. Are your essays decent? </p>

<p>And... who knows, it could be higher than you think. So don't cancel it.</p>

8

<p>Do not cancel. Example: My friend convinced me not to cancel my US History SAT II. I got a 780. Same thing for another friend of mine.
There are too many cases of not canceling and getting good scores to ignore. Plus, who gives if you do badly? They'll see the 800 CR, after all, and it's not like you're applying to somewhere that's humanities focused, right?</p>

9

<p>Hey, I read your post but didn't comment because I don't quite get the need to be perceived as a "2400". I'm responding now because your saying you can't be bothered to write "crisp and clear" online but you want others to take the time to read your entire post. I think the two are related.</p>