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What I meant to say is: Hi Guys. I just took the SAT in March and received my score. I got a 1700 flat. I became sick in the week leading up to the SAT and never got to get a good study in that week, but I studied a lot the weeks before. I was still pretty sick when I took the SAT, but I didn’t think I would do this poorly. That same week I took two exams (physics and calculus) and still aced them. I plan to retake the SAT in June, but I was just wondering how much the SAT matters. I am looking into schools like Johns Hopkins, VTech, MIT, Duke, UVA, GTech, Rice, and other engineering schools. I’m not your average student. I attend a regional Governor’s School and I have a GPA above 4, unweighted is 3.9+. I participate in two varsity sports and also participate in Robotics (and have been to the VEX World Championship). I have a project that I’ve done that is in the process of receiving a Patent. I just was accepted to take part in an internship that lasts all summer doing extensive research with professors and graduates (800 High School students applied, 60 were accepted). What I’m trying to say is, anything aside from standardized testing I am great at. But, I am a terrible test-taker. My teachers have noticed this throughout my life and my current physics teacher worked with this year because he became aware that I was answering all the questions in class and doing everything well, but my test average was horrible to begin the year. It’s that bad…and honestly I don’t know if I can get my SAT score up to 2000. I trick myself on tests, I can’t deal with the BS that is put into the SAT to trick you. What is the ACT like? If it’s better can I submit that? Sorry for all the questions guys.
I strongly recommend looking at test-optional schools, given your strong GPA and extracurricular activities.
Thanks for the reply. A friend of mine also said the same, but my parents expect prestigious universities and I don’t know how many of them are test-optional. I don’t even know how I’m going to present my score to them…I don’t even want to leave my room (I’m on SB). Another friend of mine who I talked to about this issue told me that this would be more of an issue if I wasn’t a minority (I’m black), but if I continue to pile up the ECs before I head to college, they won’t deny me. Is that statement even close to true? I have a feeling it’s not…at all. How much is race factored into acceptance? I know scholarships is a different story, but I feel like there are probably a ton of brilliant black kids with much higher SAT scores.
At Duke, standardized test results are important, however they certainly are not THE most important evaluation element and holistic assessment is fundamental to selection decisions. With this said, in aggregate you are 400 or 500 points below a fully competitive result (Duke’s Common Data Set will provide more-precise information). Accordingly, please prepare DILIGENTLY for your re-test, since I suspect a 1700 SAT I score won’t move your file to the “second admissions reader.”
That sucks so bad…Duke is a school I want to get into so badly because of their Biotech, Biochem, and Biomed programs…I really want to be part of research that improves the lives of the masses and I feel like Duke is a place where I can do that. Already I have experience in doing weekly 10 page article summaries and reading dozens of peer-reviewed articles for research projects. This semester I have done a 2500 word research project proposal and had to do a terrifying oral proposal in front of the heads of my Governor’s School. I was told my proposal was one of the best (which was nice because there are kids going to ISEF in my class, but I’m applying my project for a different competition that starts fall of 2015). I guess what I’m saying is, it really sucks that in my 11 years of education I have worked SO DAMN HARD to have the resume that I have now. Weeks with 8 hours of sleep in total, weeks where I went 36-48 hours+ with no sleep. Before I took my SAT, I was so confident in my abilities that I had the audacity to tell fellow students that despite their GPAs and whatever, they could still make it and I helped them with subjects they did poorly in and gave them life advice. Kids with criminal records getting As and Bs, (one has a 4.0 with advanced classes mixed in this year) because I gave them hope that they could make it if they started trying and dropped the BS. So it hurts…badly…that with all of my hard work, I can’t get into the school I’ve dreamed of getting into since grade school, because I am a poor test taker. One test erases my 11 years of hard work and my EC resume. It’s different if my record is pinned against other kids who have impressive records as well…then mine is eliminated because of my SAT score. But, y’all won’t even pass my freaking application to the second admissions reader. No offense to you, but mark my words…if I can’t improve my SAT scores as drastically as Duke and all these high-up schools want me to…they are missing out on one of America’s most dedicated students…
I’m trying to be realistic and helpful, but please remember I specifically indicated that standardized test scores were NOT the most important evaluation element and that Duke assesses each applicant HOLISTICALLY. Do your very best increase your SAT I results, absolutely apply, be certain your recommendations substantiate what you’ve explained in this thread, and most important WRITE ESSAYS THAT CONVINCE DUKE TO ADMIT YOU WITH POOR/MARGINAL SAT SCORES, but – please – don’t become too emotionally committed to Duke, because it IS a long-shot (I’m sorry, but that’s the truth with your current SAT I results).
