Serious question - should junior retake 1540 SAT

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I worked in college admissions.

CS and Econ are crazily cutthroat and nearly impossible to get admitted for nowadays. Furthermore, a 760 Math will put him at disadvantage if he's applying for CS now at competitive colleges.

My recommendation would be to pivot to niche humanities subjects like Art History, Ethnic Studies, Linguistics, History, etc. Most schools are looking to beef up their humanities classrooms, because they are struggling to get students to enroll in them.

Once he's admitted, then he can swap subjects to whichever he wants.

If the OP’s son really wants to play this game and wants to take the test again, this approach may make sense for that particular kid.

For most students, and even for great students, the best strategy is probably to back away from schools that think a 760 math score is a low score.

If the students who go to that school are either that brilliant or that competitive, studying economics or CS probably won’t be much fun. The odds of being weeded out could be high, even for a smart, hard-working, organized kid.

If the kid is that competitive and wants that challenge, fine, but parents shouldn’t be pushing their kids into that kind of meat chopper.

This is especially true for parents who’ve never taken a STEM class for majors at an R1 university. They likely have no idea what taking a class like that is like and, when they post here, tend to indicate that they have unreasonable expectations about grades.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think everyone should take it appx 3x

One and done. That's how we roll.

Same. 35 one time. Spring.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Get a grip.

And save up to pay for your kid’s therapy.

The poor kid.

what a jealous and malicious biatch!
have you thought about the possibility that only your own dumb kids would need a therapy to get to that kind of score (they probably never will)?

Wow, your anger and ignorance blinded you to the point of this post.

If you keep pushing your kid despite such a strong score (acting like they are not good enough), they will need therapy.

What the heck are you talking about? I'm not the OP and never pushed my kids. They aced SAT with minimum effort/prep with one sitting. But that is not to say a near perfect SAT isn't important for certain schools. People on this board act like they're an expert in top college admissions while they actually know nothing about it. It's even more disgusting when they impose their own and narrow world views onto others: just because their own kids would stress their lives out for getting a higher score, doesn't mean other kids won't be able to achieve that with less effort. Kids have vastly different learning aptitudes. It's a fact no matter how you spin it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We were told not to retake as long as you were above 700 in each. Anything else honestly doesn't matter and won't be the reason you don't get in.

This is not entirely accurate advice. Some majors demand a very high math score in order to receive serious consideration for direct admission to that major--such as CS.

Well, our experience disproves that, so the advice was sound.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We were told not to retake as long as you were above 700 in each. Anything else honestly doesn't matter and won't be the reason you don't get in.

This is not entirely accurate advice. Some majors demand a very high math score in order to receive serious consideration for direct admission to that major--such as CS.

Well, our experience disproves that, so the advice was sound.

DP
What is your experience? What school? What's your demographics? It all matters.
Obviously, if you're talking about GMU CS, 1540 is enough. For MIT, you'll be at significant disadvantage unless you're URM.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think everyone should take it appx 3x

One and done. That's how we roll.

Same. 35 one time. Spring.

Low SAT score.

[Anonymous]

Some kids are just good at standardized tests, and they push themselves to do better.

My sophomore also got 1540 on the Oct SAT and SHE WANTS to take it again because she thinks she can do better.

She also took the SAT (completely self prepped) in 7th grade and got 1410 (for a summer camp application).

yes, this is a partial humble brag to those who like to put down other parents/kids who are naturally good at certain things, and like to challenge themselves. Some of us don't push our kids (and don't need to).