<p>I’m sort of stuck in a rut. I’m debating if I should apply to Stanford REA in the fall. </p>
<p>I got a 2190 SAT (superscored), 790 Bio M, and 720 Math 2. Thing is, are my SAT’s strong enough or should I try retaking Math 2 and another subject test to reinforce my REA application in October? Or are both of them weak such that I should go into Regular Decision? If I did Regular, I’d probably do the SAT in October and the subjects in November (or even December, depending on my results). </p>
<p>For the SAT, the only thing that I need to improve on is Critical Reading (630), which I definitely believe I can improve on over the summer. As for Math 2, I’d probably go into Dr. Chung’s. Thanks guys!</p>
<p>Your subject test scores are fine, though you should definitely try to get your CR score above 700 in order to be competitive for REA. Have you tried the ACT? </p>
<p>By the way, Stanford will accept the October SAT for REA.</p>
<p>I agree with aleaiactaest (lol wut?): boost your CR score.</p>
<p>In what field do you intend to major? If that field falls under the STEM umbrella, you might want to consider boosting your Math II score. I seriously doubt that a 720 will be a dealbreaker for your application, though.</p>
<p>@aleaiactaest @orbdas Thanks guys! Erm… as for the ACT, I haven’t really taken an official one. I took a practice test back in 8th grade, and I absolutely HATED it (especially the Science section). Feels like the SAT fits me better with its format. As for the Critical Reading, it’s going to be a huge challenge that I need to work on, especially getting it up over 700. Do you guys have any advice on improving it? :O</p>
<p>I intend to major in something along the lines of Biology or Chemistry for med school.</p>
<p>And yeah, that’s what I was debating. Should I utilize my last test date for the SAT or SAT II’s for REA? And to be honest, I’m really sick of all of this testing. I’d rather spend more of my time on something else like my photography or essays.</p>
<p>@orbdas: side bar: “alea iacta est” is one of the most famous Latin quotes attributed by Suetonius to Julius Caesar translated to mean “the die has been cast”…meaning the events have passed the “point of no return”…it’s a good quote to know for your future dinner parties/football games (you know…to impress the girls)</p>
<p>[Alea</a> iacta est - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alea_iacta_est]Alea”>Alea iacta est - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>@gravitas2</p>
<p>Oh, duh. I didn’t look at that closely so it might as well have been “aleaeiouctaeast” to my impatient eye.</p>
<p>Wish me luck in AP Latin this coming year! ;)</p>
<p>@tim</p>
<p>I think the only universally agreed upon method for improving CR scores is reading. If you have the time/patience/investment in improving your score, try reading articles in the New York Times (or something similar) a few times a week and paying special attention to how well you understand what is said. Otherwise, I suppose a steady and drawn out study plan (practice tests, vocab review, etc.) would also work well.</p>
<p>Which parts of CR do you have particular trouble with, if any?</p>
<p>^^No way! Good luck anyways!</p>
<p>@orbdas Oh wow! I’m doing the same things (reading and doing the practice tests). Guess I just gotta keep myself committed to reading and practicing. When it comes to CR, the most I usually miss are on the passages. I usually miss around 8-10 and around 2-4 on sentence completion. I’ve tried almost every method on the passages: Devil’s advocate, looking at which answer is BEST supported by what the passage is discussing, marking up the passages, bracketing specified portions of the passage from the line references, actually underlining what the question is asking for, you name it. For the Vocab, I used Direct Hits (Core and Advanced), but I only got about 60% of the Core Direct Hits done 2 days and the day before the SAT.</p>
<p>The SAT CR section is basically a vocab test, so–as the other posters have noted–you should just learn as many new words as possible. Also, you may want to rent/purchase a big blue SAT prep book and do several practice CR sections.</p>
<p>Drinking a lot of coffee before and during the test helps as well.</p>
<p>@aleaiactaest Yeah, that’s why I’m sort of relying on practice and Direct Hits a lot this summer. Problem is… I used up all of the Blue Book tests. I still have some of the SAT Online Course tests and some QAS, but probably not enough to last me all the way until October. And oddly enough, I find that coffee works against me. I crash so easily from drinking coffee LOL. It’s all about apples, chocolate, and bananas :D</p>