<p>Congrats 3girls!! NO MORE ESSAYS!!!</p>
<p>I think it’s really hard to judge vibe from a distance, and some schools are better at projecting vibe to prospective students than others, particularly when classes aren’t in session.</p>
<p>Prestige can play into vibe. Students coming from schools with name recognition often do better at the summer job market (because of the name recognition) which in turn gives students more assurance (which can sometimes look like cockiness) and less competition among themselves because they know that they will ALL do well. Some kids love being in an environment where everyone is really sharp. Others do better being the smartest kid in the room (or at least one of them). It all depends. And a lot of kids don’t even know how they’ll react until they get there. I suspect the performing artists have a much better idea, since there’s more direct comparison earlier on.</p>
<p>But in a nutshell, fit, vibe and prestige can’t always be disentangled!</p>
<p>Hello Fellow 2015-Parents,</p>
<p>I have been following this thread for a while but never posted. We are from SF Bay Area. My son is a bright well rounded kid. We are not interested in Ivy league schools. My Son just got his SAT scores today and we are in dilemma. I noticed that nobody is posting the stats so I apologize if I am breaking some protocol. He wants to pursue engineering and/or science (not medicine). His Math score (730) is lower than CR(800) and Writing Score(800). SAT being an “aptitude” test, can
this be interpreted as him not having aptitude for engineering? </p>
<p>Thanks for listening…</p>
<p>3Girls3Cats-- CONGRATULATIONS to your D! I made a pumpkin Latte to celebrate with you and your daughter. Now your job as administrative assistant, travel agent, and college search adviser begins in full swing. </p>
<p>@Eth0up–a 730 math subscore on the SAT is nothing to sneeze at, especially for engineering. If your son wishes to retest, have him study for the math section using a prep book specifically written for that section.</p>
<p>@Eth0up, 730 math is a good score. Based on what I know, you can make a couple mistakes only and get that score. Plus, he can super score, if he wants to send colleges a better score in math, right?
I don’t think 730 shows weakness in math. He can definitely do engineering. If you want, maybe try SAT II test in math.</p>
<p>@3girls3cats, Congratulations! It must feel great!</p>
<p>Welcome eth0up! The short answer is no. I don’t think CB even characterizes the SAT as an aptitude test anymore! :)</p>
<p>I think you are reading too much into the scores (which are great! congratulations to your son!). It’s quite possible that his scores were based on almost identical percentages of correct answers in each section. </p>
<p>The thing you have to realize is that the math portion of the SAT in particular carries a very harsh curve with it. A single error can cost you thirty points. A 730 suggests that your son missed 2-3 questions on the entire section and these may not have been difficult questions or conceptual errors, just silly mistakes due to the pressure of the test environment. By contrast, the reading section carries with it a more generous curve: in almost all cases you can miss 2-3 questions and still end up with an 800. Writing varies because it’s dependent on the essay score but it seems that this particular administration of the test must have had a generous curve too. (I am basing this on my D’s score and essay sub score.) </p>
<p>Take a look at this chart:
<a href=“http://www.erikthered.com/tutor/SAT-Released-Test-Curves.pdf[/url]”>http://www.erikthered.com/tutor/SAT-Released-Test-Curves.pdf</a></p>
<p>He certainly has time to retake the test if he wants to do so. The danger is that he will not match his CR and W scores the next time around. That may not matter if the schools he likes superscore. There’s also the danger that his math score won’t jump. I don’t know–once the scores get to a certain level I’m just not sure how predictably they rise. Maybe others have better feedback on that. Finally, preparing for the test takes away time that could be used for other things. For each kid, it’s a different decision and there’s no one right answer. </p>
