<p>like it or not SAT’s, are an important part of your application no matter how poor you think it is at measuring intelligence. Bottom line is if you don’t get at least 2200…without a hook, your chances at princeton are pretty low</p>
<p>murky,</p>
<p>I apologize if my coment was too harsh, I didn’t mean to insult you as a person. And it is fallacious to judge my character based on a couple of comments. My point was that other students try much harder than you do, and thus, achieve brilliant scores. A lot of kids who come from foreign countries when they are in tenth grade get over 2000, not necessarily because they are smarter than you but because they have that drive and effort. If you are a hard-working student as you say to be, then I wish you can prove yourself in this “challenge” instead of blaming the test. Use that fierceness, which you used to lash at me, to study. Your score might even jump over 2100!?</p>
<p>SAT is not everything, I understand that, but it still is a big criteria of your admission. Princeton is really competitive and even perfect scores aren’t going to get you in without a hook. On the same note, you can’t get into Princeton with just a hook; you still need to be academically stellar and competitive.
I think the best advice anyone can give you is to study harder. Sympathy, although sweet now, will do you no good. You have to learn how to take in sour comments to achieve greater things. There is no “magic” book or method to ace the SAT. You have to keep practicing and practicing (refer to the xiggi method). </p>
<p>My best wishes.</p>
<p>advantagious- To clarify, I meant people with perfect scores OR valedictorians. I can see that lumping them together was unclear. </p>
<p>As an anecdote, the '04 valedictorian at my high school scored a 1600 and was rejected by Harvard. He went to Wake on a full ride. :p</p>
<p>Okay…sorry to be so strident, but people do say that all the time and it gives off a totally wrong impression. I also know that perfect-scoring valedictorians do get rejected, but much less often than almost any other group, I would think. Of course, if they would just publish the numbers, we would know and wouldn’t have to guess…wouldn’t that be nice!!</p>
<p>The only thing you can do is try your best. Apply to Priceton and other good schools, if you don’t get in Princeton, it’s not the end of the world.</p>
<p>murkywater, </p>
<p>Your story has been one of the most inspiring I have read on these forums. All I can say is that I wish there were more people like you in the world who are so passionate about breaking out of the mold set before you. Keep doing what you are doing and whatever you do never be disappointed in yourself. The score you get on the SAT or the college you go to doesn’t decide the rest of your life. You control your destiny. I wish I had even 1% of your work ethic cause god knows I need it lol.</p>
<p>Good luck and congratulations on your accomplishments. If you ever need someone to talk to or have a question always feel free to PM me. Or you could just post in this thread lol. :)</p>
<p>Pyar</p>
<p>Kyle, I’ve gained a little confidence. Just a teensy bit! It’s totally snowing like hard here, so I’m gonna get it tomorrow. I’ve heard there’s like 10 feet of snow in New York? Anyone live in NY here to verify that?</p>
<p>Karl Marks, from the article that warblersrule86 linked, a dean of undergraduate admissions said that scores, though important, are not the only criteria for admission. </p>
<p>And I totally know that I have to get a higher score for me to have a higher chance in Princeton! I have two hometown universities (Univ. of Chicago & Northwestern) that are also very good, realistic choices for me. And of course, if all else fails, there is the state university. Of course, in Illinois, the state university, fortunately, doesn’t suck! There’s lots of options for me out there, and I’m a little more open towards them now. </p>
<p>Advantagious, you make a good point! But yeah, your line about the less obvious admits inspires me! Haha. And I wish that they did publish the numbers… but then admissions would lose a little bit of its secrecy!</p>
<p>Warblersrule86, I know of a National Merit finalist at my school, with near perfect scores get rejected from Harvard. However, a girl who was head of the newspaper, and very involved with the community got accepted, although she did not have a perfect score! I know that this is more of the ‘unlikely’ than the likely, but trust me, every little bit of inspiration helps, it really does!</p>
<p>Jaynele, of course it is fallacious to judge someone’s character based on a few comments. I was doing that in an ironic (?) way to show you that you were doing the exact same to me! All I said in my initial post was my score, and suddenly you decided that there were ‘other kids that worked harder than me’! I was hoping that you’d point this out to me, so that you would realize that what I had done was exactly what you had done! Hah. Hope that makes sense. </p>
<p>“My point was that other students try much harder than you do, and thus, achieve brilliant scores. A lot of kids who come from foreign countries when they are in tenth grade get over 2000, not necessarily because they are smarter than you but because they have that drive and effort. If you are a hard-working student as you say to be, then I wish you can prove yourself in this “challenge” instead of blaming the test.”</p>
