My Dilemma

SoundOfSilence
Wed, 05 Sep 2012 22:12:59 +0000

Hey guys,

So hopefully you can help me out with the issue I’m facing at the moment. Before I describe it, however, here is my current situation (in regards to objective statistics):

Grade: 12
State: NJ
Ethnicity: Asian (M)

GPA: 3.85 UW, 4.29 W

SAT I: 760 CR/730 M/800 W (Single sitting; total=2290)
SAT II: Biology (800; 640 from freshman year lol), Chinese (780), Chemistry (740), US History (690), and Math II (680; I know, ouch - more or less the main factor in my current dilemma)

APs: US History/Chinese/Biology/English Language (all 5s), Chemistry (4)

ACTs: haven’t taken yet, will take upcoming one in September

So anyways, here’s my problem:

I took the SAT I in October of my Junior year (one and only sitting so far; 2290 combined) and was relatively satisfied with my score.

Later the same year, I took the Math 2 SAT II in the hopes that I’d score a 750+ to report to colleges, being that I’d heard the Math 2 SAT II is almost a tacit requisite at the more selective colleges. The only problem is that I scored an extremely disappointing 680 on the test, a score I will most definitely not be reporting unless they force me and I don’t retake it.

Now, come September, I have a pretty major decision to make - should I:

1)Retake the SAT I in October, then the Math 2 SAT II in November (and rush-report the latter), or

2) Retake the Math 2 SAT II (along with perhaps Lit) in October, then the SAT I in Novermber (and rush-report the latter)?

This may seem like a straightforward problem, but there’re several factors which I feel are making the decision much harder. The first issue is that of the deadlines for EA/SCEA/ED on the one hand, and RD on the other. Basically, whichever test(s) I retake in October will make it to the EA/SCEA/ED school(s) I apply to, whereas the test I retake in November will only make it to the schools I apply to RD. The other issues (which intersect with this on various levels) include:

-I’m taking the ACT in about 3 days and expect (reasonably) to score a 34/35 on it. WIth that in mind, do I even need to bother getting a higher SAT I score to send to my EA/SCEA/ED schools in October (and thereby sacrifice my chance of sending a significantly improved Math 2 score to those EA/SCEA/ED schools), or would I be better off sending in a 34/35 ACT + 2290 SAT I + improved Math 2 SAT II score to EA/SCEA/ED, then sending an improved SAT I score later - in the RD admissions cycle?

-I’m still not comfortably clear on the question of how important taking the Math 2 SAT II is to someone applying to 6/8 Ivies and other top schools (think Duke, Georgetown, JHU, etc). Will a lack of a score (or a score like 680) do a lot of damage to my chances, or does the Math 2 SAT II have as much meaning as, say, the Literature SAT II (which seems much less popular, and is simply something one might take as a “bonus” test of sorts)? Basically, is it common to apply to Ivies/etc. without a Math 2 SAT II and get in, or is the Math 2 SAT basically an unofficial prerequisite for those applying to elite institutions these days? (note: I’m most likely going to apply as undecided, biology, or maybe some social science-oriented major, if that makes a significant difference)

To sum it up, here are my questions:

1) Based on my stats (and upcoming ACT), should I retake my 680 Math 2 SAT II in October (in time for EA/SCEA/ED) and my 2290 SAT in November (only in time for RD), or the other way around?,

2) How important is the Math 2 SAT II for seniors applying to Ivies/etc, and

3) (almost off-topic lol) how does Rutgers (the NJ state University) work with full-ride scholarships/deadlines for SAT scores to get said scholarships (which I hear go to basically all those with 1500+ CR/M combined SAT scores)?

Any help would be much appreciated!!

Thanks, and apologies for the uber-long post,
a stressed-out senior