Is 1550 SAT good enough for top universities? Also any chances for RSI alternate to get a spot?
Basically, it means one less thing you have to worry about. However, it’s not enough by itself to act as a guarantee.
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Yes/ it’s above the 50th percentile at Princeton, as an example. Yet 1600s get turned down bcuz they lack in other areas.
Sorry meant to respond to OP.
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Likely necessary to avoid quick rejection, but not by itself anywhere close to sufficient for admission.
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That score coupled with a strong GPA means you are academically qualified. But elite colleges have plenty of academically qualified students to choose from, and the rest of the application is used to determine which students are admitted.
Re RSI alternates, about the only time students turn down RSI is because they are doing MOP because they expect to be chosen for the US IMO team. It can happen. But do put down you were chosen as an RSI alternative.
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I assume OP is not asking if they will surely or almost surely be admitted to top universities based on a 1550 score. Rather, I assume they are wondering if they need to/should spend the time and effort trying to get a higher score or be done with testing at a 1550, since username indicates a 2027 high school grad. Others are more knowledgeable than me on that question, but I’d think there are vanishing few, if any top schools where trying to up ones score from a 1550 would be the best use of time in terms of admissions benefit for many students. If there are some, i’m sure others here could rattle them off in subsequent posts. That said, I think this is a question best asked of your admissions counselors and others knowledgeable about OPs full record of academics and activities and the specific schools OP is interested in.
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There’s a few exceptions here. For example, if Math was a 750, MIT might be a long shot since that’d be below the 25th percentile. But generally, a 1550 should suffice. But if someone wants to take it again, why not? That said, a few schools - or at least Georgetown, require you to submit all scores so if you score less…..
They also asked about RSIs. Not familiar with them but here’s what comes up.
But I agree - if you stop with a 1550, I say well done!!
Research Science Institute | Center for Excellence in Education
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I didn’t even know what RSI was, so ignored that as I have nothing to say on that.
One the why not take it again, beyond the reason you gave, if the high school counselors or others in the know say it is a waste of time and won’t improve chances compared to other use of time for OP for the schools OP wants to attend, that would be another reason not to spend time and energy testing again.
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Yes with the caveat that if you are applying to MIT you would want at least a 780 on the SAT (and I do think they have some preference for the SAT because the extended time renders the math on the ACT kind of useless as a predictor). So allowing for that, you got a 1550 in one setting and can hit send all on your scores, just stop and devote time to other things.
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