<p>
</p>
<p>If so, they need to change what they advertise their policy to be.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I wholeheartedly agree.</p>
<p>From Penn’s admissions website:</p>
<p>“Furthermore, if the new Score-Use policy creates behavior that may be unproductive, like taking the test at an earlier stage and taking the test more than 3 times, the Admissions Committee can benefit from that information.”</p>
<p>So, it sounds like 3 takes is the magic number…after that, it is considered “unproductive” behavior.</p>
<p>That’s how Penn positions it, anyway.</p>
<p>I guess it boils down to the idea that test taking shouldn’t be an “extracurricular activity”</p>
<p>
Yeah, that would be totally weird. Who would do something like that?</p>
<p>Anyhow, as for the SAT II questions that keep popping up, I did my best to give people a good idea at which test would align well with their skill sets. Choose the tests you think you can do best in.</p>
<p>Let me clarify. Retaking a 2320 three times, as in, four overall sittings? Or three overall sittings? I am confused.</p>
<p>Four overall sittings. As I said in my previous post: Retaking a score three times - as in you got the score then took it again 3 more times.</p>
<p>Penn seems to have it right, albeit vaguely stated, based on the quote that was posted.</p>
<p>I quote from an article:
</p>
<p>And:
</p>
<p>[url=<a href=“http://mathacle.blogspot.com/2009/01/stanford-rejects-new-sat-score-choice.html]Source[/url”>Mathacle's Blog: Stanford rejects new SAT Score Choice program]Source[/url</a>]</p>
<p>I’d like to add this, though, which I just read:
[quote]
Daniel Cahalane ’12 congratulated Cornell’s rejection of Score Choice, saying that the old policy “means people who are actually intelligent get in here, not just the people who try ridiculously hard.”<a href=“It’s%20from%20another%20article.”>/quote</a></p>
<p>^This demonstrates a valid point, though in my opinion, if you got a 2400 or a 2300, you were smart enough to get it in the beginning without any prep - you just needed a bit of a push. And if you did jump from a 1500 to a 2300, however rare it is, then you’re qualified for college and are intelligent anyway, or couldn’t have made that jump, considering how rare it is. I’ve met some people who work extremely hard and yet never manage to cross a certain mark that others cross literally effortlessly. If you’re a hard worker and managed to improve, it proves you possess a quality that a ‘genius’ who got a 2400 walking in blind very well might not have. The ‘intelligent’ people talked about above already have that advantage (and if they’re anything like the girl above they might be pretty condescending) - so why not give a tiny one like SC to others? (<- That’s if you think it’s an advantage in the first place, which I don’t.)</p>
<p>I really feel like this guide isn’t the most appropriate place to have this discussion.</p>
<p>my mind = blown</p>
<p>Silverturtle, I’d be honored to have you as my classmate next year. 
I’m sure you’ve answered this many times before (so I apologize for asking again) but what would you consider your number one school at this point in time?</p>
<p>
Sorry - my first post was a response to several who inquired though I guess I got lost in thought in that second one :)</p>
<p>christiansoldier - I found the subject test info you added to the guide so helpful - thanks. I would point out that the Latin subject test is unique among the foreign language exams in that there are no native speakers. The general comments about the language exams don’t necessarily apply to that exam. I found myself wondering how many years of Latin it takes to do well and how to prepare given the dearth of practice exams out there. In the end my son did reasonably well after 4 years of Latin.</p>
<p>I’m a little late to the party, but I want to say a huge CONGRATULATIONS to Silverturtle for a very articulate, thorough, and profoundly useful document. As someone who creates test prep materials for a living, I am reading what you’ve written with a genuine sense of awe. This is a really excellent service for the CC community. And I too would recommend that you expand and publish it for a wider community. Way to go, man.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>This is dependent on a couple of yet-undetermined factors, such as my intended major (if I ever settle on something prior to applying) and financial aid offers. Yale is certainly one of my top four choices (along with HYS), but I am hesitant to pinpoint a single top choice until I receive my decisions. I may be applying to Yale SCEA.</p>
<p>Thanks for the thoughts, TutorTed. It’s always nice to hear positive things from people who have professional experience in preparing people for the SAT.</p>
<p>Qgroup, thanks. You’re absolutely right. When I wrote my guide, I was considering primarily Spanish (which is the one I took). I imagine the same pattern would hold true for Chinese and Korean for sure. The difficult idioms and obscure vocabulary, I feel, would still appear in German and French. I figure those who have studied Hebrew for religious purposes have the same effect as native speakers, but then again, why would anyone else learn Hebrew?</p>
<p>Latin, I will agree, is a different beast. I’m not qualified to comment on it at length.</p>
<p>@christiansoldier: I’m not sure if you saw my question from a previous page so: is Cliffs AP Lit also good for SAT II Lit?</p>
<p>Lightsource, our school actually provides us with Cliffs for the AP test (that’s the only class where an AP book is incorporated into the curriculum). It isn’t too bad. All of the terms you will need (and many, many more) will be in that book. I felt the MC was pretty close to the AP test (for comparison, I sniffed out the highly subjective Barrons test that my Lit teacher gave me immediately). The AP test is reasonably close to the SAT II, so it’s not a bad idea to use that book.</p>
<p>^Thanks! 10char</p>
<p>I am currently going through the Barrons SAT book right now but I really really want to go through your guide thoroughly. However, should I wait until after I finish the Barrons or should I just do it now? I just don’t want to overwhelm myself but reading two guides at the same time…</p>
<p>^ Well, I don’t really recommend Barron’s at all.</p>