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I got a 1460 on the March SAT. Should I retake it in October or not? I'll probably apply early to MIT, and considering that I got a 710 in math, that doesn't look very good at all ... On the other hand, how bad does a retake look, even if it's a substantially higher score? Thanks.

By Athlonmj (Athlonmj) on Monday, April 12, 2004 - 08:09 pm: Edit

Looks great if you score substantially higher.

By Yoyomama04 (Yoyomama04) on Monday, April 12, 2004 - 09:29 pm: Edit

Taking it twice is no biggie. You will likely need a higher math score for MIT so I would prep over the summer for a retake. Just don't neglect verbal while you study for math - it's embarrassing to have one score drop!

Gruber's is supposed to be pretty good for math prep.

By Songster87 (Songster87) on Monday, April 12, 2004 - 11:40 pm: Edit

Depends how you felt during the test.

If you thought you got lucky with a 1460, then hell no, don't retake. There are many, many stories of people dropping down 100+ points because they got lucky the first time and wanted to push their luck.

On the other hand, if you thought you were having an extraordinarily bad day that time (stayed up till 4am the night before, misbubbled six bubbles, skipped a page, etc.), then definitely retake.

On the third hand, if you feel like neither of the above two are especially true BUT for some unthinkable reason you want to kill your summer by studying for SATs, then sure, retake. Studying 50-100 hours over the summer will get (almost) anyone an incredible score.

By Songster87 (Songster87) on Monday, April 12, 2004 - 11:41 pm: Edit

And yes, it's possible to have three hands. Imagine a clock with a seconds hand.

By Kayous (Kayous) on Tuesday, April 13, 2004 - 01:58 pm: Edit

I had 630 for the verbal, and 690 for math, please some advice me on how to increase these low scores. I' m hoping to get into MIT

By Foundnemo (Foundnemo) on Tuesday, April 13, 2004 - 03:49 pm: Edit

The thing is, I didn't take any practice tests but I'm a TA at a SAT verbal class (embarassingly enough ... you'd think I'd get an 800 V or something). However, I actually thought I only got 1 or 2 wrong in the math section. I'm not exactly a math genius, and I'm not not terrible at math, but I got 2 wrong on the PSATs as well.

By Aznsnake0307 (Aznsnake0307) on Tuesday, April 13, 2004 - 04:51 pm: Edit

MIT wants at least 1500 on SATs, they may let 1480 slide by

By Tsunashima1 (Tsunashima1) on Tuesday, April 13, 2004 - 05:00 pm: Edit

I don't think MIT really differentiates among SAT I scores that are higher than 1400. EC's weigh significantly more. If you look on the MIT forum at CC, you'll see that a good portion of those admitted had sub-1500 scores.

By Bcrichsolo (Bcrichsolo) on Tuesday, April 13, 2004 - 05:20 pm: Edit

I had the same sort of question. I got a 1380 (740 M 640 V) on the March SAT. I want to apply to UPenn as my first choice. I dont think I will get above 1450 if I take it again. Are my scores good enough, and is it worth it to take it again?