Is 2400 actually best?

QuantMech
Sun, 16 May 2010 12:57:54 +0000

Jersey13, post #61–my suggestion that retaking a 2360 for a 2400 would be a disadvantage at M, probably a disadvantage at S, and break-even at HYP comes from reading admissions materials and official online information (including admissions office blogs and advice to applicants), using outcomes known to me, and then filling in between the lines. I might be wrong about S. It’s just an impression. Also, S might be weighting qualifications slightly differently for applicants from California (and/or high schools that send them a large number of students) vs. east of the Mississippi. I believe that there was a student this year who retook at 2390, got a 2400, and was accepted by Stanford, but not by MIT. Retaking a 2390 looks either obsessive or courageous, depending on your point of view.