<p>It certainly is tough figuring out when to say enough is enough…
For reference, here’s post #13 by MITChris in the thread in question:
If you read that post and his other posts carefully, MITChris never directly addresses whether a student with a 2250 should retake the SAT in order to break 2300.
My interpretation of his words is that anything above a 2100 (3 x 700) would not land an applicant automatically in the “reject” pile (for the standardized test score alone). That’s consistent with what I’ve observed in college applicants in recent years.</p>
<p>Even if we are to interpret the post to mean that any SAT score in the 2100-2400 range is considered “equivalent” in the eyes of the M.I.T. admissions committee, we should be very cautious extrapolating the words of one admissions officer at one college (even a great one, such as M.I.T.) to apply to all schools…particularly all of the top-tier schools.</p>
<p>A strong high school student, who has prepared properly for the SAT and already achieved a 2270 score in one sitting, shouldn’t have too many issues posting a super-score in the 2300+ range. We’re talking fairly minimal effort here. There’s virtually no disadvantage to retaking the test. (I really don’t buy the argument that it takes “a lot” of time and energy to practice for the test…although I suppose it’s possible our perceptions of “a lot” may differ.)</p>
<p>And, yeah, I realize that there’s no bright-line score above which top-tier colleges say, “OK, that qualifies as a ‘top’ score.”</p>