Hi, this is my situation:
I’m a current Junior in High School. For the first 15 years of my life, I’ve lived in America, and, needless to say, attended my Freshman and Sophomore years there. This past summer however, for various reasons, my family moved to China. I’m now attending a small international academy in China, and don’t plan to return to America until after graduation. My father, worried about both the difficulty of finding an SAT test center in China and the stress of moving to a new country, pushed me to take the SAT in America in the second semester of my sophomore year. My composite scores from then is a 2180 (710 Reading, 800 Math, 670 Writing), which, from looking around this forum, is sub-par if I’m considering about applying to Top tier colleges (Stanford, Duke etc.). However, I think for rushing into taking this test in January, a lower score should be understandable in my college application. Do you think my situation will be taken into account by the colleges, and my SAT score will be taken a little bit more leniently, if explained in further detail in my application? Thanks
international students manage to find rest centers. I think you should re-test if you are targeting top schools. I don’t think explaining that you took it early will help.
Thanks for the response. Umm, I also want to add, though, that I was ranked #1 in my sophomore class of ~500 students back in america, and am still currently maintaining a 4.0 unweighted/4.3 weighted GPA. Even with this, and a mess of extracurricular activities and other subsidizing qualities, do I still have to retake the exam? I really don’t want to study again for the SAT… 
Standardized test scores are one of the ways colleges compare students. If you can’t be bothered to show your full abilities on the test, you will be at a disadvantage.
You should definitely retake the test. Top tier colleges have a lot of star students applying, so you’re only hurting yourself if you don’t bring up that SAT score – it sounds like you can certainly do better. I would highly recommend finding a tutor for it.
Think about this: the SAT is about 1/4 of the admission factor. If you studied 100 hours (and that’s a LOT!) that’s only a tiny fraction of how many hours you put in at school and on homework which amounts to about 1/4 of the admission factor.
Take your time. Get the best score you can.
If you feel you can improve your SAT score and are aiming for a top tier US college, I would suggest not only that you re-take the test but that you study for the SAT before you re-take it. If you are a junior, you have plenty of time to study and re-take the exam in the spring (or even next fall if need be).
Taking the exam early will not be considered – if you have not retaken the SAT schools can only assume that you feel the score you achieved as a sophomore is the best you could do. Judging from the number of applicants to US colleges from China, there must be an ample number of SAT testing centers there.
For one, that’s a really good SAT score. No “explanations” necessary–and telling schools that “wah wah I took it as a sophomore” will make you seem whiny, IMO.
But anyway! Just take it again. Best case, you increase your score and only become a more competitive. Worst case, you don’t increase your score but seriously: that’s a good SAT score. If you’re otherwise a stellar applicant, that score won’t kill your app. (again, that’s worst case scenario) I Googled it and here is how it works in China (from the College Board site):
“Per guidelines set forth by China’s Ministry of Education (MOE), the SAT is currently only administered within schools authorized by the Ministry of Education to offer international admissions tests to their enrolled students. These are primarily international schools that typically enroll students who hold passports from countries outside of the People’s Republic of China. Chinese national students who do not attend one of these schools and are interested in taking the SAT are welcome to take it in SAT testing centers in Hong Kong, Macao or any country outside of mainland China.”
So, check if your current school administers the SAT. If not, plan a trip to Hong Kong. It sounds like dad is really invested in your educational outcomes and will surely support your efforts. You may want to do SAT IIs, as well, depending on which elite schools you’re shooting for.
Some colleges may want the new SAT, so to cover yourself, you should take that one. But your 2180 is a great score, especially since it was the writing section that was the lowest and many schools don’t look at that score