<p>And my point is that this applies to everyone! Regardless of who you say this to, there will always be one another person that studies harder! I’m not flaunting my work ethic at all. I try my best and that’s all I can do. A lot of kids do a lot of things. I’m intelligent with a drive that is unlike other individuals’. I’m not saying that I’m ‘better’ than anyone else. I don’t know why you keep comparing me to others. It’s a little sad!</p>
<p>I don’t know when you can understand that, but if at some point you do, tell me. I don’t want to hear how some other kid studies, or how he’s in 10th grade and way smarter than me! I’m not competing against anyone but myself. Didn’t you ever learn in school that comparing yourself to others is only destructive to yourself? I just think it’s a little sad that you would resort to comparing me to others, when you know very little about me. Again, I don’t mean this to be inconsiderate, it’s just how it is!</p>
<p>I never blamed the test! Please quote me where I did? I don’t think I ever said that I thought that it was the test’s fault. The test is an inanimate object, it can’t DO anything. In fact, the past few posts have had me wanting to improve and do better on the test – not complaining about it!</p>
<p>“I think the best advice anyone can give you is to study harder. Sympathy, although sweet now, will do you no good. You have to learn how to take in sour comments to achieve greater things. There is no “magic” book or method to ace the SAT. You have to keep practicing and practicing (refer to the xiggi method).”</p>
<p>I am! It’s not sympathy, Jaynele. The difference between your comments and Kyle’s, Pyar’s, and some of the other CCers is that they have empathy, and you do not. You don’t have to feel ‘sorry’ for me. Empathy is knowing what someone else feels like, or at least being able to understand the reasoning behind that feeling. I never ‘asked’ for sympathy! Check my initial post, if you don’t believe me.</p>
<p>I definitely do know there is no magic book or method. I asked for tips, suggestions, advice, and inspirational stories to lift my spirits. I didn’t ask for a method that would get me a 2400! </p>
<p>Jaynele, I know you mean well, but again, you are too negative for me. At least this time you tried to be constructive? It didn’t work out too well. Put yourself in someone else’s place, just for a minute, if you can. If you can’t do that, then don’t post on this thread! I don’t know what else to say.</p>
<p>In any case, thanks for your suggestion.</p>
<p>RickJ, I will. </p>
<p>Pyar, thank you. You have no idea how much it means to me for someone to take a step back from this cutthroat sort of thing and view people as… people, not numbers. And I know that being on CC, there is obviously going to be a fixation on numbers, values … things that are objective, things that we can wrap our heads around. </p>
<p>But behind every person there is a story! I’m glad that you were interested in that, it’s refreshing 
</p>
<p>I know I’ve had quite an interesting one. My mother finds it funny to hide my college mail, and then I have to go around the house looking for it, as if on a scavenger hunt. She’s afraid of many things, and one of them is her daughter leaving on her own. First and foremost, I am my parents’ daughter. A lot of people don’t understand what this means… but I do. I really do. </p>
<p>Even now, my father is fixated with me attending Univ. of Chicago. I think the school is great, but it’s close by and I want to gain a sense of autonomy. I want to branch out on my own and prove to myself that I truly can exist without my parents sheltering me. If all else fails, IMO, I could probably be happy and successful anywhere. It sounds like one of those idealistic things, but I’ve been in many, many environments… </p>
<p>My parents are still afraid of me leaving them. They mean well, but I’ve never gone to any of my friends’ houses since the beginning of highschool, never gone to their birthday parties, and they have never been to mine. Part of our culture entails protecting a daughter up until she is old enough to be married.</p>
<p>This is my culture. When I say that I am my parents’ daughter, I mean that every part of my life has been influenced and shaped by them. On the outset, they seem to care about my education, and push me to do well in a very inexplicable “superficial” way. </p>
<p>So, I have my friends who are thinking about going out of state for college, and their parents couldn’t be happier. My parents? They think that a daughter going off on her own is shameful and wrong. If I were a boy, this would be drastically different, because suddenly it would be OK for me to go off on my own since I’m a ‘male’, and I know right from wrong. There are many hidden sexist tendencies within my family and my culture. And of course, there’s that whole deal that after a girl gets married, that her education means absolutely nothing since she becomes a housewife. I fear these things, but I know that I can overcome them, just like I have absolutely every little request that became a giant skirmish.</p>
