Hello!
I had a question regarding my SAT score (1530) and the colleges that I’m targeting. I will be a senior in high school after this summer break is over. Me and my parents were pretty happy about my score, but my parents are insisting I give the exam another shot. I feel like there are other things I could be focusing on now, because I feel like an increase from this score won’t change my chance of admission into the elite schools across the United States (such as Stanford, MIT, etc). I wanted to understand the views of others on this issue so that I could make my decision accordingly.
Thanks!
I wish I could tell you not to bother, but that’s what my kid scored, junior year, and she was disappointed with her college application results. If we could go back in time, we would pressure her to retake the SAT.
(It turned out OK, we are very happy with where she is attending, but still.)
While I have your attention - are you likely to be a National Merit Semifinalist based on your PSAT score? The cut-off varies by state. Be aware that although the official National Merit scholarships are very small ($2,000), quite a few schools have HUGE scholarships and perqs for National Merit students. I urge you to research this, because if you can love one of those schools, you will be in a great position.
It’s a great score! Congrats!! However, it will be quite ordinary for many of the top schools. That’s not bad and improving it by 20 or 30 points may not make any difference. No way to know unfortunately as it’s not formulaic with those schools. Assuming you have stellar grades, great ECs, leadership, demonstrated passion (that’s a big one), very strong essays, etc. you will be competitive. It wouldn’t hurt to try to increase the score, but I would make sure the rest of the application is top notch. Be memorable!
Best of luck.
How is the rest of your application? SAT II subject tests? What were the section scores on your SAT - balanced or skewed? That 1530 already puts you in the range and I think if the rest of your application is strong, that score alone wont keep you out of a top program.
Here are my thoughts, your score is at or above the 50% mark at every school. Assuming the rest of your stats are in a similar condition, begin to work on the rest of your application. A perfect SAT and GPA with very average essays and LORs is in my opinion the single reason that great stat kids find themselves on the outside. Your scores will pass you on to the next stage of the application review. Find a story that shows why you will be an asset to the University and not Why the University will be an asset to you.
Do not fall into the trap that if a school has a 7% acceptance rate your chances are only 7%. You have really the hardest part down, now just close the deal.
A 1530 correlates to a 35. i agree that you should move on.
Continue to get good grades for first semester senior year. I hear those grades are important.
SAT 1530 is more like ACT 34. Depending on OP’s hook status and other kids scores from his/her school the OP can either give another shot or focus on other things. My sense is that among MIT/Stanford unhooked applicants 1530/34 is somewhat low, will need other things in the application to offset from a holistic perspective.
OP, I think the time may be better spent by immersing your energies wholeheartely in real-life ECs, living life to the fullest, and also learning to love some amazing schools that may be ranked a half-tier under the super-elites. The schools you are targeting love to see students who are highly engaged in life outside the books, and if I’ve learned anything here on CC, that is what would distinguish your application from the piles of perfect-1600/36 stats. But if you think you could bring your score up just a tad without inordinate study, then it seems a no-lose situation (as long as you haven’t already re-tested many times, which I read can also be a turnoff to elite Universities).
As the previous poster stated, the answer to your question depends on how many times you have taken the test and how much time you think you want to spend to prepare for one more attempt. If you have taken the test just once or twice and don’t intend to spend more than a handful of hours preparing for another test, then I would recommend taking it one more time. There simply is little downside to taking it again if these are the conditions and an extra 30 or 40 points might make a difference (although you will never have the satisfaction of knowing if it did).
Just to give you an example, my daughter had a 1560 after taking the current SAT once. She had to take the SAT again in spring of junior year since it was required by the state. She did not study at all and planned on cancelling her score as soon as she took the test. But it turned out that she thought the test went well and kept her score. She scored a 1580 that second time without any additional study. So in her example, there was no downside in taking the test again (although it wasn’t by choice but by mandate through the state).