<p>Has he taken any SAT 2s? One option is to focus on the Math II and maybe a science subject test to underscore his mathematical ability. More important than any of the tests is his transcript. If he is interested in pursuing engineering, he should pursue higher level math classes and engineering electives. Personally, that’s where I’d counsel my kid to focus her energy. But again, it is a different decision for each person.</p>
<p>BunHeadMom, YUM! Pumpkin lattes sound awesome! </p>
<p>Now the fun starts…</p>
<p>[Make</a> your own pumpkin spice latte - The Independent Florida Alligator: Monday’s Blogs](<a href=“http://www.alligator.org/blogs/monday/article_57ec7b88-2b0c-11e3-951b-0019bb2963f4.html]Make”>http://www.alligator.org/blogs/monday/article_57ec7b88-2b0c-11e3-951b-0019bb2963f4.html)
</p>
<p>The preparation instructions can be found at the linked article. Enjoy!</p>
<p>Hello fellow 2015s,</p>
<p>I’ve been reading this forum for a month or so. We are new to the college search process for our D, and I appreciate all the information and insight that I’ve gathered here.</p>
<p>@Eth0up- congratulations to your son on the fabulous scores! Was this his first sitting, and did he do much to prepare? Even if you were planning on trying for an Ivy I don’t think those scores would hold him back, but I do understand your surprise with the lower math score. My D took the SAT for the first time as a Sophomore, and scored well but had a math score just below 700. We thought it was good, and didn’t really intend to go through it again. Then we found out that some scholarships weigh the CM + CR score heavily, and my daughter decided to give it a second try in October. In her first attempt she had not completed all the math sections in time, so her focus was strictly on practicing math and getting her speed up. In October she brought her math score up significantly, and her reading and writing were up a bit too. She is truly done now as we don’t want her to spend any more time trying to perfect a standardized test. </p>
<p>We are very glad she did the second test however. She is interested in the Bioengineering program at our local Flagship, and they pretty much said you needed a 700+ to be considered for a direct admit into the program as a Freshman. Once you reach that threshold, it seemed that the whole application would be looked at. So, I would definitely take a look at the engineering programs that your son is interested in and ask. I would guess he’s in great shape, but if he wants to go to CalTech or Harvey Mudd then you might want to weigh the cost/benefit more carefully. Or take a look at the ACT.</p>
<p>Also, Congratulations 3girls3cats! So nice to have that hurdle passed gracefully.</p>
<p>Welcome to Eth0up and Woodsmom!</p>
<p>BunHeadMom, is there an alcoholic version of that? I’m thinking that may come in handy over the next several cold stressful weeks. PSAT score wait anyone? ;)</p>
<p>Ethoup congrats to your son on his outstanding test scores. If my daughter gets those scores she will not be re-taking, but I do realize that everybody is different. It may be very difficult to hit the 800 mark again because at that level one question can be worth 40 points- you reach a point where luck is involved. I think your son will be fine but of course it’s best to check with the schools of interest. Maybe your son can take the SAT 11? </p>
<p>As I mentioned earlier once you get past the 700 mark your score can be a 720 or a 790 based on two questions. It’s tempting to want to re-take a 730 and bring it up to a 780, but there is no guarantee that that will happen. Sometimes it best to stop the testing insanity and focus on the rest of the " package." </p>
<p>Welcome Woodsmom!! You are also lucky to be done with these crazy tests- congrats.