<p>It’s difficult, somewhat like climbing Mt. Everest, to be successful regardless of what they say. If you’ve ever listened to Teddy Geiger’s song, These Walls, you’ll realize how amazingly appropriate it is to my situation. Plus, it’s just a great song, regardless of what anyone says :)</p>
<p>But anyways, I’m sorry I rambled. Hopefully this gives some people some insight. </p>
<p>Today was a good day. And tomorrow will be even better. </p>
<p>Thanks to everyone whose responded and has given advice, criticism, suggestions, or stories. I appreciate them.</p>
<p>warblersrule86:</p>
<p>Those links are to data that shows score ranges, not actual perfect scorers. The reason I said “I was under the impression” was that I remember having read somewhere that Harvard or Princeton or one of the elite rejects half of the perfect scorers. Perhaps I’m misremembering. (If anyone knows what I’m talking about, please link to it.)</p>
<p>To get a feel for the books w/o wasting money, go to Barnes and Noble sit down for an hour and go through them thorougly. See if they work for you and maybe see if u can find a technique. You will sort out the rubbish books. Everyone has different opinions/techniques for what work for tehm. The Blue Book by Collegeboard is basicall a must!</p>
<p>murkywaters-- you do realize that you haven’t taken the test yet, right? You act as though you have already received your results back and they were less than 2200. You need to realize your future is not set, and you still have a couple weeks left to study. Be optimistic!!! Princeton is looking for low-income kids just like you. I had a friend who scored a 1930 on his PSAT and scored a 2350 on his SAT. How did he do it? He locked himself in his room for a month and studied. So it is possible to ace the SATs without “natural talent.” I recommend for the next few weeks, throw all your energy into studying for the SATs. Its only a couple weeks of suffering, but the results can pay off really well. You should be fine. I got a 1600 (out of 2400) on my PSAT and a 2190 on my SAT (btw I have no natural talent… my score resulted from pure studying). So its definitely possible for you to get 2200+. You do have some amount of natural talent. If you keep getting a 1900 in your practice tests, go to the library and get a review guide. Keep at it and good luck.</p>
<p>murkywater,</p>
<p>I know exactly where you are coming from. My parents are from India and since I’m a guy they expect me to be a perfect child and carry the name of the family on. Even though they tell me it’s no pressure, I can feel the pressure. It’s like they want me to do well not only because they will be proud of me but also so that they can gloat about it to their friends and family. Nothing has every come easy to me, I have always had to work for whatever I want to achieve and even then I don’t get it. The first time I took the SAT I did horribly because I was so overconfident that I thought I would just automatically do good. When I got my score back I was devastated, and my self-confidence went down the drain. Then I got a tutor and studied for a month. I built my self up mentally, and that morning I went into that room truly believing that I could actually do really good. No, this story doesn’t have an happy ending. When I got my score back, I had only gone up a little bit, I hadn’t even broken 2000. I was so upset that I couldn’t even tell my parents. But then I realized that my life isn’t based off of one stupid score. Life is full of disappointments and all you can do is keep going strong and put the past behind you. I didn’t take the SAT again. If a college doesn’t want to accept me based on one score, then thats a school I don’t want to go to. I have demonstrated my potential as well as my hard work through all my other credentials, and the colleges should recognize that.</p>
<p>I could blame myself for being rejected from the University of Pennsylvania, my first choice school, but I don’t. After that my eyes opened, I saw that I could be perfectly happy at all my schools. There was not one college on my list that I would regret choosing. Banking on one option is like setting yourself up for disappointment.</p>
<p>Life is a journey, not a destination. You have to enjoy every moment of it because you can’t rely on there being a happy ending. If you live happily, you will surely die happily. Thats my philosophy. CC is dominated by people who have no concern, you put it perfectly, people without empathy. This isn’t some sort of competition or battle over the internet to see who is better or who is hardworking. A forum is a place where people congregate, so they can discuss their similar interest and voice their concerns. I know there are very few people in this world who truly care about others and want to make a difference and help. I like to think of myself as one of those people. Others think of it as a weakness. I think it is my greatest strength.</p>
<p>Thank you for sharing your story and don’t ever say you were rambling. Everyone’s story is important, no one is worth forgetting. Just remember: Everything is okay in the end. If it’s not okay, then it’s not the end.</p>
<p>if we’re going with confessions, </p>
