Anonymous
Post 08/13/2012 21:59     Subject: 1520 sat score and 4.2 gpa
Anonymous wrote:

That is all relative. 600 is low if you are looking at selective colleges. My DC scored in the low 600s and the counselor recommended against sending scores to the score optional schools to which DC applied. Luckily the ACTs went better.


The scores are not relative at all. Some scores are above average and others are below average. See what the College Board says the numbers mean:

http://media.collegeboard.com/digitalServices/pdf/SAT-Percentile_Ranks_2011.pdf

What colleges a student decides to apply to after getting the scores is a completely different question.



Anonymous
Post 08/13/2012 10:27     Subject: 1520 sat score and 4.2 gpa
Anonymous wrote:A 500 on each test is "average.". 600 is high. 400 is low.

That is all relative. 600 is low if you are looking at selective colleges. My DC scored in the low 600s and the counselor recommended against sending scores to the score optional schools to which DC applied. Luckily the ACTs went better.

Agree. With 600s and 3.5GPA, DS got into big OOS U (and GMU was the best VA college he was accepted to).
Anonymous
Post 08/12/2012 18:49     Subject: Re:1520 sat score and 4.2 gpa
Anonymous wrote:Bates in Maine -- fantastic school, and test optional.


zero name recognition thus zero cachet. give it a pass, op.
Anonymous
Post 08/12/2012 18:32     Subject: 1520 sat score and 4.2 gpa
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:If a student had high scores the first time, they have a better chance of doing worse the second time. OPs scores were low for OPs GPA the first time so it's reasonable to expect improvement. Most students scores go up the second time, at least according to what our high school told us on college prep night. This can be especially true in math. Our DS said what they were covering inTrig really helped him with the math. His math score went up 100 points the second time. Also, test prep matters less the second time because students are familiar with the test from having taken it once. A good night's sleep really matters too. Students don't take that part seriously enough!


What do you mean by "high scores" the first time? High in general, or high for this particular student. The latter would seem to be some invisible benchmark that would make it hard to plan around.


A 500 on each test is "average.". 600 is high. 400 is low.


That is all relative. 600 is low if you are looking at selective colleges. My DC scored in the low 600s and the counselor recommended against sending scores to the score optional schools to which DC applied. Luckily the ACTs went better.
Anonymous
Post 08/12/2012 16:21     Subject: Re:1520 sat score and 4.2 gpa
Anonymous wrote:100 years ago I got a 660 in Math and a 460 in Verbal.

It was so odd. Ends up - I found out I was dyslexic. But I did not find this out until my son was diagnosed.

I was 40 when I found out.

Op, any chance ?


This was my first thought - dyslexia, dysgraphic, or another learning disability. This is why I HATE these tests and feel more schools should be test-optional. For those with learning disabilities, getting accommodations is a tedious process and not many get the accommodations they should.

Anonymous
Post 08/11/2012 22:41     Subject: 1520 sat score and 4.2 gpa
I think OP first lang isn't English.
That would explain the scores...

I tutored Korean kids all of the time in similiar situations. They all got into college, but maybe not their first choices.

Taking the test a few times is a must. Good luck!
Anonymous
Post 08/11/2012 19:58     Subject: 1520 sat score and 4.2 gpa
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:If a student had high scores the first time, they have a better chance of doing worse the second time. OPs scores were low for OPs GPA the first time so it's reasonable to expect improvement. Most students scores go up the second time, at least according to what our high school told us on college prep night. This can be especially true in math. Our DS said what they were covering inTrig really helped him with the math. His math score went up 100 points the second time. Also, test prep matters less the second time because students are familiar with the test from having taken it once. A good night's sleep really matters too. Students don't take that part seriously enough!


What do you mean by "high scores" the first time? High in general, or high for this particular student. The latter would seem to be some invisible benchmark that would make it hard to plan around.


A 500 on each test is "average.". 600 is high. 400 is low.
Anonymous
Post 08/05/2012 19:27     Subject: 1520 sat score and 4.2 gpa
Anonymous wrote:DS had SAT scores almost identical to yours when he took them as a junior. He retook the test in the fall and he gained almost 200 points with no studying or test prep at all. Most kids see a decent increase on the retake. Personally, I wouldn't waste time with test prep at this point. Get involved, enjoy your senior year, you will get into a decent college! Most colleges weight grades much more than SATs anyway.