BHM thanks for the recipe. I found it overwhelming at first but after I read it I realized that it is easy to do.</p>
<p>Suzy I like your idea of an alcoholic version. I will need it from December 7 through the end of February.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Pumpkin + rum works for me :D</p>
<p>Welcome new 2015’ers!</p>
<p>3girls, wonderful. That’s great. It’s so much fun to have a kid on top of the world about their performance.</p>
<p>And my H is a perfectionist/obsessor who can be a downer in these situations. Kids don’t even want to tell him happy news anymore.“No way mom. He’ll just ask why I didn’t get 100.” Sometimes I think he’s sort of joking, but maybe not since my entreaties for him to moderate don’t have any effect. Examples- S took a summer prep class that met at HS 2 hours every morning for 6 weeks. I was impressed that S even agreed to sign up for the darn class, his summer sleep in time gone. At the end he was telling me that his final practice ACT test score was 5 points higher than the initial diagnostic. H interjects, ‘Well, but do you think you can still do better, get it up 2 more points?’ God, just want to kick him when he does that. D’s ACT score came out when she was at a res. music camp and so excited I printed out and dropped at their desk to put in mailbox for her as kids didn’t have access to computers. H’s response? "You missed 3 questions? How did that happen?"Gotta vent sometimes. Just agghhh.</p>
<p>Eth0up, score sounds fantastic to me, but if you are actually thinking of retake, why don’t you sign up for the answer service for this test and then you’ll know exactly what he missed. Perhaps there is a particular problem type he needs to look at more closely, or a way of phrasing he needs to pay attention to so as not to get caught in their traps. It costs, but at this level, seems worth it.</p>
<p>That pumpkin spice latte with rum sounds mighty good to me.</p>
<p>Welcome Woodsmom! That’s a good point about engineering-specific schools and those that are especially competitive. If these are in eth0up’s son’s sights, it might make sense to take the test a second time, assuming he is the kind of kid who can spend the time preparing and can take it in stride. Ugh. Four hours to boost that one section by a couple of correct answers. That would be very hard for me to endorse. </p>
<p>Congratulations to your D on being done with the testing so early!</p>
<p>Suzy, HUSH. :)</p>
<p>Celeste, if I didn’t know better, I’d swear you were married to someone in my husband’s family. He is exactly the one to home in on the negative with tests like this. And then he wonders why his daughter is an anxious perfectionist. Unfortunately, I don’t think the question-and-answer option is available for this particular test administration.</p>
<p>Celeste—QAS only offered for Oct, Jan & May, but detailed score report should be released next Thursday. (Oct’s was released early so perhaps Nov’s will be also.)</p>
<p>There is some other sort of service that involves hand-scoring the exam but I thought that had something to do with challenging the decision of CB? I may be wrong about that last bit, but do know that the $18 option that gives you a copy of the test book and the chosen vs actual answers is only available for Oct, Jan & May.</p>
<p>Oh, this test was already Nov. I thought it was Oct. Not following dates since not signed up for anything. You’re right, not available.</p>
<p>Ha ha!! My husband and his family are negative- always making negative comments. My husband works long hours and is also a perfectionist. No wonder why my anxiety prone kid is the way she is- an anxious perfectionist as well!! </p>
<p>Eth I guess you have to ask yourself two questions 1. Do the schools your son is interested in super score? 2. How would you feel if the math went up by 30 points and the English and CR each went down by 30 or 40 points? The score would still be amazing.</p>
<p>The pumpkin spice latte does sound good! </p>
<p>Got D’s scores. They weren’t as definitive as I guess I thought they’d be. Not, “Wow those are amazing!”, but still pretty good. Right now, not a clear cut ‘must retake’ or ‘done’. I think, if she wants to go with the SAT, it will mean retaking…which seemed like the plan to me from the beginning, since she didn’t study and decided to make this the baseline.
I am not sure how to put the scores into a single score…
What do we do with the 3 writing scores? There is the 3 digit writing score, then a MC score and then the essay.
So for the X/2400 score, we’d add the 3- 3 digit scores, and for the x/1600 you just add the math and reading.
I think the essay is just separate, but I wasn’t expecting that MC, 2 digit score. What do I do with that?
D hasn’t mentioned it, and I haven’t mentioned it to her…so I don’t know if she knows scores are out or not…but she’d not in the greatest mood…well she was, but then, not…so sigh.
her scores are such that I really don’t know if she’ll be satisfied with them for now, or a little upset with them.</p>
<p>Shoboe, I’m reading between the lines that these scores are very good for a baseline. I forget, has she already taken the ACT? Can you make a decision which test to pursue based on these results? </p>
<p>I didn’t see the component writing scores except for the essay because that had been such a sticking point for my D. The other subscore refers to the multiple choice section and shows you how many she got right there. I’m not sure how important the component parts are or how much weight any given college assigns to anything but the composite score.</p>
<p>I hope she is ok with the scores. Sometimes a little upset isn’t a bad thing either if you have a kid who needs a motivator. It worked that way for my middle daughter and she improved a great deal after practice.</p>