I need go somewhere with SAT Verbal 500!! (JHU?? MIT?!!)

What Are My Chances?
#1

<p>it's not good, it's not good, it's not good..</p>

<p>i just viewed by score online and i got totally shocked by my oct. SAT score.
verbal score is 40 lower than my august diagonostic test.. ; simple 500
math score which i simply predicted 800 ended up 760.. (with 98%)
i was so aiming JHU and (just for heck of it) MIT.. but now .. i dunno
so i decided to put my lame stats again and want to CCer's advices.</p>

<p>I came USA 4 yrs ago with no english skillz. 2 years of ESL
SAT2 Math2c 800, Physics 760 (Writing on Nov.)
GPA 4.0 UW / 4.4 Weighted.
LOTS of leaderships and roles in school and church
neither a significant research , nor a national award.
attending a big public high school (not many challenging courses)
Science classes(all honors/college classes) ; Chem1, Environmental Science, Oceanography, Bio1, Physics1, Physics2(i took AP Physics and got 4), Chem2, Independent Study(for AP BIO)
Math ; i am taking AP Calc AB now.
SS ; AP US History. (3..)
Recommendations will be really great. also i am working on my essay so it will be pretty good too. (i dont know whether rec. and essay matter alot in JHU though)</p>

<p>i am applying JHU ED.. and wanna do BME..
do I have a chance at BME?? if that chance is minimal, should I change to regular??
i think my verbal score will really KILL me.</p>

<p>i am also applying MIT, GATech, Boston College, and Rice(i was thinking about BS/MD, but i dont think i have any chance at all..)
tell me your insight about my chances plz.</p>

<p>tell me what should i do. where can i go with 500???
i will take TOEFL, to supplement weak 500 , if it's any good.
any replies will be helpful--</p>

#2

<p>oh also. i am an asian american from florida.
my ranking in my school is about 6-7 out of 300 seniors.</p>

<p>comments or advises on my situation would be graceful ^_^</p>

#3

<p>U'll get into BC for sure. you have a good chance at Rice....MIT however is a stretch</p>

#4

<p>thanks. anyone has any idea about about JHU?? plz</p>

#5

<p>It is normal to have a 50 pt difference between SAT tests, so this difference from your diagnostic tests is normal. Your math score is excellent so you don't have to waste a second thought on this. Your verbal score of 500 is incredible if you just learned English 4 years ago.</p>

<p>Fact is you can go to any school with those scores. I don't know of any school that has an absolute cut-off for scores. They will look at the whole package, and only having learned English 4 years ago is a mitigating circumstance. Write a great essay about it.</p>

<p>Oh, and you should retake the SAT, and work on the English meanwhile. Many schools will take the 2 higher math and verbal scores from multiple tests.</p>

#6

<p>BME for JHU is rough, because everyone has really good math and 2c, but lower verbals. The lady at my JHU interview told me the average SAT Math was about 780 and verbal was 750. Maybe you should wait till RD and try and imrpove upon that. I'm also applying to BME eventually.</p>

#7

<p>The point is taht with a 500 verbal, you may have a hard time with writing requirements at a top school. Can you take time to focus on your english skills before applying? Maybe a 1 year delay?</p>

#8

<p>since ur an international student with not much English background, ull be fine. JHU isn't all that known for high verbal scores anyway, and the fact that ur international helps a lot. if u really wanted to u could retake ur sat1, that would help.e but other than that, ur pretty good</p>

#9

<p>FYI, i am not an international applicant but a green card holder.</p>

<p>lisa, would you explain more about "writing requirements at a top school"?
i attend an american public high school, and never thought about one year delay, neither do i want to do that.</p>

<p>well i know that my verbal score 'wouldnt' be high, since i've learn my english in such a short period of time.
but still non-native english speakers are usually maintain 600+ verbal score..</p>

<p>right now, i am thinking about one or other ; retaking Dec SAT, or taking ACT(never taken before)</p>

<p>also although i want to do BME(really), i am considering to go for BioMechanic Engineering, or other biological engineering major, if that can boost my chances, and i have a minimal chance at BME.. what do you guys think???</p>

<p>last. does taking TOEFL (and get a high score) do a significant plus ??</p>

#10

<p>BUMP for peace and love.</p>

#11

<p>it will be the last bump. so.. please give me some insight. length doesnt matter!!</p>

#12

<p>MIT might be VERY hard.</p>

<p>What I would do is, in your situation, 'give up' on some colleges that may seem to be a gamble and devote your time and essays to other schools that are less of a reach.</p>

<p>I'm not sure if you can squeeze in SAT1s in December but if you do, you have a chance of raising verbal by 100 points if you study hard.</p>

#13

<p>Definitely take the TOEFL. If you can do well on the writing section, it may overcome that SAT verbal score.</p>