Should I take the SAT again?Answered
My test history:
10th grade-ACT 22 Composite (25 Science, 23 Math, 18 English, 21 Reading)
11th grade-ACT 24 Composite School Day (24 Science, 30 Math, 21 English, 20 Reading)
12th grade-SAT 1360 (710 Math and 650 ERW)
I contacted my new school and they said they are unable to remove test scores from transcripts. And I'm not sure if colleges that don't require the whole history will consider them if I don't self report it? I've also checked all my colleges common data set which my 1360 is over the 25 percentile for most of them except Cornell, CMU, NYU, and BostonU which are my reaches/hard targets. There isn't a 50 percentile on any of the common data sets so I used the 25 which I don't know if its a great idea. Other sources say you need to have a score near the 50 or 75 percentile, then some say anything past 25 is good too. Will taking the test basically the 4th time hurt my admissions chances? I can't go test optional because I'm doing CS which most programs I'm applying will require an SAT score.
As for how much i think I will improve if I take the SAT again (ACT is too fast-paced for me), I think with weekly practices and in depth analysis on my mistakes, I think I can make a 40-70 points (maybe even 90) jump which would put me closer to or past the estimated 50 percentile for most of my schools and hopefully propel me past the 25 percentile of the colleges I mentioned above. I'm more worried about if colleges will think wrong of me if I take a standardized the test for the 4th time which many recommend only 2-3 times.
My College List as of now:
Cornell, NYU, CMU, BostonU, UIUC, UNC, NCSU, Stony Brook, Binghamton, UKY, RIT, and Purdue.
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3 answers
I recommend taking the SAT again. Colleges ideally want applicants to have an SAT score that is in the top 50th percentile or above, especially the more competitive schools. Taking the SAT another time will not harm you - as far as colleges are concerned, you have taken the SAT once and the ACT twice. They will be fine as long as you do not take the ACT itself four times, for example. Hope this helps!
If you take another SAT, it'll be the 2nd time you've taken it. I don't think you need to submit both SAT and ACT. When you submit the new SAT score, the score report sent from Collegeboard to universities will include the score from every single SAT you've taken but since ACT is administered by a different organization, ACT scores won't show up.
You should aim for at least reaching near the 75th percentile if not above.
I am a senior too now, but looking at the first few universities, I might have some suggestions. The SAT and ACT averages are high at those schools, usually near 33ish for the ACT and 1500ish for the SAT. Your scores would fall into the acceptable range I think. To verify you can always search up (insert college name) + "common data set" and scroll down until you find the SAT and ACT average to see if your scores are where they need to be. Some of these schools are test-optional, so you could consider that. Although, according to newer sources, that is not always a good idea.
Also consider how much these schools would factor in ECs, sports, and GPA. Then if you have the time, you could go for another test to try again. Remember to check you own research with this answer! :) Good luck, hope this helps!!
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But my act test scores will show up on my transcript too though I’m not sure if colleges will review it since I didn’t self report it.