How many times has your DC taken the SAT?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Child #1 took 3 times
Children 2,3,4 took 1 time
Child #5 did not have a good first test, so will be taking multiple times.

You have FIVE kids?!

It’s almost like people can decide for themselves how large a family they want.

[Anonymous]

Study after study definitively shows that taking the SAT multiple times improves your SAT score. It's only cost is 3 hours on a Saturday morning plus $68. If $68 is a burden, then you most likely are eligible for a fee waiver.

For top colleges, going from a 1500 to a 1570 triple your odds of getting accepted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Study after study definitively shows that taking the SAT multiple times improves your SAT score. It's only cost is 3 hours on a Saturday morning plus $68. If $68 is a burden, then you most likely are eligible for a fee waiver.

For top colleges, going from a 1500 to a 1570 triple your odds of getting accepted.

But what is the value of that? DC went from a 1490 to a 1570 and still has no interest in schools with under 20,000 students. So what’s that 1570 for? If it turns into merit money at a school they attend, the $68 will have been well worth it. Otherwise … ?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Study after study definitively shows that taking the SAT multiple times improves your SAT score. It's only cost is 3 hours on a Saturday morning plus $68. If $68 is a burden, then you most likely are eligible for a fee waiver.

For top colleges, going from a 1500 to a 1570 triple your odds of getting accepted.

But what is the value of that? DC went from a 1490 to a 1570 and still has no interest in schools with under 20,000 students. So what’s that 1570 for? If it turns into merit money at a school they attend, the $68 will have been well worth it. Otherwise … ?

At more selective schools, it may make the student more competitive. At less selective schools, it may lead to merit. Whether it's worth the effort depends on the student.

[Anonymous]

ACT once, Sept of junior year. 35.

SAT once, Sept of senior year. 1550.

[Anonymous]

DC1 1570
DC2 1470 1520 no plan to test again

[Anonymous]

One and done: ACT 35 in Sept. of junior year. No interest in taking the SAT or any APs. We’re done.

[Anonymous]

4 times over 5 years, plus 1 PSAT.

Useful for progression and to qualify programs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If everybody is getting a 1580, does that mean nobody is getting a 1400?

Virginia's population is about 3% of the United States population. There are fewer than 500 NMSF in Virginia. If there are approximately 10,000 1580 SAT scorers in the country, Virginia would have about 300. Because it is a relatively high achieving state, you can probably double that amount. At 600, that is more than NMSF recipients. A 1580 superscore is equal at least to a getting a 224 selection index.

So it looks like all these 1580 scorers are on this forum!

1400 doesn't hang out constantly talking about scores.

[Anonymous]

Twice
August of Junior year-1410
May of Junior Year-1510
only did self study

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If everybody is getting a 1580, does that mean nobody is getting a 1400?

Virginia's population is about 3% of the United States population. There are fewer than 500 NMSF in Virginia. If there are approximately 10,000 1580 SAT scorers in the country, Virginia would have about 300. Because it is a relatively high achieving state, you can probably double that amount. At 600, that is more than NMSF recipients. A 1580 superscore is equal at least to a getting a 224 selection index.

So it looks like all these 1580 scorers are on this forum!

My current applicant got a 1410.

There are so many high scorers (or parents) on DCUM because
- this board draws from Virginia, Md and DC, not to mention other geographic areas.
- self-selecting. Kids who have high scores often have involved parents who would spend time on a message board about college.
- I think this board talks loosely about ACT v SAT and post equivalent scores from the other test.
- you are not considering superscoring. No one knows quite what it means bc the data isn’t published but my hunch is superscoring raises scores exponentially. My oldest kid was the only one of his high-achieving friend group who submitted a single sitting. Every other one took multiple tests. While I don’t know the exact scores, only one out of 12 had below a 1500 or the equivalent ACT. Three had perfect scores superscores but they didn’t include that caveat when discussing applications. (The boys talked freely about such things.)

[Anonymous]

Once the summer after sophomore year. 1510.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If everybody is getting a 1580, does that mean nobody is getting a 1400?

Virginia's population is about 3% of the United States population. There are fewer than 500 NMSF in Virginia. If there are approximately 10,000 1580 SAT scorers in the country, Virginia would have about 300. Because it is a relatively high achieving state, you can probably double that amount. At 600, that is more than NMSF recipients. A 1580 superscore is equal at least to a getting a 224 selection index.

So it looks like all these 1580 scorers are on this forum!

My own anecdata and POV.
I am Asian-American 1st Gen legal immigrant STEM professional who lives in DMV. My own American-born kid and kids of our friends from our country of origin have gone to public schools here. Since most of us did not grow up in USA, we have always been vigilant about trying to figure out how the educational system works here. As a result - we have followed closely the playbook and pathways to success of students who have been high achieving.

We have diligently followed the advice from multiple sources - websites, schools, seminar, online sources like DCUM, counselors, other successful students etc, doing a deep dive in all the forums to get free info nuggets so that we can piece together a strategy for our children.

I am not surprised that many posters report high SAT scores on DCUM. A big chunk of these posters have understood and adopted the academic goals that high achieving students have. In my circle - all the friends that my ds hung out with at school scored above 1540.

[Anonymous]

With DC, there is no way they would have been willing to take the SAT more than two times.

From a mental health perspective, my kid needed to move on to other things without the SAT hanging over their head.

The kids who take the SAT 4, 5, or even 6 (!) times must be incredibly driven! And focused on Ivy acceptance?

[Anonymous]

Once. No tutors or classes. It shows where he is regarding knowledge. That’s supposed to be the point anyway.