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Let me start off:

US History - 700
World History - 740
Writing - 780

Retake or okay?

By Simei (Simei) on Friday, June 18, 2004 - 12:11 am: Edit

okay, here:

700 Writing
1510 SAT I
retake or okay?

(i'm looking at Berkeley or UT Austin's BHP, which is also very selective)

By Calidan (Calidan) on Friday, June 18, 2004 - 12:41 am: Edit

670 Writing
670 Math IC
800 French (NOT retaking, hehehe...)

710 Math
700 Verbal

Retake or no? I think i'm definitely going to retake Writing and math IC, but are my SATs okay? I dunno, they're kind of borderline for where I want to go... what do you all think?

By Bennelz (Bennelz) on Friday, June 18, 2004 - 01:12 am: Edit

ARRRRRRRRRRGHHHHH!!!!!

650 molecular bio

CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAPCRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP

By Paulhomework (Paulhomework) on Friday, June 18, 2004 - 11:17 am: Edit

760 physics

engineering for UC Berkeley, Cornell, maybe MIT/caltech!!

should i retake?

By Krbxtigerz (Krbxtigerz) on Friday, June 18, 2004 - 11:31 am: Edit

740 chem.....should i retake it?????

By Mollala (Mollala) on Friday, June 18, 2004 - 11:31 am: Edit

730 US HIST (which is weird, i kept getting 770-790 on all my practices)

i'm not planning on a career in history or anything, obviously, but for selective schools like northwestern, cornell, stanford, etc.

By Mrbesch (Mrbesch) on Friday, June 18, 2004 - 11:35 am: Edit

770 U.S History
740 Writing

Should I retake one of them or both?

By Kattiepie (Kattiepie) on Friday, June 18, 2004 - 11:43 am: Edit

710 V
740 M
(this was from Jan 04)

Retake? 1450 seems good but.. not good enough? I'm shooting at UCBerkeley and UCLA.

By Encomium (Encomium) on Friday, June 18, 2004 - 12:05 pm: Edit

Kattiepie-I have a 1450 as well, and I would retake. Since you took it in january, you will have had about 10 months of intellectual stimulation and improvement since you last took it. And it can only help.

By Netmet (Netmet) on Friday, June 18, 2004 - 12:37 pm: Edit

This thread is flawed...Too many people asking whether they should retake and too few answering.....I'll anser Kattiepie.....For the two schools you are applying to, those scores are absolutely fine (even more fine for UCLA), but if you are confident you could raise your score by at least 30-40 points or so, go for the retake! I'm retaking a similar score this October.

By Altf4 (Altf4) on Friday, June 18, 2004 - 12:38 pm: Edit

everyone needs to write approximately what tier school you are also applying to..i agree that this thread is flawed as of present.

By Ragnarok (Ragnarok) on Friday, June 18, 2004 - 12:45 pm: Edit

I'm retaking my Math IIC because I didn't budget my time well so I completely bombed it, but should I retake Writing? The main school I'm looking at is NYU right now.

Math IIC: 630
Writing: 740

By Calidan (Calidan) on Friday, June 18, 2004 - 12:50 pm: Edit

*UPDATED*

670 Writing
670 Math IC
800 French (NOT retaking, hehehe...)

710 Math
700 Verbal

Schools: Northwestern, Georgetown, Columbia, UPenn, UC Berkeley, UCLA (those are all my "farthest" reaches)

Retake or no? I think i'm definitely going to retake Writing and Math IC, but are my SATs okay? I dunno, they're kind of borderline for where I want to go... what do you all think?

By Jrboog05 (Jrboog05) on Friday, June 18, 2004 - 12:52 pm: Edit

Does anyone think i should retake? Here are my SATI's:

Jan '04: 660M 610 V - 1270
May '04: 680M 630 V - 1310
June '04: 700M 610 V - 1310

But counting the highest only, i have 1330. (Anyone know of any good engineering schools that only count single sitting? (I think Berekely does.))

