<p>i took the SAT once in june, and i am taking it again this saturday. i took one SAT class (they’re not affordable for my family…the one i took is discounted), and my reading score improved a lot, but it’s still very bad. my friend told me that colleges would look into my application and recommendations, and they would know that english is not my first language, so they would not be as strict on the reading. i wanna do mechanical engineering, and my math is not a problem. and i do pretty decent on the writing. so i have some questions:
- is what my friend said true?
- i heard colleges look into your family income, and they would know if SAT classes are affordable for the student or not…i feel like this is a myth, but is it?
- do some college really not look at the writing section AT ALL?
- if i do good on the ACT, is that going to help me a little?
thx a lot!</p>
<p>All schools try to get a diverse student population so being poor or a minority can help your chances. That being said, they are also looking for students they believe will succeed. </p>
<p>Look at the SAT range for your the schools you are interested in ([College</a> Admissions - SAT - University & College Search Tool](<a href=“http://www.collegeboard.com%5DCollege”>http://www.collegeboard.com)). if your scores fall within the range, even the low range, you are competitive. </p>
<p>Retaking the SAT or taking the ACT will help your chances if you can improve your scores. GL.</p>
<p>I started responding then my laptop died… But I’ll be nice and generous and retype it all. =P</p>
<ol>
<li>Sort of. They won’t excuse a terrible score, because they can always find someone with your qualifications AND a better score, but they do value diversity to an extent, so my answer to this is sort of. </li>
<li>Being low income can give you an advantage, but not for this specific reason – lots of people do well without taking a prep course at all, so they won’t use this exact way of thinking, ahah. </li>
<li>Yes, some colleges don’t consider the writing section at all. Look at the school on College Board, if it doesn’t show the writing scores then they aren’t considered. Not many schools don’t consider them, though… Mostly just public schools, and Cornell. Some schools do put less emphasis on the writing section though, especially STEM-based schools.</li>
<li>If you do good on the ACT, it’ll help you A LOT! You can just not send your SAT score, and send your ACT score in place. Take both, my friend got an 1800 on the SAT but a 32 on the ACT – she goes to Emory now, and I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t have admitted her without that 32. </li>
</ol>
<p>All that being said, if English isn’t your first language because you’re Asian, you’re in a rough spot, competition is fiercer for Asians – but if you’re hispanic or African, then this’ll help you because you’re an under-represented minority. We can’t really tell you whether or not the school will be harsh on you because we don’t know the specifics – but if you tell us your GPA, test scores, and race (and the school, obviously), we can tell you if you’ll be okay, though no one can tell you whether or not you’ll get in.</p>
<p>@EliKresses
thx alot!
unfortunately, i AM asian. and the most competitive group of asian…chinese. but i am from hong kong, so i guess i am more “diversed” lol (jk. i am worried.)
i can submit BOTH test scores right? cuz i feel like the SATs are more popular…but i know the ACT is much easier, so i know i would do good and if it’s a good score i would submit it.
my GPA is honestly not up there. i have a 91.95, but i am the top 10%, and i have taken AP classes since sophomore year. also i heard all the teachers in my school write brilliant recommendations…and i’ve always been like the “role model student” lol but i am not sure how important of a role do recommendations play in the app. process.
my verbal score is REALLY low, like, it’s a shame lol but my math was a 640 on the first SAT i took…i just walked in w/out any studying or prep…now that i took a class and reviewed like 10 topics i am sure i can get to the 700s. thx for replying.</p>
<p>I’m not exactly sure how big of a role recommendations play at the school to which you plan to apply, but if you go on College Board and look at the school, you can find which objects they consider to be extremely important down to which ones are merely “considered.”</p>
<p>As a rule of thumb, I’d say recommendations can help make up for a poor GPA.</p>
<p>And the SAT and ACT are considered equal in the minds of colleges – most colleges convert ACT scores to SAT scores, actually, so you know they’re viewed as equal. I’d just send the one you did better on, no reason to let the school know you did poorly on something, it’s best to put your best foot forward.</p>
<p>As long as your scores are around 1900 or above, I’m sure your background will help colleges understand because they have more leniency towards the underprivileged and first-generations</p>
<p>thx guys 
i appreciate it!</p>
<p>i agree w/ Elikresses. Almost every school (every one we have looked at or read about) accepts the ACT OR SAT and does not prefer one over the other. Also, the ACT is not necessarily easier. It is just a little different way of thinking. Actually, the SAT and ACT differed more prior to around 7 years ago when they made some big changes in the English/Reading part of the SAT and added Writing to the SAT. Now they do not differ a lot, but they do a little. Some kids find one harder and some find the other harder. My son did about the same on the two but actually a bit higher on the SAT (after 3 ACT’s and 2 SAT’s).</p>