# SATs n Junk **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 29, 2002, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sats-n-junk/100697 "2002-03-29T03:53:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Qwertyasdfg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/ecc23a/32.png) [@Qwertyasdfg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qwertyasdfg)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2002, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sats-n-junk/100697/1 "2002-03-29T03:53:32Z")
Welp, today I got my SAT scores back. Math: 630 Verbal: 760 Thats a total of 1390. I’m a bit disappointed in my math score, since I had an expensive tutor, and I had gotten 690 on real practice tests. So anyway, I figured I’d start this thread for other SAT taking dopers to come brag about or lament their scores. ---
**Author:** ![Big\_Kahuna\_Burger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Big\_Kahuna\_Burger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Big_Kahuna_Burger)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2002, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sats-n-junk/100697/2 "2002-03-29T04:04:37Z")
Don’t sweat the SATs. Nobody has ever been accepted or rejected solely on their basis. They’re only useful because some scholarships require you to have a certain SAT score, financial aid offices haven’t caught up to the admissions ones apparently. Big Kahuna Burger 750M 700V ---
**Author:** ![JessEnigma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/cdc98d/32.png) [@JessEnigma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JessEnigma)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2002, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sats-n-junk/100697/3 "2002-03-29T04:38:30Z")
I want my SAT scores back. Now. I don’t care if it’s just been two weeks since I took the test. Actually, I would love to know what’s up with my National Merit scholar status. I’ve been getting a flood of college mail congratulating me on my accomplishment. Until Georgetown sent me a letter telling me I was apparently among the highest scorers on the PSAT in my region, I really couldn’t figure out what I’d done that was so special recently. And, oddly enough, while I have letters telling me I’m among the top students in the nation, I can’t manage to get in the top 20 students at my high school. jessica, feeling the need to brag about _something_ after getting her report card and transcript today ---
**Author:** ![Big\_Kahuna\_Burger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Big\_Kahuna\_Burger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Big_Kahuna_Burger)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2002, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sats-n-junk/100697/4 "2002-03-29T04:44:45Z")
Here’s the deal with PSATs In May commended scholars get to send two colleges mail saying they’re their top choices In September commended scholars are told if they’re semifinalists or not In February semifinalists are told if they’re finalists. From then until May it’s a mad dash for scholarships What’s your index score? Cutoffs range from state to state between 210 and 220. I’m not sure the exact state of Tennessee’s education system ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2002, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sats-n-junk/100697/5 "2002-03-29T04:47:11Z")
Hey, 'grats **Qwertyasdfg** , pal; ypu certainly didn’t bomb it. I don’t know what it really means, as I know there have been changes over the years, some making the news quite recently. Would anyone know how a 1970 score of 1460 compares to a 2002 score of 1460? Do they compare? Ultimately my SATs were never a factor in gaining admission to school (I went to and graduated from UT Austin). ---
**Author:** ![Magickly\_Delicious](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magickly\_Delicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magickly_Delicious)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2002, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sats-n-junk/100697/6 "2002-03-29T04:56:10Z")
Holy God! Congratulations, you did better than me. I used to think I was smart and stuff, and then found out that I apparently socialize in real life with a lot of people who quite easily did better in the SATs than me. But it’s okay, because I have common sense, and I’m nice and will share it with them sometimes. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Quonk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/ed655f/32.png) [@Quonk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quonk)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2002, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sats-n-junk/100697/7 "2002-03-29T05:24:04Z")
Just got mine… 720V, 720M, which certainly isn’t bad, but I’m still a little underwhelmed since according to the PSAT I was supposed to score between a 1510 and a 1550. Bleh. At least I didn’t pull a repeat performance of my SATIIs. Math IIC, 48th percentile; Spanish, 60th percentile. BTW, **JessEnigma** , you can get your March scores back today through the [collegeboard.com](http://collegeboard.com) website. It costs money though. ---
**Author:** ![Darwins\_Finch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darwins_finch/32/20304_2.png) [@Darwins\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darwins_Finch)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2002, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sats-n-junk/100697/8 "2002-03-29T05:25:00Z")
I never bothered with the SATs. Still got into UC Berkeley just fine. Didn’t get any scholarships, either, but still never had to pay a dime toward my edumacation. Ah, the wonders of community college and financial aid 😃 ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2002, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sats-n-junk/100697/9 "2002-03-29T05:25:44Z")
Great job, actually. I wish I had taken practice tests or taken the SAT a second time. They say your score usually increases dramatically… I got a 670 for both verbal and math the only time I took it, and I considered that to be pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![JessEnigma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/cdc98d/32.png) [@JessEnigma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JessEnigma)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2002, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sats-n-junk/100697/10 "2002-03-29T05:55:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BigKahunaBurger \* > \*\* > What’s your index score? Cutoffs range from state to state between 210 and 220. I’m not sure the exact state of Tennessee’s education system \*\* Hmm…I can’t remember, exactly. A 205, maybe? My score sheet is sitting happily in a location I have forgotten. As for the state of our education system, it’s not too great. But my school and several others around do seem to churn out the high scorers on standardized tests. Darn them all. **Quonk** , I noticed that. But my parents aren’t too overwhelmed with joy to pay more money for me to get my scores two weeks sooner. I can wait. Impatiently, but I _can_ wait. Grrr. jessica ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2002, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sats-n-junk/100697/11 "2002-03-29T06:33:05Z")
Wow, if you guys are a lamenting _those_ scores, I’ll have to rethink the small amount of pride I had in my score. That said, I passed my AP English and AP US government tests with fives. I got to skip lots of icky GEs in college thanks to that one! ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2002, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sats-n-junk/100697/12 "2002-03-29T15:05:23Z")
I remember thinking I was hot shit with my SAT scores, then getting roomed at college with two guys who had both gotten 1600’s. 790M, 760V, 1989. ---
**Author:** ![andygirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9adbd/32.png) [@andygirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andygirl)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2002, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sats-n-junk/100697/13 "2002-03-29T16:05:59Z")
1390 is good enough for essentially every college in the country, m’dear. And nobody gives a left testicle what your scores were as soon as you’re in, anyway. (At freshman orientation, I remember being told by upperclassmen that anyone who talked about their SAT score would be thrown into the river.) ---
**Author:** ![White\_Lightning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@White\_Lightning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/White_Lightning)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2002, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sats-n-junk/100697/14 "2002-03-29T18:59:31Z")
SATs are bunk. The only thing they measure is talent at taking the SAT. I was lucky to have that talent, because it saved my ass from having crappy grades. I still feel like I pulled one over on the admissions crew though, because they let me in based on things that were totally different than where I felt my real abilities were. But don’t fret if you don’t do well (and definitely don’t fret if you got a 1390, that’s more than sufficient to go anywhere you like, as **andygirl** said), most places don’t take them all that seriously, especially these days. Extracurricular stuff is way more important.