Also, i am a rising senior and i have not taken nor studied for the SATII's, and i think avoiding them would be detrimental to my chances at the schools i want (Emory, GT, UIUC, Northwestern, etc...), and i heard that some schools require the ACT as WELL as the SAT, then i would have to do that too!

Basically, i have like 2 dates of test dates left and want to get out my application before December (i have heard this is the best time to send.) Man, can anyone help me? I am seriously fretting about this upcoming year.

By Paulhomework (Paulhomework) on Friday, June 18, 2004 - 12:56 pm: Edit

i say anyone who asks a question has to answer one also! it's also easier if you include the colleges you're going to apply to

i repeat my question: 760 Physics

colleges: berkeley (out of state), MIT/CalTech, Cornell


Ragnarok: i don't think you need to retake Writing, but DEFINITELY retake math IIC, or if you're not comfortable w/ its topics, take IC instead

By Missgrapes (Missgrapes) on Friday, June 18, 2004 - 12:57 pm: Edit

i'm an international asian indian student. I started off real well on standardised testing with a 1520 on the SAT and an 800 writing. However, I then took the SAT II Math IIC and French (during my school end of semester exams) and wound up with two 690s. Huge shock as I was averaging 780 on math (in Barrons!!!) and a 750 on French in REA. I had huge dreams of going somewhere like Princeton (1st choice) or Stanford. Early action/decision. I was thinking of retaking Maths, then another test like literature in october which is the last test date I can do...as I think I could do better on lit than retaking the language test. Could anyone advise me? are my ivy dreams over? I just can't believe i screwed these up so badly. any advice on retaking/how good or bad these scores are/how much they would hurt an otherwise good application would be sooo much appreciated...

By Rayo (Rayo) on Friday, June 18, 2004 - 01:00 pm: Edit

SAY I- first time (640 V, 750 M)
second time (670 V, 730 M)

retake third time?

also, Math IIC- 760 , retake?, i am not going in engineering

By Missgrapes (Missgrapes) on Friday, June 18, 2004 - 01:03 pm: Edit

anyone got any advice for me?
rayo, you are lucky.. i would love to have gotten a 760 on math iic! I know there are some people on the board who want to retake 780+ but I think they must be wanting to major in math/apply to MIT etc...any advice out there for my post though?

By Deerhunter (Deerhunter) on Friday, June 18, 2004 - 01:03 pm: Edit

Writing: 800
US History: 780
Math IIC: 760

Top choices: Brown and Columbia
Major: English; Minor: Philosophy
Retake or no? (Specifically Math IIC--80th percentile)

Kattiepie: a 1450 is more than fine for UCLA and Berkeley.

Paulhomework: Since you're applying to technology schools, I would try to raise the 760 in Physics. It has a rather lenient curve, so I don't think you'll have to work incredibly hard to do so.

By Abogachkov (Abogachkov) on Friday, June 18, 2004 - 01:20 pm: Edit

Missgrapes, what is your math background? If you've taken a higher level math course, or better yet calculus, it is definitely worth your time to study math, and take it again in the fall (I think a 690 on Math IIC is around 60th percentile). I don't know too much about french SAT II. I am currently taking Calculus, and got an 800 on math IIC. My advice is to read through the Princeton Review book, and take a number of Barons practice tests. Then buy 22 real SAT II's, and take their test. you should do fine.

I received a 1510 on my SAT I (780m, 730v), and an 800 on Math IIc, but only a 740 on SAT II biology. If I am applying to a school like Columbia, or Penn, should I retake bio?

By Tlaktan (Tlaktan) on Friday, June 18, 2004 - 01:22 pm: Edit

Let me start off:

US History - 700
World History - 740
Writing - 780

Retake or okay?

