So I screwed myself over in regards to standardized testing. What to do?

Test Preparation
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<p>I took the SAT for the first time in May of junior year but my scores were cancelled because my test center broke some kind of rule. On the day of the makeup, I had to go to the hospital for an emergency health issue. I had tried to sign up for the June test, but all the seats were taken. October SAT, I get a 2090, good but not as good as I wanted it to be. I’ve taken maybe 3-5 SAT prep courses over the past couple of years so I was and still am expecting a 2200. I can do it; I just need to work on CR and W. I had already paid for Nov and Dec for SAT II and I respectively and figured that as long as I did well on those two, I’d be just dandy.</p>

<p>November comes, the hurricane struck, EA college apps were due, life was hectic. I barely studied, forgot to bring a calculator (…I know, I could shoot myself) and I know I did not get good scores today. I’m talking about 550-600 in Math I and II and Physics, probably 600-700 (looking at the conversion table on sparknotes and I don’t even think I got that high a score - I pretty much omitted 1/3 of the questions). I feel that this is unacceptable for the colleges I’m applying to - USC, NYU, Northwestern (well, that one was always a far reach anyway), Oxy, Claremont.</p>

<p>So my question is - December ACT, yes/no? My last SAT is in December so I have 1 month to study for both. Should I try for 2200 on SAT I and not have any SAT II’s at all or stick with my 2090 and try to get 700’s in my subject tests?</p>

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<p>If you have the option to take both the December ACT and SAT I’d probably go with taking the ACT and the SAT subject test. This way you have the opportunity to get an ACT score equivalent to 2200, and subject test scores of 700+ if you think you can study hard enough. Maybe try taking a practice ACT to see if you do well? If you choose not to do the ACT, then the regular SAT tends to count for more colleges. Then even if you don’t make a reach college because of the subject test, you can still get better merit aid at a match or safety that doesn’t look at subject tests (some colleges have special scholarships for regular SAT scores). Good luck!</p>

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<p>My friend’s sister got into USC two years ago with a 1900 something and he said her roommate supposedly scored lower than her. I will say that that guy’s sister won some statewide(California) writing contest for poetry or something so she’s likely an amazing writer (oh wow, their dad is a philosophy professor there too). Haha maybe that isn’t too reliable : P.</p>