I admire what you’ve said, I hope you’re admitted, I wish you good luck.
Wesleyan and Bowdoin are two of the most respected colleges in the country, and are both test-optional. I am sorry that you are so blindly dedicated to “brand” prestige, especially if you are serious about biomedical research. There are loads of colleges with great opportunities. I don’t want to be singularly tough on you. You are undoubtedly a good kid, but lots of people work hard all their lives. I read a lot of posts here in which students seem to feel uniquely entitled. You will get into a good four-year college, but nobody should be as married to a particular college as you are, especially when the college is as selective as Duke. They will reject literally thousands of applicants with comparable GPAs to yours and SATs hundreds of points higher. My younger son attends a tiny liberal arts college with one of the best per capita graduate school admission (including 85% for medical school) and prestigious grant (e.g. Fulbright, et al) records in the country. My elder son attends a large, public university attached to a respected medical school in a city that has some of the best teaching hospitals in the world. You could probably get into either of their colleges, based on your great GPA. Most people work hard all their lives, with no hope of affording a Rolls-Royce or yacht. If you think that happiness in life is achieved through brand recognition, you will never be happy. You probably won’t get to date a Sports Illustrated or Victoria’s Secret model (I’m assuming you’re male - substitute “rock star,” if female); does that mean you’ll be lonely and celibate your entire life? No, and it won’t further your cause to tell everyone that you really deserve to date hot women simply because they’re hot.
I’m not as shallow as you think I am, but it’s hard not to think about these top brand schools if all the seniors who are in the same program as I am in are going to MIT, Cornell, WestPoint, Princeton, etc. I know there are good schools out there that are not the brand name, but my family will always see me as a disappointment if I don’t. I have one older sibling…they go to UChi on a full-ride merit. So please don’t think I am just this shallow kid that feels entitled, sir/ma’am. I’m a kid that is under a lot of pressure to fill the shoes I’ve been forced in. I’m not somebody who wants to marry a model or be a rock star. My life goal is to be part of something that changed people’s lives. If the greatest thing I accomplish in life is being a part of research done for cancer and ALS that was a stepping stone for a cure or better treatment…I will die a happy man. All I want to do in life is become the reason that people shed tears of joy…I don’t need material stuff or brand names to be happy…only reason I love Duke is because since I was in grade school, they’ve been a school that I have loved and grew up on. Research they do there is fantastic, some of my cousins went there and tell me the stuff that goes on, hell, even my favorite NBA players went there. March madness I pick them to go every year. Duke is one of my dream schools…so I am a bit attached to it, and it does hurt that I’m not even “good enough” to get a decent look. And by the way, I apologize for sounding ignorant or arrogant about the test-optional schools. I am just feeling a lot of frustration today and I was ignorant about the top schools that are test optional. Thank you for your replies though, definitely needed the reality check in your next one.
Study hard and take it again. I bet it was just a fluke. SAT is almost everything for most of these colleges. Once you get a good score though, other factors come into play, like essays. Just to let you know, duke takes your cr and writing and combines them into one score, and then puts that score out of 1600 with math.
Good luck!
I’m scouring the OP’s original post and I don’t see a lot of punctuation to indicate what the question is. I see a lot of venting, but not many questions. In terms of whether you should take the ACT (the only direct query I could find.} Yes, of course. Give it a shot and compare your scores. I would say a 30 on the ACT would be equal to a 2000 on the SAT.
In terms of all the emotional attachment to names they’ve heard about since childhood, the OP indicates they already have a sibling at a great research university. Have you asked them what they think? An older sibling who’s been through the process may offer you the perspective you seem to be lacking right now.
Thanks for the reply, I think I’ve calmed a bit since this morning. I have asked my sibling about their experience, but they just seem to be on a different world when it comes to these things. He took the SAT without any studying and got like a 1980 and even his second one, he said he didn’t study much…2200. So, he wasn’t much help when it came to SAT prep. I got more of a “Just do your best, you’ll do fine bro…”. He gives great perspective on hard work and being proactive and involved in ECs, but his interests are completely different from mine.