-- Applying to: Georgetown, Northwestern, NYU, George Washington

By Missgrapes (Missgrapes) on Friday, June 18, 2004 - 01:31 pm: Edit

abogachkov... yes, I just finished a calculus course but I think things are slightly different in England. Your advice about Barrons and 22 Reals would be very helpful if I hadn't taken all the Barrons tests (averaging about 750) and the one in 22 Reals (780) before achieving my 690 in a blaze of glory. Obviously I will retake: what is the next best book to prep from for more practise tests? I know many people benefit from Barrons but I'd like something more realistic...
p.s. its 58th percentile...60th would have sounded better! still havent broken the news to my paranoid mom... :s

By Ecnerwalc (Ecnerwalc) on Friday, June 18, 2004 - 01:35 pm: Edit

Okay. Good plan Paulhomework. One Question: Should I retake?

760 writing
730 Chem
740 Math iic

Schools(all out of state):Georgia Tech(qualified for exemption in Chem), Berkeley, UCLA, and Stanford.

Tlaktan, what are you going to study?

Calidan, I would retake Writing and probably math ic, but definitely retake writing. I see that you would like to attend Columbia. Those tier schools often expect you to be proficient in writing skills. I don't doubt that you can pull that score up with Barron's writing book. Your SATi and ii scores seem pretty even in verbal and math. Try to pull those up some. I think that if you study for math, both your sat i and ic scores will go up. Kill two birds with one stone, eh?

By Tlaktan (Tlaktan) on Friday, June 18, 2004 - 01:56 pm: Edit

Ecnerwalc: International Relations/Politics or Political Science

By Stressed05 (Stressed05) on Friday, June 18, 2004 - 01:59 pm: Edit

A 660 on Math IIC...
Are my chances for HYPSD over? Even if I retake, will they look at the 660? Can anyone give me a sense of what a score like a 660 means.

And secondly, how much do SAT IIs actually matter?

By Irock1ce (Irock1ce) on Friday, June 18, 2004 - 02:08 pm: Edit

Looking at ivies: Wharton, HYPSM, Columbia, etc.

SATI : 720 Verbal, 760 Math
SATII: 800 MAth IIc, 790 Biology M, 730 Chemistry, 720 Writing.

Should i retake anything? I know im not going to retake the SAT1s because my 760 math will be cancelled out by my advanced math classes and my 800 in mathiic. Writing however.. may be another story..

By Dliebers (Dliebers) on Friday, June 18, 2004 - 02:10 pm: Edit

740 for both IIC and writing
What to do...
Im really hoping dartmouth ED, i have 1410 SAT which will definitely be going up in fall and already 770 in chem and 760 in world hist.

By C_J (C_J) on Friday, June 18, 2004 - 02:26 pm: Edit

Irock1ce, I would retake the Writing SAT II. No matter what major you are going into, colleges care about your writing skills, so getting it up there in the 750+ range with your other scores would be great. A minimum of a 30 point jump is very feasible.

As for the SAT I, if you went in there cold the first time and you haven't tried it again, I would try again. Schools like Stanford only take the highest of the subscores.

Here's my question, now...

SAT I: 800 Verbal/670 Math
SAT II: 650 Math IC

Retake? I'm leaning toward yes for the SAT I...

I took an advanced Pre Calculus course and did well in it. I don't know why I did so bad on the IC. Should I try the IIC in the fall? Or just the IC again? Or them both together?

By Crypto86 (Crypto86) on Friday, June 18, 2004 - 02:54 pm: Edit

What about 660 phys? I want to retake, but then I'm going to have to study all that stuff in the summer and all. I think it would be worth it though.

By C_J (C_J) on Friday, June 18, 2004 - 03:03 pm: Edit

If you did well in an advanced physics course, plan to major in the sciences, and don't have three other SAT II's in the high 700 range, I would give it another try, Crypto86. Especially if you think you could do better. (If you already studied for countless hours and tried your hardest for the test, then I wouldn't, however, because chances then that you wouldn't go up.)

By Gostanford (Gostanford) on Friday, June 18, 2004 - 03:12 pm: Edit

i got 650 physics - should i retake? or just take math iic
i already have 2 800s (math ic and writing)

By Joshjmgs (Joshjmgs) on Friday, June 18, 2004 - 04:25 pm: Edit

First of all, anything 750+, good job and dont even think about retaking.

