Good evening everyone, I have a very important question to ask that needs to be answered quickly. So I am a Senior applying to very prestigious universities and I was deferred from my top choice. I took the SAT in Nov 2014 and got a 2320 (730 R, 800 M, 790 W). I thought that was a great score and decided not to waste my time retaking it. However, in this past November I decided to retake it, thinking a higher reading score would help get into these top colleges. To my displeasure, I received a 720 R, 800 M, 790 W (b/c of an 8 essay and 0 mc. They couldn’t even give me a 9 so the W would go to 800!). So like a lunatic I decided that I wanted to try once more on January. I planned to take it not where I live because I had a conference in another state during the time of the test. However, this January date happened to have a huge snowstorm that caused the test to be delayed until Feb 20. I had contacted CB and it seemed like I’d be able to take the make up not far from home. However, today I found out that this was false and I would have to retake it in the intended test center, which is in the North (I am from the South), and would require me to fly there. My question is whether it’s worth it to make this sacrifice and take the test? How do I know the scores would even reach the admissions offices before decisions come out? What if I get a lower reading score? At the same time, if I don’t get into one of these schools, will I regret my decision and think how it could have been different if I had taken the test? As ridiculous as this may sound, I please ask for some help. Anyone with similar experiences?
Thank you so much.
Is this real? Do not take it again. Lots schools super score and use the best cr+m. You’re at 1530. That’s a great score. Assuming your gpa is equally strong, the schools your stats will keep you out of are schools (ivy etc) are a shot in the dark for most people. Are you even sure the schools you are interested in even still accept scores?
I contacted one of the Ivy League schools I applied to and they said that they would accept them, but there’s no guarantee that they would get there before decisions are made.
Don’t take it. Waste of time, money, and effort. Your M and W are already at the top, and any possible benefits of 20-40 more points in CR are negligible at best.
Ditto. If this is for real, there is no difference between the scores at that level, and taking it again might be seen as a score grubber. Time to move on.
I feel like I might regret not taking it if I don’t get into these schools. What if an 800 in CR is the difference between me getting in or not?
It’s not. Get over it. The rest of your app is 90% of the decision, the SAT just prevents initial elimination. Actually, I think Retaking will REALLY hurt you since u will be pegged as an OCD “try hard” instead of a natural talent. Trust me, it will hurt u. They probably already decided anyway. It’s February!
You seem determined to find someone who will tell you to take it. Every single person on this thread has advised you to move on.
I say take a deep breath. What’s done is done. The intensity is all yours.
an 800 is not the difference.
I’m voting “move on” too. Seems like overkill.
I’m going to guess that the tenor of this thread and your screen name came through in your application and that’s why you were deferred. It wasn’t because of the scores.
Yeah, man. If colleges feel you are the kind of person who takes SAT tests several times just to improve your score by 30 points, they will reject you. Lol