<p>Hey guys and girls,
I found out my SAT score today and was thinking if I need to retake it or I can proceed to apply for my dream school - Stanford - with the current 2010 (610CR, 700M, 700W). I am an international student from E. Europe, btw. </p>
<p>Aside from the SAT, I have the Subject Tests: Math1 720, Math2 690, Spanish 540; I’m going to retake these so I can break 750, 700 and 600 respectively.</p>
<p>I have a 3.8-3.9 GPA.</p>
<p>I also have quite a few extracurriculars:
Second and third place on 2 county math competitions
wrote a book with my class
had a project on Racism in Portugal
second place on a local tennis tournament
several English competitions on my county - most with 1st place
went to summer school in LA for three weeks
an English course in the UK for 2 weeks
student exchange program in Paris, France
have the ECDL certificate
2 Cisco CCNA diplomas so far, looking to get the CISCO certificate by the end of my senior year
Second place on a county computer science competition</p>
<p>So forth…</p>
<p>I know scores are not all that counts, so that’s why I’m asking. I need to get the recommendations from my teachers.</p>
<p>How good is your school? I have a VERY close friend who had a 4.0 UW and a 5.0W with 5’s on all her AP tests. ~2200 SAT, and all 750+ SAT IIs. Pretty good extracurriculars and ridiculously good essays and teacher recs. She got rejected by Stanford flat out, so I think our school has something to do with it (it’s less than 6 years old, public).</p>
<p>Don’t the ECs compensate for the low reading score? Besides, I have a 101 on my toefl iBt. The thing is I want to apply to Stanford early action and I don’t have enough time to retake both the Subjects and the reasoning…I have to send my application by 11/01. Should I just retake the Reasoning and forget about the Subject Tests?</p>
<p>Cool. But what do you think about my relatively low score? Statistically speaking, 8% of the accepted students had a score in the 2000s so I should be fine. Do my ECs, GPA and other stuff compensate for the 2010?</p>
<p>Haha, you got a 2010 and you’re graduating in 2010! sorry, i find that funny </p>
<p>And seriously, Stanford is weird. You’ll NEVER know you’re chances of getting in. They pride themselves in rejecting valedictorians and 2400 recipients of SATs. My sister got in, and I don’t think she ever broke the 2100 barrier, but she’s the best writer I know. You just HAVE to separate yourself from the crowd. People who apply to Stanford will have the BEST stats from the BEST schools. You’re competing against the BEST of the BEST, so write about something unique in your essays, something no one else will write about. When my sister was talking to her adcom at Stanford (the person who admits people), he said that he actually remembers some of the applications he read (and he read A LOT), and he asks your name and says “Oh, you’re the person who did blah blah”. You have to be remembered, that’s all I can tell you. However, you’re stats are really good, keep up the good work. Personally, I think you should retake the subject tests (however, remember that Stanford cares for only 2 but you have to send all 3). SAT doesn’t have as much weight as it used to. But all in all, keep up the good work! And don’t sound normal in your applications!!</p>
<p>I’m applying to Stanford too as my number one choice. Congrats on choosing to do early admission; their acceptance rates are MUCH higher than RD. </p>
<p>lol…the stress of college hit me five years ago. ;)</p>
<p>P.S. The student exchange program is REALLY good! They like people who are willing to expand their horizons, and add a little something to their school! Good for you! :D</p>
<p>^Agreed. They care more about distinction and passion than test scores. You typically need a certain range of scores at the very least, but the rest of the application (essays, recs) matters more. It’s all speculation of course; admissions at Stanford and other similar caliber schools is an infamous crapshoot.</p>
<p>lol, no problem. Well according to the great Urban Dictionary, a crapshoot is “A toss up, roll of the dice, or a gamble. Anything could happen.” </p>
<p>Crapshoot means there’s no absolutely no ****ing reasonable way to even vaguely predict whether you will get accepted or not. also, there is absolutely no discernible pattern to being admitted/rejected from top schools.</p>
<p>Thanks guys for your replies. I know top schools are unpredictable in acceptance, that’s why I don’t know if I should retake the SAT. I’m kind of reluctant to retake it - if I go and resit the exam, take a higher score that makes me happy, but I get rejected, than what was the point in retaking it? I don’t think a 4-digit number is all I’m worth…</p>
<p>Do you know when the schools’ websites and common app will be updated for the Fall of 2010?</p>
</p>