How bad does one poor SAT score look?

Applying to College
1

<p>I got a 2130 (Jan. 2014), 2180 (Mar. 2014), and a 1950 (Oct. 2014).</p>

<p>That last one was cause I had a really difficult week in school. Sickness, lack of sleep, etc. Was really shocked to see such an abnormal drop when I got my results back a few weeks ago.</p>

<p>I know that some schools allow Score Choice (which I will utilize when applying), but others do not (ex. UC Berkeley). Question is, how bad can one SAT score look?</p>

<p>Will they just think, “Oh, must’ve been a bad day” and shrug it off? Or will they really penalize me hard for that?</p>

<p>I obviously should have known better and cancelled my score, but oh well. I’m just curious as to how significant an impact it can have on my chances.</p>

<p>Edit: inb4 someone suggests I use Score Choice to colleges regardless of their policies. I am not attempting that, rofl.</p>

2

<p>Berkeley got 74,000 freshman applications last year; they will not have the time or the inclination to “think” anything. They will look at your highest single-sitting SAT score and move on to the next section. Relax!!</p>

3

<p>

Good, because that’s not a good strategy.</p>

4

<p>I hope you’re right on that. I’ve heard that some colleges just input scores into a computerized system, so admissions officers don’t even see the other scores.</p>

<p>

I know intentionally disobeying school policies is a poor strategy. But I always get people suggesting I break the rules for whatever reason.</p>

<p>Thanks for the info.</p>

5

<p>

And with the prevalence of electronic submissions, the days of work-study students sitting in the basement compiling folders are long-gone in many schools. Some schools have the apps linked into their databases, so any overflow scores (e.g. more than 2 SAT Subject tests) are not even seen by the AO’s.</p>