So today the results for everyone that took the October SAT were released. And of course, I was extremely scared to check out what my scores were. To make it worse, in my Government class today, the number one student in the senior class was like "omg, I got a 1850 on my SAT" and went on about how happy she was that she did better this time than before. And I'm not in second place in the senior class, so of course my score is going to be considerably lower than that. Well, when I got home I remembered, and signed on to check them out. To my surprise I got a 1380. Although that is not the best score that I could have gotten, its that fact that I got a 9 on my essay. Yes, a 9 on a 12 point scale. I was extremely happy, cause back in April, I got a 6 on my essay. My combined score for writing was a 510, which was higher also. The thing that had hurt me was my math score, which I think went down. But its all okay, I suppose. I mean I did improve, right? My question is though for people that read this is, is it worth taking again if I have already sent these specific scores to some colleges that I plan to apply to? Cause isn't it bad to send multiple scores to colleges?
Rachael
Oh goodness, don't worry about if they think it's bad. Because honestly, it's not. There are the occasional colleges that will combine your scores. So say, you take it 5 times. You make a 540 on the writing, a 570 on the math and you have a really bad day and have a 520 on the critical reading. Well, next time you take it, you do 20 better on writing, 10 better on the critical reading and 30 worse on the math. So on and so forth, just going with random numbers I've picked. Some will take your highest score out of each category, and you will be shocked that it would give you maybe even a hundred or so points higher than your highest one time score. Personally, I've taken the ACT and SAT twice, and I've sent in both sets to the 5 schools I've applied to. If they can see you have improvement, or that you do really well on one section consistently, it can look better for you. So don't worry about it, take it as many times as you can afford to, and send 'em all in!
The Absurda TexanAndes
oh gah? i didn't know you logged on to see your scores. it so much more difficult than act. i think 1380 is great! be proud!
I think it's better to send them, to show that you worked hard to improve. It shows good work ethic and study habits.
I skipped the SAT's. I took the ACT's. Then I ended up picking a college where it didn't matter. Three colleges in fact where it didn't matter. My luck. Well, it did help land me one of my jobs, at a test prep company.
www.worldcantwait.com
I know the feeling of hearing th "I got a ---- on my SATs!" at my school though, it's a 2190. Well, I can't lie, I'm a good test taker. I got a 31 on the ACT and an 1810 on the SAT. The thing is, although I'm proud, it's not a huge deal. The SAT measures...well, how well you can take the SAT... I wouldn't stress too much about it. It's your senior year. To answer your question though, after reading some statistics, after the second time you take the test, your chances of increasing your score goes way down. Just keep that in mind before dishing out another $50.
It's just a thought,
Des
Hey, don't worry about it. Most colleges will take your best overall score. They won't look down at you because you have taken it over again. I was scared to death the first time I took the ACT and that combined with being a bad test taker made me not do as good as I hoped getting a 26. I will be taking the ACT for the third time on the December 9th test date just to see if I can improve my score since I think I had an off day on the math and english sections this past October. If anything, colleges will see that by retaking the ACT/SAT again, you have shown initiative to work to better your scores and that you might be a good student at their colleges. TexanAndes is right that some colleges take the best score from each section from all of your tests that you have taken. For the ACT, that is especially big because instead of getting a 26 overall like I did my first time due to a low score, you might manage to pull that score up and after the university averages your best scores, you might actually have a 33 on it.
wow good job. as long as your happy with your score.