Will a 1500 (730 CRW/770 M) New SAT score be enough to get into schools like Cornell, Dartmouth, Duke, UVA, and Harvard? Should I retake, or will that be enough?
No SAT score is “enough” to get into highly selective schools. If your question is “Will my SAT scores enable me to be seriously considered” then the answer is yes. However, for all these schools, SAT scores are just one part of the whole application. Good luck.
Thanks! That’s pretty much the question I should have asked… I just wanted to know if a 1500 was enough to keep me in the running for these schools
You will be in the running. But the schools have a significant range of selectivity, and test scores will mtter considerably more to UVA and Cornell than to a place like Harvard where other parts of your application matter much more.
I would say it isn’t although test scores are only one part of the application they will give you a considerable amount of leeway in terms of the other more subjective parts of your application. I believe a 1500 is below Harvard’s 50th percentile that means you’d have to show them some remarkable EC achievements such as national awards. Whereas if you had a near perfect GPA and an SAT score that is closer to the 75th percentile for that school then you’ll have a significantly better chance even if your EC’s aren’t extraordinary.
@skieurope although there isn’t any SAT score that is “enough” to get into a particular school there is a score especially at the top schools that would make your application most competitive and generally this is the 75th percentile score which at Harvard I think is around a 1550. At less competitive schools/publics the higher your SAT score the better cause this is a primary factor so the higher it goes the better chance you have at admission I think this would apply to UVA
^ If you are a senior, I would not retake and focus on your applications. I think that 1500 keeps you in the game for tippytop schools while those schools then focus on grades, ECs and essays. It is important to note that your section scores are at the 97th and 98th percentile, respectively.
However if you are a junior, then I would retake next October, as an extra year of maturity and some more practice may help you gain a few more points, particularly on the R/W section.
There is no factual basis for this claim. If you are basing this off the Common Data Set, then you are reading the CDS incorrectly. The CDS lists the 25/75 percentiles for each section of the SAT; there is no assumption that the same student is in the same bucket for each section.
Regardless, the questions not “What SAT is needed to get in?”, which is good, because there is no answer to that question. Harvard, and its peers, routinely reject 2400/4.0 applicants while accepting unhooked applicants with lower stats.
I believe a 1500 on the new SAT concords to a 2170 (https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/pdf/higher-ed-brief-sat-concordance.pdf) on the old SAT. You might want to compare your concorded score to the schools you are looking at in deciding whether to retake the test.
@skieurope I am going off what Allen Cheng has said he attended Harvard and has worked with many students who have attended Harvard and in addition his logic makes more sense. I do agree that Harvard likely does accept many unhooked applicants with lower stats. In general they seem to have a more we’ll developed spike
So in order for or to maximize their chances it is in their best interest to maximize their stats because Harvard like any school wants to beef up its averages but it has so many over qualified applicants that just scores still aren’t enough usually however i strongly believe that high stats exponentially increase an applicants chances. I don’t believe a 1500 is high enough to where the applicant is safe. I wouldn’t know the exact numbers but I believe somewhere close to a 1550 would give the applicant a much better safety net
I do believe there is a point at which higher scores would no longer help. Like once the applicant is at a 3.9/2300 they can start worrying about other parts of their application.
Parent of a junior here - Similar question. My 11th grade humanities-oriented child took the October test and scored 800 on CRW and 670 on math. He has great grades at an exceptional high school and I’d like to tell her to not bother taking the SAT again. (Plus she’s legacy) I can’t imagine how another 50 points on the math section would make a difference in admissions. I’d rather my child do something worthwhile - publish an essay, volunteer more, try something new – instead of spending any more time doing test prep. Her teachers are going to rave about his writing, leadership, not her math/science prowess. How much could they possible care about his math scores?
^ @DMVParent22 I agree with you. I would advise not retaking and have your kid work on keeping his grades great and other parts of his application. 1470 is the 98th percentile so there is no strong reason for going for a 99.
For merit scholarships, it may matter more than for the tippy top colleges. If merit is important, I suggest a retake.
Agree with @hebegebe some merit scholarships are looking for higher scores, the need for more merit would be the only reason I’d suggest retaking it.
Well I scored a 1450 which was extremely disappointing for me and I will be looking to retake it as my goal is to be admitted to a top 10 business school and I have been told by numerous people that scores are emphasized more especially at business
@BucketsUCSC A 1450 isn’t bad!!
@Starforward I understand this isn’t a bad score but you have to take everything in context. In the context of the schools I’m aiming for this score is around average, because my scores are average I have to make up for it somewhere else be it GPA or EC activities both of which I also believe are subpar(especially my EC’s). I feel like my SAT score is the biggest thing I can control and based off what I scored on my practice tests I know I can score better.
@BucketsUCSC That’s true… I think you’re set if you score slightly better!