Do not retake an SAT II, UNLESS you will be studying that subject next year.

I think everyone should take their SAT Is twice (three times if you REALLY need to), because you never know.

Here is my schedule:
May SAT I
690 M, 600 V (usually: 750+, 700+)
June
800 chem (I was hoping for a 750+)
700 physics (700+)
670 math iic (800 on Barrons!)

During my June testing, I took the IIc, chem, then my physics. During my chemistry exam (I had 30 minutes left, and I was bored so I checked over my answers), I realized that I have the BAD BAD habit of misaligning or bubbling in the wrong answers, which would explain my HUGE DROP on my SAT I's and Math IIc scores.

I might retake my physics again, just because I will be taking AP Physics next year. I went into the test cold from an Honors Physics class, where we did not cover thermodynamics, circuits, magnetism, and we JUST started electricity. I knew most of the modern physics from chemistry.

But I will retake the SAT Is in October (hoping for a 1450+, which what I was scoring on the 10 Real practice tests). I will take Writing and IIc in November, and MAYBE the physics, it depends on how I feel after the IIc.

I AM going for engineering, so my physics and math scores must be top-notch if I want to try for Cornell and Harvey Mudd (my top 2 realistic reaches). I started high school with a rough start with a 77 in accelerated geometry first semester, but now I got a strong A in a difficult High Honors Pre-Calc/Calc class.


Gostanford, I would retake the physics IF you will take AP Physics next year. And I wouldn't concern yourself with the Math IIc, if you scored an 800 on the Math Ic, because it is so impressive (or at least i think so). But some engineering school actually REQUIRE you to take the IIc, so I would check into that, and if you don't have to take it, focus on something else.

By Joshjmgs (Joshjmgs) on Friday, June 18, 2004 - 04:35 pm: Edit

To all 740+ writing, do NOT retake, because next time you can completely mess up your essay and colleges will see both scores

Jrboog05, I wouldnt take the SATI again, because colleges start averaging your scores together, which you dont want. There still are a number of VERY good engineering schools that have about a 50% middle range similiar to yours. Carnegie Mellon, RPI, RIT, Bucknell, Lafayette, Lehigh, Ann Harbor, Rutgers (if youre in-state), the list only goes on.
Focus on your SAT IIs!!!

C_J, take the IIc, but study hard for it!

By Ecnerwalc (Ecnerwalc) on Friday, June 18, 2004 - 05:08 pm: Edit

Colleges will see your essay scores?

By Thegumby (Thegumby) on Friday, June 18, 2004 - 05:13 pm: Edit

800 V/710 M. I'm very happy with my score, and whatever I major in will NOT be related to math... But I'm wondering if it's worth retaking the SATs to raise my math grade like, 40 or 50 points (even though my verbal will drop).

By Joshjmgs (Joshjmgs) on Friday, June 18, 2004 - 05:21 pm: Edit

colleges only see youre final score, but a bad essay will lower your raw score considerably

By Rsn (Rsn) on Friday, June 18, 2004 - 05:33 pm: Edit

1550 SAT I

760 Bio/M
760 Math IIC
730 Writing

Math IIC is 80th percentile. Should I retake that and writing? I really don't want to.

By Joshjmgs (Joshjmgs) on Friday, June 18, 2004 - 05:55 pm: Edit

rsn, if you dont want to, dont retake. Youre scores are high enough.

By Rsn (Rsn) on Friday, June 18, 2004 - 06:13 pm: Edit

Ok thanks!

By Burllinz (Burllinz) on Friday, June 18, 2004 - 06:21 pm: Edit

1600 SAT I

790 US History
770 Writing
720 Math IC <--- Retake?

I'm looking at Harvard, Dartmouth, Yale, Tufts, BC, Brown, and I am not looking toward a major in a math related field.
Thanks!

By Cooldude (Cooldude) on Friday, June 18, 2004 - 06:28 pm: Edit

Ragnarok and Stressed05 retake the IIC!!
Calidan and Burllinz take the IIC, forget IC the curve is so screwed!!

