I got my SAT scores yesterday. But I don’t know if they would be considered “good” and something to brag about, or if I should get myself to a retest ASAP.
Verbal-630 Percentile-86
Math-500 Percentile-46
Well, Teeming Millions, what do you think?
You could probably bring the math up with a month or so of tutoring.
I don’t know where you are or your plans, but I have a friend whose sone is a high school senior and looking into these things right now. I just found out that the University of Texas at Austin requires a minimum score of 1200. I think their standard was 1000 when I went there in the '70s.
It depends. What do you want to do? If you’re trying to get into a top college, you’ve got problems. That’s not very good. If you want to get into an average college, you’re doing O.K. You’d have problems if you want to major in some field that requires significant mathematical skills. It looks like you’re better in verbal stuff.
What were your high school grades like? This will tell us more about whether your SAT’s are comparable to your grades.
I want to go to UC Berkely and major in Law. Of course, I will probably just end up going to the local JC for two years and than transfering. I hope that’s not how it happens, but ya never know.
I have a 3.74 GPA, and a B average in math. Next year I’m taking AP Calculas, AP English, AP American Gov/Economics, Chemisty (Honors), Spanish II, Student Government, and Acedemic Competition.
Take it as many times as you can. I only took it once, scoring a 1270, but never took it again because it was good enough to get into Clemson (the only college i applied for:D). You never know, you can suprise yourself, and being able to combine scores, you can do a lot better than you think.
I can only take it once more, MAYBE twice, because schools start accepting apps in November and I don’t think there are two tests before November
Get some study guides and/or some friends/tutors and take the test again. If you want to go to a prestigious school and study in a competetive field, then you want to be well above the median entrance score. 1130, especially since the scores were realligned, is nothing to be ashamed of but also nothing to open doors to high places or bring merit-based financial aid.
Raising your scores significantly is certainly possible. I took the SAT in high school and scored well, but when I was required to take it again to compete for an appointment to West Point I managed to raise my score by 120 points (all verbal, I was a serious math snob until an excellent english instructor opened my eyes).
Good luck to you.
Well, personally I’ve always held the opinion that what the SATs measure is how nervous you were when you took the test. I would suggest taking it again though, if you get a lower score, no one need know. If you get a higher one, well, it can’t hurt.
For the record, while a good SAT score will impress colleges, a less than great one won’t necessarily turn them off- the essays and the High School transcripts are the most important things.
SATs and GPA are the 2 most important things. Many big schools dont even ask for an essay.
FWIW - I took my SAT’s the day after my 18th birthday. The party from the night before was still raging and I would have been considered legally drunk that morning in any jurisdiction. (The drinking age then was 18. It changed to 21 just 2 days later. Thank God for the “Grandfather Clause”) The scores: 670 math 510 verbal. I am quite sure that sober they would never be that high.
I took AP Chem, AP History, AP physics, AP Biology, Trig, and Constitutional History my senior year. I graduated 17 out of 850 with a 3.17 gpa. I went to college in Pa (Now a branch of Penn St.) and did quite well the first year.
Then I discovered girls.
Married at 20.
Tilt.
Game Over.
Seven years driving a truck. Nine years of retail hell.
No time to study for a new career. Finally went back to school at 34. Studied computers. For the first time in 20 years, life is good.
If I could do it over, Same wife (Married 17 years) but not as soon. Same career in computers but sooner. And I never should have quit school.
Yes, I have a point. SAT scores are as useless as a wooden nickel when it comes to real life. Drive, focus, common sense, all more important. Unfortunately, the SAT’s are an indicator used for admissions. Take them again. There are tutors, classes, web sites, books etc… to help raise the scores. Get into the school you want. Be the best you can be. Don’t do it because I say so (Or your parents) Do it because you want to.
(Note: If you don’t want to, ignore the last sentence)
(Note 2 The Sequel: I recently read that some schools were testing prospective students on how fast they could build with Lego. Study Lego or the SAT? Choose wisely.)
Thank you everybody for your advise.
This is the scariest thing of my young life. I feel very unprepared to choose a college and then gain admission. I’ve been working my ass off for the past 3 years, and I’m terrified that all that hard work will come to naught next January when all the colleges I apply to turn me down. I know I know, excellent attitude to have. But I am a pessimist.
