I got a 1550 on the SAT, which seems good to me. But my family members are telling me to retake it or take the ACT. Is that a waste of time?
I cannot help in resolving issues with your family but a 1550 is a very high score and does not need a retake regardless of which college you may eventually apply to.
Your family is wrong. Your score is very high, high enough to help you get into the best colleges in the country. Unless you didn’t take the essay, and the colleges you are applying to want to see it, you are 100% done.
Great score! What should you do? Have your folks take you out for ice cream to celebrate!
That is a great score and is above admission average for any school. Only if you want to increase your chance for merit scholarships at certain schools that you may want to retake it. For some schools, this is still within the mid 50.
You are absolutely done. Anyone telling you otherwise is incorrect. In fact, if you were to retake it some colleges might look at that decision as pointing to a kid who is only conscious about getting “the extra points” and that is not a favorable look. My kids had lower scores and each got into several Ivies including Yale. Once your GPA and test scores are “in the ballpark” it is the ECs, letters of recommendation and essays that are the most important aspect of your application. I would spend your time getting those in order and forget about retaking the SAT or ACT. It will be a total waste of your time. Good luck!!