Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Senior disappointed as they consistently score about 50 points lower in the room than at home. This was third time and they seem to have maxed out at a 1450 - obviously not terrible but they've studied hard.

This is my DS exactly. Hard to see him so disappointed because he’s such a great kid. He’s feeling some schools are out since he can’t crack 1500.

Yeah it's tough (my kid is the 1450 scorer) - she studied so hard all summer trying to reach that 1500. She is looking at top LACs so she has the option to go TO. 1450 puts her in range to submit but it's a tough call. There's no explanation for why the score drops in the room other than general test anxiety. She'll try one more time in October.

what are those schools that are out with a sub-1500? Our school's naviance shows kids getting into great, great schools with high GPAs and high 1400 SATs...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm very stressed about this. I have always tested well, and found standardized tests like the SAT and LSAT to be fairly easy to do well on. My child is the exact opposite. I know I need to try to let this go, it is no different than the fact that my child is naturally athletic and I am not. However, I find it hard to accept that no matter what my child does, the SAT score will probably not be what either of us is hoping for.

This is me, too. Spending time in this forum has actually helped me feel very calm about it now that my kid is a senior. I don’t really want her going to college with the stressed out, achievement obsessed kids of these neurotic posters.

Another one like this, I was very type A. DS got a 1300 (11th grade). Grades a mix of A, A-, and a couple Bs with high rigor. The SAT honestly has made me feel good. We don’t need to stress about every little bit now.

Looking at T30-T100 schools, they aren’t expecting 1500, 4.7, started a non-profit. When I look at naviance, they are fairly straightforward about admissions based on test scores and gpa (and assuming regular ECs) which should be ok for DS at these schools. Lots of good schools at this level. I feel like the next two years will be more calm than if he knocked it out with a 1500+; then there would be the temptation to get all the other pieces for a very top school, when that admission is not guaranteed either.

Well said.

Anonymous wrote:My daughter is stuck in the 1400s (superscore 1490). Recruited athlete but will take as many times as needed to get above 1500 -- this was attempt #3.

Why does she need over 1500 (just curious)? When my daughter had her pre-read and got the $$ offer (athletic + merit), there was no point in taking it again. Did the coach (or admissions) say she can increase merit with 1500+?

Anonymous wrote:My senior improved from a 1540 super score to a 1570 at this seating. One of the controversial 4th time taking.

Congrats! Sometimes the 4th time works. A lot of score increases are just luck as the test content can vary and sometimes it just hits all your strengths.

My daughter is stuck in the 1400s (superscore 1490). Recruited athlete but will take as many times as needed to get above 1500 -- this was attempt #3.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yall this is making me cringe. My kids are so average - maybe nationally above average but below average for this site, lol. My sophomore got like a 1060 on the PSAT last year and I still expect them to go to a great college and have a wonderful life. My husband and I went to “fine” colleges yet we are securely UC so your kids will be completely fine I promise!

Same here. Lucky for them they have not so average grandparents. One of their grandpas died and left them 7 figure trusts. My husband and I along with the grandparents have always accepted them for who they are. Average goofballs.

Seven figures aren't going to last long if not used wisely. For average kids, yeah should not focus on sat scores. Just a good education to make sure generational wealth passes down.

1480, same as before. Dd took it at Yorktown HS in an auditorium seat, not a desk, and her laptop didn't fit on the pull up surface and had to do math calculations on paper on her knee. It slowed her down, so she wants to take it again at a different school.

On the topic of multiple takes: none of my older kids took the SAT more than twice. And in the big picture, scores tend to increase with academic skills over time. I have not been a believer in multiple retakes as a cause of score increase, but prep and time instead.

That said, the scoring and difficulty of the digital test have been inconsistent. One of my older kids got lucky, I guess, a year ago getting a high score on the Aug test, but then their Oct PSAT score dropped by around 140 points compared to the SAT, which is way outside where it should have been if College Board's standardization procedures were appropriate.

The fact that the practice tests are not at the same level of difficulty as some of the recent actual test administrations, together with the general dearth of official practice material, has me now thinking that repeat official test sittings is a potential path forward, at a minimum as a form of "practice" that is at the appropriate level of difficulty.