I agree with this PP. My BIL worked for an Ive League school in admissions and you might be shocked at the criteria listed for those accepted. It's not always strictly test scores.
Anonymous
Post 08/05/2012 19:25     Subject: 1520 sat score and 4.2 gpa
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I got great grades, went to a good private, and I had terrible SAT scores. I didn't know how to take standardized tests. I don't have a learning disability. Sometimes it's not about that.


Hey OP - My math + verbal SAT was 1030 on the old 400-1600 scale (this is going back 25 years ago), and I wound up going to one of my home state's smaller public universities. I worked really hard, had a 3.6 at the end of my 2nd year, and was accepted as a transfer into a top 25 university. I know it's tough to deal with now but just so you know a less than stellar SAT doesn't necessarily mean an academic death sentence.


me too!! My SAT was a little lower than that and I ruled on the ACT Got into my college of choice after two year at another university.
Anonymous
Post 08/05/2012 19:22     Subject: 1520 sat score and 4.2 gpa
Anonymous wrote:OP, is that a weighted or unweighted GPA? Colleges look at the unweighted GPA, and some of them actually re-weight your unweighted grades to meet criteria of their own.

Have you tried the ACT? Some kids do a lot better on the ACT than on the SAT.


+1000 I did significantly better on the ACT.

Anonymous
Post 08/05/2012 19:11     Subject: 1520 sat score and 4.2 gpa
Anonymous wrote:If a student had high scores the first time, they have a better chance of doing worse the second time. OPs scores were low for OPs GPA the first time so it's reasonable to expect improvement. Most students scores go up the second time, at least according to what our high school told us on college prep night. This can be especially true in math. Our DS said what they were covering inTrig really helped him with the math. His math score went up 100 points the second time. Also, test prep matters less the second time because students are familiar with the test from having taken it once. A good night's sleep really matters too. Students don't take that part seriously enough!


What do you mean by "high scores" the first time? High in general, or high for this particular student. The latter would seem to be some invisible benchmark that would make it hard to plan around.
Anonymous
Post 08/02/2012 17:47     Subject: 1520 sat score and 4.2 gpa
If a student had high scores the first time, they have a better chance of doing worse the second time. OPs scores were low for OPs GPA the first time so it's reasonable to expect improvement. Most students scores go up the second time, at least according to what our high school told us on college prep night. This can be especially true in math. Our DS said what they were covering inTrig really helped him with the math. His math score went up 100 points the second time. Also, test prep matters less the second time because students are familiar with the test from having taken it once. A good night's sleep really matters too. Students don't take that part seriously enough!
Anonymous
Post 08/01/2012 22:00     Subject: 1520 sat score and 4.2 gpa
Anonymous wrote:DS had SAT scores almost identical to yours when he took them as a junior. He retook the test in the fall and he gained almost 200 points with no studying or test prep at all. Most kids see a decent increase on the retake. Personally, I wouldn't waste time with test prep at this point. Get involved, enjoy your senior year, you will get into a decent college! Most colleges weight grades much more than SATs anyway.


DD dropped 200 points on the retake. She had a performance until 11:00 the night before, but still. I'd suggest a little prep.
Anonymous
Post 07/29/2012 21:32     Subject: 1520 sat score and 4.2 gpa
DS had SAT scores almost identical to yours when he took them as a junior. He retook the test in the fall and he gained almost 200 points with no studying or test prep at all. Most kids see a decent increase on the retake. Personally, I wouldn't waste time with test prep at this point. Get involved, enjoy your senior year, you will get into a decent college! Most colleges weight grades much more than SATs anyway.
Anonymous
Post 07/29/2012 10:52     Subject: 1520 sat score and 4.2 gpa
Anonymous wrote:I got great grades, went to a good private, and I had terrible SAT scores. I didn't know how to take standardized tests. I don't have a learning disability. Sometimes it's not about that.


Are you, OP? So you don't know how to take standardized tests, take a course, get tutored, pick up some books. There are what two more opportunities to take the SAT this year? You might be able to pull your score up to an 1800-1900 in a short amount of time if you do the work.