Should I retake a 1250 SAT?
Should I Retake the SAT with a 1250 Score? There's not any pressing reason to retake the SAT. You can retake it if you're looking to become a more competitive candidate or are hoping to earn more merit aid.
Many other colleges, such as Indiana University—Bloomington, have an average SAT score over 1200 for incoming freshmen. Ivy Leagues and other top universities, like the University of Chicago and Johns Hopkins University in Maryland, prefer even higher scores – generally over 1500 – their school websites indicate.
Never Retake a 1530+
A student's percentile represents the percentage of students whose score is equal to or lower than his or her score. So if you scored a 1520, 99% of the students scored the same or lower. Therefore, the top 1% scored at least a 1530.
Should I Retake the SAT with a 1200 Score? A 1200 is a great score and makes you a competitive applicant at a number of institutions. However, if you want to increase your score, either to become eligible or competitive at more selective institutions or for more merit aid, junior year is a great time for that.
Taking the SAT multiple times is not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, many students take the exam two or three times to improve their scores. Most colleges will consider your highest scores and some even use 'superscoring,' which means they'll take the best scores from each section across all your test attempts.
The minimum SAT score to get into an Ivy League school ranges from 690 to 730 for the reading section and from 700 to 730 for the math section. Getting 700 or 710 (or higher) on both of these sections will give you an advantage at most Ivy League universities.
Average SAT Score
As you can see, a score of 1550 or above will put you in a good position for admittance into an Ivy League school, and you want to avoid scoring below 1480 so that you can have a score that is above average.
Retaking an exam will certainly not hinder your college chances. With adequate preparation, your score will typically increase — and that will make you even more competitive in the admissions process. And with superscoring, colleges probably won't even consider your lower scores.
No, there is nothing that will show a college exactly how many times you took the SAT. However, some colleges may require you to send all your test scores from each test date. Each school has its own policy on what SAT scores are required.
Taking the SAT Twice Is Recommended
College Board recommends taking the SAT at least twice: once in spring of your junior year and again in fall of your senior year. Most students who retake the SAT improve their score.
Does Harvard accept 1200 SAT?
There's no absolute SAT requirement at Harvard, but they really want to see at least a 1460 to have a chance at being considered.
UCLA SAT Score Analysis
There's no absolute SAT requirement at UCLA, but they really want to see at least a 1290 to have a chance at being considered.
The 25th percentile New SAT score is 1500, and the 75th percentile SAT score is 1560. In other words, a 1500 places you below average, while a 1560 will move you up to above average. There's no absolute SAT requirement at Princeton, but they really want to see at least a 1500 to have a chance at being considered.
Unless you are interested in one of a select group of colleges, the majority of colleges evaluate your highest SAT/ACT score for admissions purposes, meaning retaking the test once or twice can generally only help, not hurt, you.
Colleges can only see the SAT scores you choose to send them. This means that they will have no idea if you have retaken the test and how many times you took the SAT. However, you can choose to provide this information if you feel like it might actually augment your application.
First, let clear up the confusion about taking the SAT multiple times because a lot of student take it twice or three times to improve their scores. Some schools will want all the scores; some just the one.
Just one bad grade in an advanced level course is not going to ruin your chances at an Ivy League. However, consistently underperforming in advanced classes in your area-of-interest classes will penalize you in the applications process.
It definitely puts you in a strong position, but there is no guarantee it will be enough for Ivy League admissions. It's essential to keep in mind that Ivy League colleges have a holistic admissions process, which means they evaluate multiple aspects of your application beyond just test scores.
You're eligible for admission to even the most competitive colleges and universities with a 1450 SAT score, including the Ivy League! Among the long list of great colleges, you can include University of Southern California, Georgia Institute of Technology, and Georgetown University in your target institutions list.
The only reason to consider retaking the SAT after earning a 1300 score is if you have your sights set on a very selective or elite school, such as those in the Ivy League. The 25th percentile for these institutions hovers around 1390, which means you may fall short as a competitive candidate.
Is a 1290 a good SAT score?
While a 1290 is a good SAT score in the context of the 2.2 million test-takers (87% percentile score), whether it's good enough for you to submit is a different question entirely.
Standardized testing is a necessary evil of the college admissions process – especially when applying to an Ivy League school. It's important to score a 1550+ on the SAT and/or 34+ on the ACT to be competitive for the Ivy League.
You can find official SAT practice tests and their scoring tables at the College Board. As you can see with the above SAT scoring chart, it's possible to get some questions wrong and still earn the max SAT score. Generally speaking, you can miss 1-2 questions on each section and still get a perfect 1600.
Should I Retake the SAT With a 1500 Score? There are very few reasons to retake the SAT except to become an even more competitive candidate at elite institutions. For instance, the SAT score of the most commonly accepted student hovers around 1540, which you're shy of.
A “good” score could be 1300 to 1390 while a score of 1390+ would make an applicant more competitive. Remember, SAT scores are only part of a student's college application. GPAs, extra curriculars, and essays are also factored into the strength of a student's application.
