Should I take another SAT?

[Bartleby007]

<p>

I disagree with Bartleby’s advice. Read this: What’s the big deal about 40^2? | MIT Admissions.</p>

<p>Even at the most selective colleges and universities, those scores are good enough to keep your application alive until you get to “committee,” where the whole admissions committee (or maybe a large subset of it) discuss your application and weigh you against other applicants. Once you’re “in committee,” they’ve already decided that you (and all the other applicants) are academically well qualified, and they’re really basing their decisions on things other than SAT scores.

@Sikorsky: The article to which you linked was published online in 2004. 2004! Things have changed a bit since then. Top-tier colleges are being inundated with greater numbers of applications. Even the structure of the SAT has changed. Nowadays, a perfect score on the SAT is 2400. Matt McGann’s blog post, while very informative, is dated by the fact that he refers to a “perfect” 1600 SAT score.</p>

<p>I’m giving the OP the same advice that I’d give any other smart kid who is capable of posting a score in the 2300-2400 range. Put in the extra effort. Take the test one more time. Max out the “standardized test” part of your application by breaking 2300.</p>

<p>Will earning a 2300+ score on the SAT guarantee admission at one’s first-choice college? No.
Are standardized test scores the only thing that admissions committees look at? No.
Are standardized test scores the most important factor in the college admissions process? Nope.
Should the OP continue to develop other parts of his/her application (sports, music, community service, AP/IB classes, etc.)? Absolutely.</p>

<p>The OP should consider a couple of other things…
1. If he/she is coming from a relatively “unknown” secondary school (not a top-ranked prep school or magnet public school), standardized test scores may take on additional importance.
2. The application process at certain state college systems (e.g., the University of California) is very numbers-oriented. Posting a higher SAT score may “compensate” slightly for subtle deficiencies elsewhere in an application.</p>

<p>What we’re talking about here is putting in a bit more effort to ensure that the student is putting his/her best foot forward. I’ve served on admissions committees before. You’d be surprised by the rather nit-picky comments made by various members of the committee. Standardized test scores aren’t the be-all-end-all…but they do matter. There’s a difference between an SAT score in the 2200 range and one in the 2300 range.</p>