Should I retake the SAT, ACT, or both?

Dunkleosteus
Fri, 04 Jul 2014 18:39:13 +0000

I’m a rising senior that plans to take her Subject Tests in October. However, I feel that my SAT I /ACT scores are not high enough for some of the schools I’m applying to (especially my dream school, Duke). I plan to retake at least one of the “regular” tests, but I’m not sure which one/s. I’m not applying ED or EA mainly because of my test scores and for financial reasons, but if I did, it would be for Duke. plan to study biochemistry/premed.

** SAT **
Jan 2014: 640 CR 600 M 640 W (6 essay) 1880
June 2014: 630 CR, 720 M, 680 W (8 essay) 2060
Superscore: 2070

For the first test, I only completed one practice test.
The second time, I completed 6 practice tests before test day, mostly in the month leading up to the test.

Since I took more SAT practice tests, will my score improvements start to plateau?
I’m more accustomed to the SAT math, but I HATE critical reading.
I’d also have to take the test in November, after some deadlines have passed (esp for honors programs and ED if I decided to do that) and may have to indicate that scores are pending for others.
My busiest time during the fall is in mid-November.

** ACT **
June 2014: 32 English, 28 Math, 34 Reading, 27 Science, 29 English + essay (8), 30 composite

I only completed one practice test before the test day.

However, since I’ve only taken one ACT practice test, I feel that it would be able to improve a decent amount with practice as with my SAT I.
The test is in September, so I’d still be able to submit my scores for Nov 1 deadlines.
My weaknesses are in math and science, which won’t help my application to a science-related field.
Some people say that the ACT is viewed as “lesser” than the SAT.

Because of my school background and half-white/half-asian race, my standardized test scores are very important to my application despite my high gpa and ranking. I don’t feel good about my AP test scores even though I performed well in the classes, so I need to show the rigor of my classes.

Any advice for a fellow hopeful?