Is 2400 actually best?

QuantMech
Sat, 15 May 2010 10:08:34 +0000

Probably too late now for the OP, but not necessarily for others in the same situation. It depends. If you are applying to MIT, I think you are actually much better off with a single score of 2360 than with a 2400. Matt McGann wrote a long rant about a student who had one recommendation that referred to the “magical 2400.” It’s still up on the MIT web site. No longer up are some comments on an MIT admissions committee member’s blog, coming from “Momchil,” who wondered whether 2400 SAT I + 2400 SAT II would essentially guarantee admission to MIT. In short, the answer was “No. Ha ha ha ha. Loser!” I think that re-taking a 2360 and obtaining a 2400 would also be a disadvantage at Stanford. It’s probably break-even at HYP. Retaking 2360 and coming out with 2390? Could happen. How would you feel about it?

If your other qualifications are in the “unbelievably good” category, and you do not have 1600 CR +M (single sitting) or 144 ACT sum of scores, you could become eligible for the national Presidential Scholar program by retaking. The odds against selection are very high, though.

If you are interested in a full-ride scholarship at a university that very rarely sees students with 2400’s, it might give you an edge. Admissions representatives at HYPSM+C see plenty of 2400’s and it has no novelty value for them.

Other good reasons to retake a 2360, to obtain a 2400:
a) Security of knowing that your future spouse cannot have outscored you. Potential opportunity to gloat over scores.
b) Your twin scored 2400 and you got 2360. Or worse, both of the other triplets . . .
c) With a 2400, you are permitted to use words such as “irenic” and “daedal” without a trace of self-consciousness.
d) Lifetime membership in TSSOPWSTFHALOFEO (The Secret Society of People Who Scored Twenty-Four Hundred and Look out for Each Other). Includes secret decoder ring!
Hey, silverturtle,
8-15-23-1-18
5-25-15-21-?
23-8-5-18-5
1-18-5-25-15
21-7-15-9-14
7-20-15-3-15
12-12-5-7-5
?

And one more reason not to bother: If you have a 2400, the lack of parallelism in my reasons a)-d) will make you fidgety.