So, I took my second SAT today. My first one was without the essay, and I got a 1480 on it. There were concepts in math that I, despite being in calculus, simply was not proficient in (arc formula continues to escape me), and a few silly mistakes in the reading section.
I decided to take it again after a full month of almost daily preparation, with a practice test at the end of every week. This time, I was going to take it with the essay (not sure why I didn’t the first time).
This morning, I did exactly what I did before the first SAT: I ate some breakfast, had a cup of coffee, and got 8 or 9 hours of sleep beforehand. Yet, this time, the first two passages of Reading section (can’t disclose any info yet), for some reason, were a brick wall for me. I ended up spending 20 minutes on the first passage, and the remaining 45 minutes speeding through the rest of it, probably with a copious amount of mistakes in my wake. The concepts I had gone over and over and over came once again–and I absolutely blanked. I asked the proctor for a form asking for my test to not be scored, but then changed my mind.
Basically, I bombed this SAT. Should I have elected to discard my test? If I take it again and achieve my goal of a 1560, what will colleges that ask for all SAT I scores see it think? Does one bad apple ruin the bunch?
Yes, most colleges either superscore or only consider your best score. I can't think of any college I've researched so far which hasn't said one of these two things.
Woah, can I relate to that! I too tanked the first passage/sped through the last passage on the October reading section, earning me a similar 1490.
It seems logical that most colleges would see one bad score out of several good ones and think ‘well, that’s a fluke,’ in the same way they might see one stellar score among several objectively bad ones and decide that something’s fishy. Keep in mind this is not from experience (I’m not sure anyone who hasn’t worked in admissions could help in that department), but hopefully my opinion will help with all that stress.
As for discarding, I certainly felt uneasy after my first test… yet I received very respectable scores nonetheless. Perhaps you did better than you think? We won’t know until the scores get back.
@mohammadmohd18 I agree with @wormholes 1480 is not a bad score but I am assuming you are aiming for some very highly selective schools if your goal is 1560.
Georgetown is one school that comes to mind that does not super score and does not only consider your best score. They require ALL sittings for them to consider a full picture. If you let the score lie and take it again and do well, they will see this score was an aberration from your other scores. You have a couple of days to decide if you want to cancel your score or not and you should consider which scores you intend to apply to and whether the schools on your list superscore,
Are you a junior? I ask because if you are looking at highly selective schools such that your goal is a 1560, you probably need some subject test scores too and it’s late in the year so I’m guessing you are a junior and don’t yet have a solid college list yet. Good luck.
Update: I just received my scores. I am so glad I didn’t cancel my scores! I got a 780 on the Crit. Reading section–the section I thought I had messed up! I did mess up the math, though. 730. Superscored with my previous test, I have a 1540 now, but I know I can buckle down and get a better score on the math section, bringing my superscore hopefully past the 1560 mark.
Then the SAT part of my app is done… Thank you all for quelling my fears! If I had not started this thread, I would have canceled my scores, no doubt about it. I owe you all. THANKS CC!
A 1540 is the at least the average score for any college other than CIT. Make sure your working on the rest of your application too, it’ll help a lot more than improving your scores will from here on out.
Thank you all for quelling my fears! If I had not started this thread, I would have canceled my scores, no doubt about it. I owe you all. THANKS CC!