Retaking DSAT for minor improvement

S26 just received his August score. He got 1540 (770 each). And while it’s an excellent score, for his reach schools, his math is just a little below average for the accepted students from his high school (790-800 is the average). He believes he can do better. He was getting 800 on several practice tests. But he’s also not sure where he lost points or how to improve. He did work with a tutor over the summer but was focusing mostly on English. I guess my questions are, first is it worth trying again without having a clear idea on how to improve his score? And second, any idea on how to get those last few points? He’s done all the Blue Book practice tests already.

With a math score that high it can be tough to improve because depending on what test it was, a 770 could be as few as 2 wrong answers. That being said, S24 did improve his math score from a 770 to a 800 on a second try so it could be worth doing. I will caution you, though - a 1540 is already an excellent SAT score and getting a 1570 instead isn’t going to somehow increase your child’s chances at a reach school. A 770 v a 790 isn’t going to be what keeps him out (and, conversely, a 790/800 won’t get him in).

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Thank you! This is my concern as well. Completely understand that 1570, or even 1600 will not get him in, but am concerned that 1540 (and really 770 in math) may keep him out as it’s just below average for his school. They’re pretty much expected to ace the math part of the SAT and half the class will be applying to the same schools as him.

I would not do it.
If half of the school applying to the same colleges, it is not SAT that makes students selected. Focus on essays, leadership, extra curricular but not SAT. Your child maybe not selected no matter what. Every school has their institutional priorities and priorities by major, geography, income etc. Your focus should be very good target/safety school and the rest is pure lottery.
Speaking from personal experience. DD attended magnet with everyone applying to the same schools. Many schools like Umich and Gatech accepted 1 student out of 30 who applied and put everyone else on waitlist.

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Thanks! He will have a good number of target/safety schools. I wish I had more clarity on this, but my sense is that even with a lottery-like process, his math score may be the equivalent of not buying a lottery ticket.

If he will always be thinking “what if” then it is fine to re-take the SAT if for no other reason than he will feel that he gave it his all and have no regrets. But my guess is that a small upward bump won’t be the make-it-or-break-it for an application.

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The key here is “half the class will be applying to the same schools”. This is something HE can control- his list.

Sure, retake. Maybe the scores go up, maybe the scores go down. But if it makes him feel as though he’s done everything he could- then great.

But If it were my kid, I’d be helping/facilitating/suggesting a different list of schools. No single college in America has a lock on “all the smart kids go here”. No single major has the lock on “our graduates all get great jobs no matter what the economy is doing”. No college’s advising is so bullet proof that every kid who wants, gets a Marshall/Rhodes/Fulbright AND gets into the top doctoral programs.

So spend some time rethinking the application strategy unless you want to be at the mercy of the statistics. If a college’s admission rate is 8%, that means a 92% chance your kid gets rejected. And you don’t need an 800 SAT to understand the implications.

What’s on his list? The crowd here can help you with some fantastic schools where he may not be competing with every other kid in his HS!

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Again SAT is not = lottery ticket for those top schools. Minimum SAT (probably 1450) is cut of and then everything is not SAT. Selected kids will have something that school is looking for and may not be the top student or student with top GPA. School wants rainbow class not the top SAT from every HS or top GPA from every HS. Their class would look too boring that way.
Even winning some writing competition is better time spent than bringing SAT 20 points up.
And I am talking about top technical school. They may like STEM star who is winner in rope jumping competition and essays about improving environment vs another top SAT person. Top SAT person is boring…

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As others have mentioned, a 770 and a 800 are very close. A 1540 is already a wonderful score, and a 1560/1570 won’t necessarily make or break an application.

I won’t say that you should or should not retake. That is a decision I believe the student should make based on how they’re feeling with school and application deadlines. If they feel like they have the time, then I don’t see why not.

I would say, however, that the October test is still in time for most ED deadlines. However, if they do plan to retake, I encourage them to just take it easy this time (they’ve already got this in the bag! nothing to stress about. It’s just about luck at this point!) AND to take advantage of superscore!

Best of luck!

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Thank you to all who replied. I am definitely not convinced that a small bump in the SAT score will make all the difference, but I do suspect that the schools will be looking at the SAT scores within the context of his school, not the entire applicant pool. So a school would be comparing his application to an average applicant from his school with a 1550, not an average applicant in the entire pool, with a 1450. I may be wrong, but this is what Naviance suggests. But I agree this should not be done at the expense of any other activities, which are a lot more exciting than studying for the SAT.

Thank you! He’s a junior, so not applying this year and has plenty of time to retake. He’s definitely leaning towards retaking, I’m just trying to figure out how to help maximize his efforts on this. And yes, seems like he may benefit from superscoring.

Wow! That’s a wonderful achievement for a junior! Congratulations! :slight_smile:

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If he is a junior, have him take it next summer in August. That way he can concentrate on school and his ECs this year without worrying about taking the SAT again.

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His scores show he knows how to do all of the math. Picking up a few points might be a matter of fatige. He can try

  1. Take it easy through the EWR section so he is still fresh when he starts math.
  2. If he doesnt regularly drink coffee, drink it before the test (personal recommendation DD mocha ice coffee-- combo of sugar and caffeine A++). Be sure to test this a few times to make sure the amount doesnt make him jittery.
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Thanks! He just retook it and actually improved his English more than math. But he’s happy with his score and very happy to be done with the test.

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