<p>i hate CCers who’ll say, “omg, i only got a 35 on my ACTs!!! HELP!!” dude, you’re in like the top 1/2 of 1 precentile? shut up!</p>
<p>Don’t Stop Believin’</p>
<p>mememe245, I sorta did that today at Borders, haha. I grabbed the Blue Book, and am happy :)</p>
<p>Brown man1987, thanks for the encouragement and your story. It’s inspiring!</p>
<p>Pyar, you’re so amazing! I would hope to gain the resilience and strength that you have! And thanks for being able to empathize with me. </p>
<p>Lori1122, haha, you’re kind of right. I agree with you xD</p>
<p>Ponnan, your quotes are oh-so amusing :)</p>
<p>Thanks everyone. I’m gonna start studying hardcore from today, since I finally got my Blue Book. And yes, I’m doing the Xiggi method, haha. I appreciate everyone’s comments!</p>
<p>Hey everyone!</p>
<p>I thought I would update you all on how well I did, because I was very scared of taking the SAT.</p>
<p>I ended up getting a 2090, with the following breakdown:
CR: 730
M: 650
W: 710</p>
<p>In the end, they were not very good scores for the schools I’m interested in and do not make me a competitive applicant at all. I’m frustrated at my inability to rise to my expectations. I did not expect a crazy score. I expected at least a 2150, and I couldn’t even do that.</p>
<p>But I thank everyone who tried to help out. I did everything I could by studying, even utilizing Xiggi’s method. I left the testing room thinking that I would at least get a 700 on each area, and I did not. I am in BC Calculus and I performed worst in my Math section. That 650 takes me out of the running for most of the schools I looked into, especially since it isn’t in the middle 50% range. </p>
<p>I have a lot of studying to do. I’m very disappointed in myself. For everyone out there who thought that ‘test prep’ can get someone a 2400, they were wrong. I tried really, really hard. And it just didn’t work for me. I have friends who took test prep classes that they thought were very useful but ended up falling short of their own expectations as well. These are not lazy people. I am not a lazy person. It’s not like these strategies didn’t work for us. I just don’t think that ‘dedication’ or ‘hard work’ can necessarily earn someone a high score. It certainly didn’t work for me. I thought I could do better just by sheer will, hard work and test preparation.</p>
<p>I guess I was wrong.</p>
<p>I can still retake, but I really don’t think I will be reaching my expectations anytime soon. Everyone can say “Retake! Retake!” but honest to God, who wants to take a goddamn five-hour test that measures absolutely nothing except one’s ability to take a test? I don’t understand, I’m very upset. I thought the SAT was going to be okay for me, but it wasn’t. I just feel like my brain isn’t catching up to my ambition. </p>
<p>Thanks to everyone who provided me with encouraging words, who supported me and shared their own stories with me. Your words weren’t for nothing.</p>
<p>The SAT isn’t everything - it makes up a noticeable portion, but other parts of your application can make a major difference. Check out the Harvard/MIT threads for this year’s admissions. 2300+ is no guarantee, and some with less than 2200 have been admitted there. Don’t put yourself down so much - 2090 is just 60 points from what you thought you could do, and if decide to take the test again, you can probably reach your goal.</p>
<p>Someone said it earlier, but every college that takes SAT Reasoning will also accept the ACT. Even if you’ve taken a practice one before, it doesn’t hurt to try out the test, if you can take it.</p>
<p>If you just can’t reach your standardized testing targets, focus on other areas. Keep up with your ECs, and it sounds like you have some great (original) material to use for your essay(s). Some people have school intelligence, yet no drive or desire. You obviously have great potential, and incredible personal motivation. Don’t let a reasoning test discourage you.</p>
<p>A middle schooler could easily get a 2400, it’s at that level. It’s just a custom-made test, it creates a norm of its own, and has so many loopholes and “tricks” it isn’t even laughable. A terrible writer can get a 2400, a terrible mathematician can get a 2400, a lousy student overall, can get a 2400. It’s about the same as getting a perfect score on some cryptic remedial math/English class.</p>
<p>Well, I always thought my SAT score, I could never get into any top 20 U. Just make the other parts of your app stand out. SATs are only to weed out those who stand no chance, at least in my experience.</p>
<p>Oh, shush, murkywater. You know you didn’t have time to prep enough for the SAT. Which is why this summer is going to be spent doing hardcore prep. :D</p>
<p>And a 2090 is damn good first try, so… be proud. =)</p>
<p>murkywater: don’t worry about your SAT scores, they don’t mean much. numbers don’t tell about the real you. </p>
<p>just be sure you ace your SAT Subject Tests.</p>
<p>if it makes you feel any better, i got into Cornell and WL from Rice with a 600 CR score (and taken THREE times), well below average, and also a rank in the top 8% (not that high).</p>
<p>just be sure to express your hardships in your essays and make them spectacular. if you need help on them, i’d feel free to help out.</p>
<p>good luck, and happy easter :)</p>