By Mattlord (Mattlord) on Friday, June 18, 2004 - 06:37 pm: Edit

750 M
700 V

i'm definitely retaking; i just wanted to see if anyone had a combination of sat i and sat ii scores like me:

800 writing
800 molecular bio
800 math iic

dreams: harvard, MIT, princeton, yale, stanford

another question: does having more than 3 really excellent sat ii scores help much?

thanks so much!

By Satchamp (Satchamp) on Friday, June 18, 2004 - 06:41 pm: Edit

writing.........740
ooh.....its so much higher than wut i thought id get

By Jrboog05 (Jrboog05) on Friday, June 18, 2004 - 07:17 pm: Edit

Joshjmgs, thanks for your help.


Is it definative that most colleges start averaging scores after 3 or just some? Which particular? I have heard this but none of the university websites say anything about it.

I would be very bummed to not be able to raise my score again, as I feel I am very close to a much better score which would greatly increase my chances. Oh yeah, and I am a Georgia resident and many say that GT would probaly be a good match.


By the way, what is the maximum times you can take an SAT II per outting?


Sorry if these questions seem redundant.

By Sulskman (Sulskman) on Friday, June 18, 2004 - 08:08 pm: Edit

SAT I:
3/04: 640M 670V
5/04: 640M 680V
WILL RETAKE IN OCT

SAT II:
IC: 690 (As you can see by my SAT I math score, math is not my forte, so I'm fine with this score.)
US: 760 (Very happy; however given the nice curve and the fact I felt I know most of the answers, and that I got a 790 on PR practice, I wanted a bit higher)
Writing: 740 (Very happy; MC was very hard, so I was expecting lower)

ANY ADVICE? SHOULD I RE-TAKE US OR WRITING? I have no clue what I want to major in. It will probably be something humanities related. I am looking at Brandeis, Cornell ILR, Dickinson, Binghamton, etc.

By Joshjmgs (Joshjmgs) on Saturday, June 19, 2004 - 11:21 am: Edit

jrboog, you can take 3 SAT IIs in one day (I did it, and just have an energy bar in between), and I wouldnt take the same SAT II more than twice.

And since you want Georgia Tech (where my dad wants me to go :-S, he lives in an Atlanta suburb), take the IC OR IIC. If youre did really well in pre-calc, take the IIc.
Most colleges require Writing so take that.

And then take either chemistry or physics. Both have nice curves, but you MUST know youre material. I did so well on the chemistry, because I came right from an AP Chem class with an AWESOME teacher. So if you have one of those, take it ;)
If you know physics REALLY well, take that SAT II but beware of the incredibly low percentile. My 700 was the 65%. But keep in mind, but it isn't that bad considering how much I just didn't cover. So if you covered all of these topics, physics MIGHT be easier if you are willing to memorize the kinematics equation (yeah, i completely blanked out on those) and are willing to get a hold of a schaums college physics and learning a LOT more than you need to, all of the physics study guides suck. This might be the deciding point between the physics and chemistry. I used the Barrons SAT II practice tests (I took 2), and I got a 780 and a 800. I checked over their chapters, and they seemed pretty good. There tests were very realistic, but a little more ambiguous than the actual exam.

Good luck!
And seriously work over the summer on writing (especially) and the other 2 subject tests.

By Cleanfreak (Cleanfreak) on Saturday, June 19, 2004 - 01:43 pm: Edit

700v, 740m, 1440 total SAT
math 2c- 750
bio- 730
writing-700
is this good enough for cornell or brown or columbia
which should i do ed?......soo confused

By Tired_Student (Tired_Student) on Saturday, June 19, 2004 - 02:13 pm: Edit

NYU CAS
SAT I 1440
Writing 650

I dont know if I should retake the writing. I really dont want to.

By Mrbesch (Mrbesch) on Saturday, June 19, 2004 - 05:27 pm: Edit

Right now-

770 US History
740 Writing

Didn't study for writing. Crammed for US for one day.

