<p>i actually like the SAT better…</p>
<p>a 2100 would probably be a 31…</p>
<p>Um… I hate to be harsh but unless you drastically improve your scores across the board (I’m talking 100-150 points IN EACH SECTION) you don’t stand a chance at any of those schools unless you have some exceptional ECs to go with your GPA…</p>
<p>frankly, a gpa of 4.0 and terrible SAT scores just make it look like your school grades extremely easily. while that may not be true, it is what the adcoms will think.</p>
<p>PS: Aruubato doesn’t know what the heck he’s talking about. The ACT DOES NOT PENALIZE YOU FOR GUESSING. By that same token, leaving a question blank will hurt you just as much as missing one. So don’t leave a question blank on the ACT… but I don’t think that you should leave any question you’ve spent time on blank on the SAT either.</p>
<p>Unique, to get a top score, you can’t leave any blank. At most, leave one or two per section. Test prep courses teach to different levels, and they will tell the LOWER scoring students that it’s okay to leave a bunch blank. The same holds true for the essay. They will tell students that they should concentrate on being specific and logical, but not to worry about writing a strong conclusion, but the only way to get an 11 or 12 on the essay is to write a fully formed one.</p>
<p>Arbuubato, overthinking can indeed be a problem, especially with the CR. Often, two answers can be partially correct, but one is better than the other; the student who overthinks can get paralyzed by trying to guess which one the test “wants.” Likewise, the overthinker can interpret between the lines of a passage and “guess” something that is not in the text.</p>
<p>If you are a logical, cut-and-dry person, the test is much easier than if you tend to be a more intuitive type.</p>
<p>My first shot at the SAT’s, i was a soph, i only gotta about a 1650.
I studied for i’d say 4 weeks.
As a junior a got a 2020.
So just work hard itll pay off for sure.</p>
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<p>Wow - talk about a sweeping generalization. Regional test differences do not mean people’s intelligence levels are different. I know many midwestern competitive people. Wrong age, but did you ever hear of Warren Buffett?</p>
<p>I took the ACT exactly a week after taking the SAT (April 8). The only problems I had were in the Science section and a few in the Math section (Although I am taking Adv Algebra/Trig this semester).</p>
<p>To be honest, I felt more confident taking the SAT than the ACT. My scores for the ACT, however, have not come in yet.</p>
<p>The act is easier. It doesn’t mean that the peopel who take act are less intelligent. All I am saying is that it is much easier to score high on the act. People in the midwest tend to score lower though when compared to coastal students.</p>
<p>The math section on the SAT is not hard, and its mostly common sense. The problem arent tedious. How could you have a 4.0 GPA and get a 520 on math. To get a 520, you need to get like 6 wrong a section, probably more. For someone academically focused, thats ■■■■■■■■. It basically tells colleges that you work your ass off studying and have no intelligence whatsoever.</p>
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<p>Not necessarily lower across the board -
NY-22.4, NJ, 21.3, MA 22.8
IA-22.0, OH 21.4, MN 22.3</p>
<p>And in science, let’s see -
IA 22.1, MN 22.4, WI 22.3
CT 22.0, OR 22.2, WA 22.1</p>
<p>THe lowly midwest seems to represent itself well, especially in science. Living on either coast doesn’t make a person more intelligent or competitive.</p>
<p>Don’t sweat it. You where probably just nervous and overanalyzed the questions. Just take it again in june. Do as much prepping as you can till the june one and you should be fine.</p>
<p>I have the same problem right now. I took a kaplan course and managed to score 2020 on their practice test at the beg. of my junior year but when I took the real thing in October, I only scored a 1710 =(.</p>
<p>“THe lowly midwest seems to represent itself well, especially in science. Living on either coast doesn’t make a person more intelligent or competitive.”</p>
<p>Yeah but living on either coast DOES make you better looking and overall a better person.</p>
<p>i know exactly how the OP feels. Are there any good prep courses to take over the summer?</p>
<p>Give the SAT another try—you might have just had a horrible day and also consider the ACT.
One more thought, you might consider looking into one of the many schools which do not require standardized tests for admission–many good schools (and more every day) are making the SAT/ACT optional as in fact these tests are really not correlated with “success” in college but simply first year college grades (read the book Harvard Schmarvard). Such schools include: Bowdoin, Connecticut College, Hamilton, Bates, Holy Cross, St Lawrence, Union, Middlebury, Dickinson, Muhlenberg, Lawrence to name a few
You can find a list of these schools at the Fair Test web site
Best of luck to you</p>
<p>I agree with Momofaknight. Take the SAT again and also consider taking the ACT. Of my 2 s’s who have taken both, my oldest did significantly better on the SAT than the ACT (1540/1600, NMF vs 28 ACT), my son who is a junior has taken both (once with no prep) and scored a 1940/2400 SAT and 30 ACT. He is going to take the ACT again because he felt more confident about the format of the test. It doesn’t matter to the colleges that he is applying to which test he takes. Good luck, you will do fine!</p>
<p>Also, it is an extremely ridiculous statement that people from the midwest are not as intelligent as people on the coasts. Could you possibly overgeneralize any more than that? Or, be more insulting to people from the midwest? Geez…</p>
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<p>Only in your own coastal eyes - must be the pollution clouding your vision. You need to get out more. Perhaps travel the country and appreciate the people who provide a lot of the food that you eat.</p>
<p>Thanks for the support, ag54.</p>
<p>In regards to the SAT/ACT, it all depends on the person. My kids did better on the ACT, but fairly comparable to their SAT score.</p>
<p>Hey, everyone has to live somewhere. Too bad we’re not all in the coveted coastal areas with the good looking folks and fancy stores. The common misperception of the midwest needs to be changed. And then there’s the high-tech places, car factories, …
As I said, where do you think the wheat, corn and livestock come from that provide everyone (including those on either coast) the staples to eat? Pretty narrow-minded people here, even though they’re supposedly intelligent and high-scoring. Just no common sense.</p>
<p>And Jlime18, you need to learn how to spell a few things.</p>
<p>Where do you think all of the fashion designers, movies, tv shows, and every company in america come from? Thats the stuff that really matters, not some stupid stuff like food.</p>
<p>Yeah, who needs food? It only keeps us alive. We should all be focusing on the coast for more movie stars and good looking people! They’re what really keeps this country running! Who needs to eat or export edible goods when you could stare at stars from CALIFORNIA and NEW YORK all day long! The coast rocks! Down with the midwest! </p>
<p>And fashion designers! Screw food, who needs that stuff! We need more fashion designers! I agree with you 100%. Food is stupid. It’s stuff like movie stars we should care about, not something as superficial as what sustains our bodies.</p>
<p>And just in case anyone missed that, it was satire.</p>