If anybody else has excellent advise like the advise I’ve already received on this thread, PLEASE post it. Like I said before, I’m scared.
Pepper, after absorbing additional info you’ve provided:
Good luck!
Well, I’ve already posted but if you can stand to hear from me again:
Try to relax. Hard work and attitude will be two of the most important tools you can bring to the table once you start college. That you have already mastered those two speaks well of your future prospects. Include good study habits (inefficient hard work often just leads to fristration) and thirst for/openness to new ideas and I have no doubt that you will succeed.
The SATs, as I said above, are just a means to open doors and secure financial aid. Taking SAT tests is also quite demonstrably a learnable skill. There are excellent preparation guides out there. Bone up on general algebra, geometry, and simple trig. Colleges take the highest part scores from people who take the test more than once, so focus on math even if it means your english score drops a few points. (Ideally, the test taking strategies should allow you to raise both scores without any increase in your knowledge of the subject areas.) Remember how the test is scored: guessing blindly will hurt your score over the long run; guessing when you can eliminate one or more answers will help you. Most importantly – realize the SAT is simply an introduction to a college entrance board. Use it to your advantage, then forget about it and move on. There are few things more tiresome than a 30 year old who still drops his SAT scores into conversation (yes, I have known some!).
The SAT means absolutely nothing. Cases in point:
Student 1 gets a 1350. S1 has a 3.0 GPA and b/w 1/2 and 1/3 of all courses taken are either honors or AP. S1 has decent recommendations. S1 gets into George Mason.
Student 2 gets a 980. S2 has a 4.0 GPA and I think challenges self, but I’m not sure. S2 gets into Virginia Tech.
Student 1 is me. Student 2 is my friend Emily. Emily’s gpa at tech is something like 3.5. Mine is NOT. Mine is lower, to say the least.
Sadly, a lot of people place entirely too much stock on how well you do on one test three hours of your entire life. Figure out what you want to do and how you can do it. Maybe that means taking a few classes a semester and working. Maybe it means 18 credits and no life. The sooner you figure it out, the more fun you’ll be able to have, and hence the happier you’ll be 
If the math part bothers you, get someone who can think the way they want you to think and ask them for tips. I got a 720 on that section, IIRC. I just have a knack for languages, and math is one of them. I also just plain enjoy the stuff.
I took it in May without much preparation and managed a 740V(98th)/640M(84th). I wasn’t taking a math class at the time, and think I could do at least 100 points better. I’ll get professional test prep and try again in October.
Of course, there’s a major downside. My GPA is hovering around a 3.3, which won’t serve me too well in the UC system. I was very lazy though, and probably deserve worse. Seeing as my Junior year is finished, there isn’t much I can do now.
I’m looking at UC-San Diego, UC-Santa Barabara, and Occidental as my three most probable schools right now. I’d like to major in Pre-Law, and play soccer.
pepperlandgirl,
There’s one thing I’m confused about. You say that you’re going to major in Law. Unless Berkeley has a major that I’ve never heard of before, you mean that you’re going to major in something else in college and then apply to law school. There’s lots of possibilities here. Political science is probably the most common major, but there are various other majors that will be acceptable.
Clearly, given your high school grades and courses, you’re smart enough to make it to law school. Nevertheless, it’s going to help to get better SAT scores. Get the Princeton Review books to study for the SAT tests.
There’s no doubt that you can get into a college. The only question is if you can get into as good a college as you want. Even if you don’t get into Berkeley, you should realize that if you study hard at the college you get into you should be able to get good enough grades to be accepted at a reasonably good law school.
Sorry, WW, you said what I mean. I mean to say I want to go to UC Berkely and THEN go to law school. I was either going to major in Political Science, or Pre-Law (Assuming they have pre-law. I think they do.)
pepperlandgirl,
Do they actually have a major called Pre-Law? I’ve never heard of a college having such a major. When college students say that they are pre-law, what they really mean (in my experience) is that they are planning to go to law school after college. I think you better check Berkeley’s course catalog and get this resolved quickly.
I don’t know about Berkely, but SOME other schools I have been looking at have majors with the “pre” prefix. Pre-med, Pre-dental, and Pre-Law, to name a few
I should look up the course catalog. I think I’ll go do that now
Ok, Berkeley doesn’t offer pre-med or pre-law.
And I definately need to get my SAT math scores up in order to be considered.