Should I retake any of them? My biggest realistic reach school is probably gonna be Wash U in St. Louis. Other schools applying to are like Boston College, BU, Tufts, and maybe Harvard (just to try- I don't think I'll get in, my gpa isnt a 4.0 only A's and B's)Are those scores good enough for Wash U, Tufts and the like?

By Biteme (Biteme) on Saturday, June 19, 2004 - 05:31 pm: Edit

it depends on you. if you think you can do better..go for it. if you're only worried about colleges...screw it. go study for aps.

By Joshjmgs (Joshjmgs) on Saturday, June 19, 2004 - 06:27 pm: Edit

mrbesch, do NOT retake, youre scores are REALLY good.

By Ohio_Mom (Ohio_Mom) on Saturday, June 19, 2004 - 07:04 pm: Edit

The Writing essay subscore shows. Colleges, on the other hand, know that this something of a crapshoot.

Joshmgs,
good thing you figured out the bubbling problem. Make sure you mark all the answers in the booklet when you do your retake this fall so you can verify at the end.

Tired_Student
retake writing if you can bear the thought.

By Entropicgirl (Entropicgirl) on Saturday, June 19, 2004 - 07:07 pm: Edit

1600
800 Physics
800 Writing
770 IIc (sophomore year)

OK. Let's assume that I'm applying for MIT or Caltech as a physics major...how much would the IIc hurt me? And how bad would it look if I retook it and did about the same? And how bad would it look if I retook it at all (even if I got an 800)?

By Ohio_Mom (Ohio_Mom) on Saturday, June 19, 2004 - 07:58 pm: Edit

Entropicgirl,
sophmore year score, eh. God, that's intimidating. You could send all your scores, retake IIC, and only resend if you aced it. But, I think you are probably in good shape at both of these schools as you are a very highly qualified female applicant. Just make sure you visit and that you really want to go there.

By Thermodude (Thermodude) on Monday, June 21, 2004 - 11:07 pm: Edit

Entropicgirl...ya...you should follow Ohio_Mom's advice.....if you studied all the pre-calc/trig/prob on the SAT II math iic...and knew it good enough..you should be able to get an 800. One of my friends who is going to MIT took the SAT iic math test 3 times...the first time he got a 740...second he got a 770...and the third he got a 800. I think as long as you know your info...you should be able to score an 800 with no problem.

By Abc321 (Abc321) on Tuesday, June 22, 2004 - 02:10 pm: Edit

1st SAT I: 580 V, 660 M = 1240 total
2nd SAT I: 670 V, 700 M = 1370 total
SAT II's: Math IIC- 710
Writing - 690
US History - 680

Applying to UCLA, UC San Diego, UC Berkeley, maybe NYU.

Should I retake SAT I's or any of the SAT II's? I didn't really study for the SAT I the second time, but surprisingly my score rose by a lot. Any advice would help. Thanks

By Mcheng331 (Mcheng331) on Tuesday, June 22, 2004 - 03:31 pm: Edit

ABC321....i dont think SAT I (maybe for Berkeley if u dont live in Cali) but u'd get into NYU wit that score....SATII...mayb...depends on if u think u can do significantly vbetter on them or not

i hate english, im done with it as long as my English credits are filled for college and going into science field.....

SATI 1430 (800M, 630V) retake or no?

ALSO....did some say that Berkeley looks at the highest COMBINED score? or highest in each section? does any1 kno which colleges look @ highest combined?

By Quink (Quink) on Tuesday, June 22, 2004 - 03:48 pm: Edit

Here's the scores:

SAT I V 800
M 780

SAT IIs

Writing 800
Chemistry 800
Math IIC 760

So far, so good - but the stinger:

Latin 630 (10 detailed questions on poetry -none of it was covered in my class - Soooooooo - retake the 4th one (Latin) OR just explain? I have straight As in Honors Latin and Gold Medal on National Latin Exam IV)

Need advice!

By Mcheng331 (Mcheng331) on Tuesday, June 22, 2004 - 03:51 pm: Edit

Quink....ur jus going to send them the 3 that u did anazing on anyways....u'll b fine, no worries