Well, I’m confused 
You and @compmom suggested that I don’t retake the SAT, but @Lindagaf, on the other hand, wrote that a 1500 is not a competitive score for top schools and I should improve my score.
Anyways, I think I will study and prepare for the June 1st SAT, and try to score as high as I can. From June 1st onward, I’ll put all of my time into ECs and writing essays, as I am hoping to apply to 30+ schools this cycle.
Do you have college options in your home country? What about the EU, UK, or Canada?
Re:testing, sounds like you are taking it June 1 which is fine…it’s your journey. Good luck!
Again I do not think there is any difference between a 1500 and a 1530 in terms of chances, and 1500 meets the benchmark at selective schools. After that it is more about other things.
I just hate to think of you applying to 30 schools. Maybe you could get it down to 10? One in your own country. How many did you apply to this past cycle?
I would rather encourage being realistic rather than see you stress over SAT’s, applications and EC’s, and hope that after this stressful year you can live life a bit.
My point in that thread…do not discount your sure thing schools that are affordable. Do you have those? Find them first.
Also, in the link I posted, the student applied to one repeat school and was rejected again. In my opinion, you need to retool your application list.
I’ll weigh in. The SAT is designed to be taken by current high school students, not students who have already graduated from high school. Some colleges will notice this it you retake during a gap year.
I think you need to find colleges where your current SAT score is in the top 10% for accepted students.
Unless I misses it, we don’t know where you applied and got rejected this time. If you applied to very selective schools, cut their published accepance rate in half. Many have single digit acceptance rates for international students.
Do you have any sure things on your application list that are affordable? Perhaps a college in your home country? Find those first.
I do think, for hyper competitive schools, where they are bringing back or strongly suggesting that a score is preferred, a 1530 is more desirable. Another way to view it is that 1530 is equal to 35 on the ACT, while 1500 is equal to 34. Harder to ignore the 35.
This student now has the time to practice and is going to start applications from scratch. In OP’s shoes, I see no disadvantage of trying again, unless the financial strain is too great. People know I don’t generally advocate for retaking these tests, but OP needs to knock it out of the park this time around.
OP, I do encourage you to not just reapply to all the same schools. The story linked above by thumper is old but still relevant today.
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