Considering to retake SAT in January. Should I?

Test Preparation
1

Hello! I’m an international student from Malaysia and applying for undergrad Fall 2015. I’m currently in college doing prep program. My concern is my SAT score.

January 2015 (CR 490 M 580 W 570 Essay 8)
November 2015 (CR 570 M 630 2 590 Essay 8)
Taking Math 2 and Biology this Dec.

I’m actually shocked with my writing score this time because that is my strongest section in practice test.

Here’s other stats to put things into perspective:
CGPA: 3.56
I’m from the national gifted centre and the academic here is difficult. Generally in Malaysia, we have A+, A, A- and so on, and each grade has different grade point. Usually 90 is A+ and grade point 4.0. My school, however, take this grading up a notch.

97 A+ 4.0 // 85 A 3.75 // 75 A- 3.45

The only thing saving me is my carry marks haha. Pair that with juggling between academic, research (it’s compulsory to do research in our school), extra curriculars, development sessions and boarding school life. No one has ever got a 4.0 and the highest is 3.9 ish (senior, not from my batch though)

ECs:

  • International conference
  • National conference
  • Nobelist mindset program with NY Academy of Science
  • Exco Member in Students’ Council
  • Vice Treasurer of Sports House
  • 3rd place in cross-country, 2nd in district softball
  • State level debate competition, public speaking competition
    Others are just ordinary stuff. My favourite EC is being a member of Gamelan (traditional musical ensemble) team :slight_smile: I will be writing about this Gamelan experience in personal statement, and how this is an opportunity opened for me when entering a gifted school.

Uni applying:

  • Yale (I knowww. Not expecting to get accepted but to just see where I stack up in this world full of talented people. Getting experimental here lol)
  • Johns Hopkins (Since my school is derived from the CTY program and my intended major)
  • Michigan, Ann Arbor
  • Minnesota, Twin Cities

I will not be applying for FA since I’m already on a scholarship and my intended major is neuroscience or cognitive science. I’m not going to med school, but I’m planning for grad school. Since I’m on a scholarship, I must apply to top 50 uni and pass other criteria.

Thank you, I appreciate your feedback in advance :slight_smile:

2

Hey, Malaysian here too :slight_smile: Your ECAs look pretty good, and I think it would be really great if you emphasized the gamelan throughout the application. When you say gifted program, do you mean permata pintar? I don’t think US unis really bother about the scaling and all… but you might want to explain that in the additional comments section of the commonapp. Yale is probably high reach with your SATs, maybe you should retake? Also, do you mind giving me feedback on my application? Just check out my profile. Thanks a lot and all the best in your applications :slight_smile:

3

Your SAT well below average for all of the schools listed. You should retake. Your target should be the 75th SAT score percentile at each school.