Worth retaking a 2260? [Deferred]

Colleges & Universities Yale University
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<p>I’m wondering whether my superscored 2260 is worth retaking. There’s obviously room for improvement, but I’m not sure if retaking for a 2350+ would help me that much. I’ve heard that once your scores are over a certain threshold, there’s really not much you can do even if you improve them.<br>
Any opinions on this? they would be much appreciated. [especially because the Jan SAT signup deadline is tomorrow :)]</p>

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<p>IMO, the difference between a 2260 and whatever is not going to make the difference in your RD decision; I think the threshold is about 2250. Take note what Y says about multiple retakes:</p>

<p>[Yale</a> Daily News - No choice on scores](<a href=“http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/university-news/2009/01/16/no-choice-on-scores/]Yale”>http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/university-news/2009/01/16/no-choice-on-scores/)</p>

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<p>So, depending on how many times you’re taking it, you could run the risk of a negative impact. Is Y really gonna say, “oh look, they retook it again and got 100 pts more, they’re a much better candidate now!”??</p>

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<p>Yale looks at the total picture and what they want for a student body. There is nothing wrong with 2260, it is a great score. To get into Yale you need to add great leadership, passion, EC’s, recommendations, GPA, essays, Etc to the list. My son got in during SCEA with a 2200.</p>

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<p>Agreed w/other responses. 2260 didn’t get you deferred and won’t get you either rejected or admitted later. Neither will a boost of 100 pts.</p>

<p>Relax and do other worthwhile things.</p>

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<p>The college counselors say that the higher your SAT score, the higher your chances.</p>

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<p>Yeah, I’ll likely be applying next year and just got my scores: CR: 750, M: 730, W: 760, overall 2240. I’ve got plenty of time to retake them. Should I? Stupid mistakes on math will be the death of me!</p>

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<p>Is no one reading entomom’s post? ???</p>

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<p>Chibistar: I’m retaking a score similar to yours, however, this is because I have a 690 in one section, and it relates directly to the area I want to major in. (CR –> english major). I just think that particular combination looks a bit funny.</p>

<p>Otherwise, I may not have bothered retaking - I have to fly interstate to take the SAT in January :(</p>

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<p>I’m resitting it in January but mine was 2070 and even then it took a lot of convincing as I would really rather spend my summer catching up with friends after neglecting them for a whole year =P</p>

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<p>If you think there is a reasonably good chance you can do meaningfully better, I’d say – based on a cost/benefit analysis – retake. On the cost side, if you haven’t taken the test that many times already, no one is going to hold it against you for taking it again. And, if you have taken it a lot, then you’ve already incurred the downside of looking like a test hound. So I don’t see the optical downside of retaking as being huge (although I wouldn’t say it’s nonexistent either). And the idea of “doing something more useful with your time” is a complete red herring. The test takes, what, 4 hours out of your life? (Now, if the idea is to spend every waking moment for weeks preparing, that’s a different story.) Somehow, I don’t think that lost time will preclude you from engaging in EC’s, curing cancer, or undertaking whatever world-changing activities you might pursue. On the benefit side, the facts are clear – anything less than a 2300 steepens considerably the odds for the unhooked (particularly for those from mainstream states). Sure, some get in with lower scores, but the percentage admitted with those scores is much smaller. Even with higher scores, of course, your chances are lousy, but they’re statistically less lousy. While no one can persuasively argue that the extra few points actually means anything in terms of what you actually bring to the table, the empirical evidence is that, for whatever reason, the schools treat it as if it does matter. The trick, then, is rationally assessing your chances for meaningful improvement. That should be easy enough to figure out by taking a couple of bluebook tests simulating actual test conditions.</p>