Repeat official testing is probably not a solid answer for my youngest, a junior, who was disappointed with their scores this morning vs official practice test scores, but would stress about it. There's a school day test in the spring but is not an ideal time due to a very busy activity schedule around that time. I know it will all be ok, though my guess is my junior will be retaking fall of senior year.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:up 40 in english after getting same score on all three previous SATs so that is awesome-not at 730, but math down to 720(highest 740), superscore is 1470 , senior female, taking again, has 5/5 in ap calc c, wants engineering

she's going to take the SAT five times?

no the first 690 was psat, so sept will be fourth time.
all of her school friends are taking it 7-8 times, lets not pretend you don't know this

DP.

Is this really common? Most I’ve heard of is 3x.

Seriously effed up if true

NP with a kid who took the SAT four times (older sibling took it twice). In both cases, DCs made the decision about the number of times they took the SAT. Kid is a senior who is quite close to a score that would strengthen their application to TO schools on their list. DC made the decision to approach SAT prep differently over the summer. I hope it works out, but they are 100% done and we are proud of the way they approached it.

DC is not the only kid we know who took it four times. I've never heard of a kid taking the SAT 7-8 times.

I know some kids who have taken it about 6-7 times. In most cases, their parents had them take it once in 9th, once in 10th, a few times in 11th, and then a couple of times in 12th. So, that's 7 times, but the earlier times were for practice.

1600 in second test. Junior. Above 1550 in May - so wasn't sure if retake was worth it. Bluebook tests as practice in the spring, this time around just one practice test retaken and then a good night's sleep.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:up 40 in english after getting same score on all three previous SATs so that is awesome-not at 730, but math down to 720(highest 740), superscore is 1470 , senior female, taking again, has 5/5 in ap calc c, wants engineering

she's going to take the SAT five times?

no the first 690 was psat, so sept will be fourth time.
all of her school friends are taking it 7-8 times, lets not pretend you don't know this

DP.

Is this really common? Most I’ve heard of is 3x.

Seriously effed up if true

NP with a kid who took the SAT four times (older sibling took it twice). In both cases, DCs made the decision about the number of times they took the SAT. Kid is a senior who is quite close to a score that would strengthen their application to TO schools on their list. DC made the decision to approach SAT prep differently over the summer. I hope it works out, but they are 100% done and we are proud of the way they approached it.

DC is not the only kid we know who took it four times. I've never heard of a kid taking the SAT 7-8 times.

I'll be the breath of fresh air for my kid- went from an 1120 to a 1210. Yeah. She's not a super star but I'm proud of her!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm very stressed about this. I have always tested well, and found standardized tests like the SAT and LSAT to be fairly easy to do well on. My child is the exact opposite. I know I need to try to let this go, it is no different than the fact that my child is naturally athletic and I am not. However, I find it hard to accept that no matter what my child does, the SAT score will probably not be what either of us is hoping for.

This is me, too. Spending time in this forum has actually helped me feel very calm about it now that my kid is a senior. I don’t really want her going to college with the stressed out, achievement obsessed kids of these neurotic posters.

Another one like this, I was very type A. DS got a 1300 (11th grade). Grades a mix of A, A-, and a couple Bs with high rigor. The SAT honestly has made me feel good. We don’t need to stress about every little bit now.

Looking at T30-T100 schools, they aren’t expecting 1500, 4.7, started a non-profit. When I look at naviance, they are fairly straightforward about admissions based on test scores and gpa (and assuming regular ECs) which should be ok for DS at these schools. Lots of good schools at this level. I feel like the next two years will be more calm than if he knocked it out with a 1500+; then there would be the temptation to get all the other pieces for a very top school, when that admission is not guaranteed either.

Anonymous wrote:730V/740M superscore-white female, do the AP score make it look better---5/5 calc BC, 5 comp sci A, 5 AP Spanish is this good enough for top engineering?

Top? MIT, Stanford, GA Tech...maybe not. However Cal doesn't accept scores.

Anonymous wrote:I'm very stressed about this. I have always tested well, and found standardized tests like the SAT and LSAT to be fairly easy to do well on. My child is the exact opposite. I know I need to try to let this go, it is no different than the fact that my child is naturally athletic and I am not. However, I find it hard to accept that no matter what my child does, the SAT score will probably not be what either of us is hoping for.

You’ve got this. I know now that my SAT score was a disappointment to my mom, but she was guarded about that at the time. We have a good relationship. And in her 80s she’s still better than me at crossword puzzles, sudoku, etc. She just has that kind of brain. I think people who do very well on the SAT with ease understand that that success reflects something pretty important to them about how their brain works and thus how they experience the world, but the fact is you already love a kid whose brain works differently. You can be the parent they need.