<p>Oh wow. Sorry. I took off .25 instead of 1.25 for the 3 wrong.</p>
<p>meteman’s right. It’s a 43, not a 46. My bad.</p>
<p>praying for curve to be at 43. im retaking if i get a damn 790.</p>
<p>why do people retake the sat subject test when they get 750+? I mean, this is such a small part of your college app that it wouldn’t make THAT big of a difference, atleast when it comes to rejection/acception</p>
<p>cause those people just wants to brag how they got an 800. that would sound better than bragging about a 790…</p>
<p>^yupp. it’s a pride thing</p>
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<p>The higher one’s score, the higher his or her chance of acceptance; objectively increasing one’s chance is quite attractive to many, especially when about 17,000 people get perfect scores on the test.</p>
<p>wow really ? 17000? o.O</p>
<p>Something like that. I’ll check it.</p>
<p>^doesn’t surprise me. the test is easy and the curve is far too generous, in my opinion</p>
<p>Yes, just over 17,000 last year.</p>
<p>^ So does a 750 or so in Math II look bad to top colleges?</p>
<p>^For an engineering major? YES. Definitely.</p>
<p>Think about it - 10% of people who take this test get an 800. Even worse, if you get a 750, you are 78% percentile. That means 22% of people are better than you which marginally lowers your chances at top colleges, considering those getting the 760-800 are likely applying to the top colleges.
The difference b/w an 800 and 790 in Math II is so large that its important to have the 800 when applying to top colleges. If you 800’d, the admissions people can’t differentiate between whether you got a 44 or a pure 50 (because of the curve and the fact that they don’t see raw scores [I think], a 44-kid could be legit). If you get the 790, they realize that you got a 43 (5 wrong, 1 omit for instance), and that’s not that good in a top college’s eyes.</p>
<p>^ I have no plans of going into any sort of engineering, and will most likely apply as either a biology or a history major (radically different fields, I know, but I’m very interested in both). Does a 750 still look as bad, or is it acceptable if I won’t be majoring in any sort of math field?</p>
<p>An 800 will always be better, but just because you get a 750 doesn’t mean a top college will shred your application on the spot. It’s one test, out of the many you take in High School, and even then tests illuminate a small portion of your personality. My personal opinion is after 750+ it’s not worth retaking for an 800, especially not the time or money.</p>
<p>If you are a history major, I think that a 750+ in Math II shows you are VERY well-rounded. Bio isn’t really a physical/math-based science in the same sense that Physics/Chem are, so I think you could also get away with that “well-rounded” description as a Bio major too.</p>
<p>Swimstar,</p>
<p>Your Math II score is one tiny portion of an entire application. Adcoms do NOT care as much about these scores as so many people on CC think. Admissions folks are looking at an entire picture – always. They’re looking at your personality (through your essay/s and letters of rec). They’re looking at all your stats – GPA, SAT, ACT, Subject Tests, class rank, etc. They’re looking at leadership and community service. Etc, etc, etc.</p>
<p>If you got a 750 on the Math II test and submit that along with a 750+ on the SAT I Math, great scores on the rest of the SAT and/or ACT, a great GPA, great class rank, class president or swim team captain or all-state musician, or what-have-you, etc, I believe that an adcom at all schools but the most elite will not blink an eye at your 750. Kids on this site care far more than they will.</p>
<p>If by “top colleges” you’re referring to MIT or Cal Tech or the like … well, then a 750 on the Math II might make a wee bit of difference, all else being equal.</p>
<p>Other than those elite of the elite math/engineering schools, I just don’t think it matters and I wouldn’t stress or think twice about submitting your 750. Colleges are NOT looking for perfection. They’re looking for real people with real personalities.</p>
<p>Nice job on that score. And good luck!</p>
<p>^ Hmmm that’s what I was thinking but what about engineering programs at non engineering special schools like the Ivies? My assumption is that their adcoms won’t put as much weight on a Math II score, but I’m not sure.</p>
<p>I agree with SimpleLife, but if two applicants seem almost equal, the applicant with the higher quantitative scores (SATs, SATIIs, etc.) will most likely have the upper hand. Of course, this does not mean that the applicant with the higher scores will be guaranteed admissions or anything of the sort, but his/her chances compared to a similar applicant’s will be statistically higher.</p>
<p>Youwrotethis,
It is my belief that the ivies are really looking for “the whole person,” just like so many other schools. Fortunately for them, they get to look for that whole person amongst a lot of “whole people” who have amazingly good stats. So, in the end, those accepted to the ivies will be really well-rounded, successful, interesting people – with great stats.</p>
<p>But I still think that a person who is well-rounded, successful, and interesting, with otherwise amazing stats and a very good 750 on Math II will have just as much of a chance at the ivies as a person who is well-rounded, successful, and interesting, with otherwise amazing stats and a perfect 800 on Math II. The ivies want, and can get, exceptional people. Exceptional people will have a variety of outstanding characteristics, and they’ll have a variety of not-as-outstanding characteristics, like a very good 750 instead of a perfect 800.</p>
<p>I think that re-testing in hopes of raising a 750 to an 800 would be a waste of time and money in most cases.</p>
<p>But if you’re trying to get into the most elite math/engineering schools, it might be worth the effort.</p>
<p>The most elite math and engineering schools, it seems to me, are looking for the best of the best math and science students, with an emphasis on finding students who can hack their program and excel in math, science, and engineering. They still look at the whole person and want the best candidates they can get … but their “whole people” MUST be excellent mathematicians and scientists. All schools try to choose students who they think will succeed (and really excel) in their programs. Naturally. So, it seems to me that Math II stats probably carry a little more weight at places like Cal Tech and MIT than at other types of schools. If one’s Math II scores are in the 78th percentile, for instance, versus the 99th, that can make a big difference – because knowledge and ability in Math really matter in those schools, not because those schools are looking for “perfect” people – but because near-perfection in math matters in terms of that applicant’s potential success. AND because those schools have enough stellar applicants that they can afford to be choosy.</p>
<p>That’s my take on the issue, anyway. I do not agree with people on CC who think that every single score must be perfect. I think that’s an unrealistic and narrow view. Colleges want a “whole person,” period.</p>
<p>superexcited,
I agree with your take on the hypothetical situation you proposed. But the thing is, there are probably few times (if any) that any two candidates are exactly equal except for the 750/800 Math II difference.</p>
<p>In a more likely scenario, one candidate might have a 750 Math II, with a 2350 SAT, and experience as the cross-country captain and NHS treasurer, as well as community service at the local health and welfare center; while the other candidate might have an 800 Math II, a 2320 SAT, experience as the high school’s orchestra concert master, with accomplishments at all-state, as well as NHS membership and active participation in the community hockey league.</p>
<p>In other words, the decision will be much broader and more difficult than comparing a 750 to an 800 on Math II. I’m sure of it.</p>
<p>And so, perfection in any one area, particularly one as small as a single Subject Test, is not really necessary and will not really make or break a candidate’s chances in almost all cases. Who you are as a person, and how well you portray your uniqueness and your exceptional qualities as a whole, on your college application, will much more likely make or break your chances at a top school.</p>
<p>For that reason, I think all kids should try their best, find and know their strengths and weaknesses, and then focus their energy on finding the school that best matches their strengths and weaknesses and their likes and dislikes.</p>
<p>The schools that best match who you are will likewise find that you best match who they’re looking for! Time is much better spent that way than prepping for yet another subject test.</p>