your kid's score may go down so there's that too.

Once you're above 1550, admissions will rest on other things- letters of recommendation, rigor of courseload compared with others in the school, and the AOs' gut feeling about the student based on their application as a whole.

Anonymous wrote:For another point of view, my kid had a 1560 and retook it and it went down on the next try. Decided to stop while we were ahead. Kid got into 1 Ivy and 2 other T10 schools even though we're Asian American and kid applied for a popular STEM major. Close friend in the same cycle had a 1580 and was rejected from all T20 schools. I think there is a threshold that matters, but I think it's more in the range of 1520-1530 (~99 percentile) but at 1560, that's above what's necessary (but of course not sufficient) to get into Top 10 schools.

It's holistic, every point matters but its not the only thing that matters.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would retake for MIT and Caltech, and have my kid spend their energy elsewhere for other t10.

lol no

Why not? If math section is 760 and verbal is 800, I would.

Because you are under the false impression that most getting into MIT, for example, have over a 1560 SAT. 1560 is just fine spend the time, focus and energy working on other elements of application and activities etc.

The median math score for MIT is 1550, so technically you're not wrong. But the median score for math is 800. 25th percentile is 780. So at least 75% of those getting into MIT do have over a 760 in math.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would retake for MIT and Caltech, and have my kid spend their energy elsewhere for other t10.

lol no

Why not? If math section is 760 and verbal is 800, I would.

Because you are under the false impression that most getting into MIT, for example, have over a 1560 SAT. 1560 is just fine spend the time, focus and energy working on other elements of application and activities etc.

PP. Depends. If 760 math is the best after 3-4 attempts, and the kid wants math-heavy STEM majors (not bio/chem, but CS/EE/math/physics), MIT/Caltech is likely not a good fit. The kid might find themself consistently near the bottom of the class later, which can be frustrating. The kid might not have enough math talent to thrive in math-heavy STEM subjects at these two institutions. If 760 math is from the first attempt with little to no prep, it might just be carelessness and the kid could approach 800 in the second attempt with prep so why not? Doing well in SAT math is not only about getting into, but also about discovering fit or lack thereof, at these two places.

I won't claim to be an expert but I follow a lot of college counselors on SM and they would all say stop. Focus on other things now.

Anonymous wrote:OP just worry too much, keep in mind, for test option colleges, 1570 of top 75% are just those submitted.
1560 is very competitive score, and more than enough for T10. I know plenty of kids(lot of Asian without hook) into T10 with 1550-, while 1600 only get you to UVA.

Even for MIT or CalTech, 1560 is enough, it's your whole package matters.

1560+ is enough

For another point of view, my kid had a 1560 and retook it and it went down on the next try. Decided to stop while we were ahead. Kid got into 1 Ivy and 2 other T10 schools even though we're Asian American and kid applied for a popular STEM major. Close friend in the same cycle had a 1580 and was rejected from all T20 schools. I think there is a threshold that matters, but I think it's more in the range of 1520-1530 (~99 percentile) but at 1560, that's above what's necessary (but of course not sufficient) to get into Top 10 schools.