SAT advice and discusion thread

fanwuq

fanwuq

Legend
Joined
Dec 5, 2007
Messages
2,831
WCA ID
2008FANW01
YouTube
Visit Channel
Finally got back my SAT score from the March 2009 test.
Reading 730
Average
Math 790
Bad, probably one silly mistake
Writing 710
Good.

Not great, but not bad. I guess this is it? Or should I take it again in June?
Anyone else took the SAT this year?
 
fanwuq said:
Finally got back my SAT score from the March 2009 test.
Reading 730
Average
Math 790
Bad, probably one silly mistake
Writing 710
Good.

Not great, but not bad. I guess this is it? Or should I take it again in June?
Anyone else took the SAT this year?
Click to expand...

Not great? If the SAT is out of 800 for each section, the SATs scores are going to be pretty strong. It won't matter that you missed the perfect score by 170 points. Your SAT score is already in the upper tier, and colleges will be looking at things like your transcripts and essays. So I'd focus on that... well, just presenting yourself in the application. As it's probably too late for you to add any extra-curricular activities to your routine that will change your overall picture...

Talk to a college counselor, but I think they'll pretty much be telling you the same thing. Your SAT is in the upper tier, you need to worry about presenting yourself in the applications. As you can't really change who you are at this point, the only thing is presentation.
 
oh this one girl at my school would've gotten perfect but she forgot to bubble in 10 questions. lol
 
hey you did really well!
i presented it last year (december) and I got
Critical Reading 650
Math 770
Writing 580
haha but in the subject tests (january) I got :
Mathematics Level 2 790
Physics 710
 
If you plan to apply to a highly prestigious school you don't want a perfect anyway. A lot of schools are less likely to accept perfect scores because they don't want to give the impression that they only accept people based on test scores. And even if you are applying to a state school on scholarship, 95th percentile is almost always enough to get you the largest scholarship they offer.

But yeah like Tyson said focus on your extra-curriculars, recommendations, and ESSAYS. I can't really stress the importance of making your essays as good as possible, they are really the only thing that is going to set you apart from all the other people with perfect transcripts. Also, difficulty of your courseload is given greater weight than your GPA. Someone with a 3.7 GPA and a difficult schedule has a clear advantage over someone with a 4.0 and an easier schedule.
 
Tyson said:
fanwuq said:
Finally got back my SAT score from the March 2009 test.
Reading 730
Average
Math 790
Bad, probably one silly mistake
Writing 710
Good.

Not great, but not bad. I guess this is it? Or should I take it again in June?
Anyone else took the SAT this year?
Click to expand...

Not great? If the SAT is out of 800 for each section, the SATs scores are going to be pretty strong. It won't matter that you missed the perfect score by 170 points. Your SAT score is already in the upper tier, and colleges will be looking at things like your transcripts and essays. So I'd focus on that... well, just presenting yourself in the application. As it's probably too late for you to add any extra-curricular activities to your routine that will change your overall picture...

Talk to a college counselor, but I think they'll pretty much be telling you the same thing. Your SAT is in the upper tier, you need to worry about presenting yourself in the applications. As you can't really change who you are at this point, the only thing is presentation.
Click to expand...

Thanks! What are some good ways to present myself? How should I describe cubing as an extra-curricular activity? I've got some other extra-curricular activities, so I don't think I need anymore of that. I guess probably what I should worry about now are the AP tests and application essays.

Jcuber,
You get these kind of scores in 7th grade? That's pretty crazy. I think I tried a practice test once during middle school and got around 750- 800 for math, but only 500-600 for reading. There was no writing back then.

David,
My GPA is around 3.95 right now, mainly because I'm not doing so well in APUSH and English this year. If I don't mess up anymore, then I guess this should be fine. Took 2 AP classes last year, and 4 this year, and probably I will take 6 next year. Now, the Essay really scares me. I'm not so good at writing essays, and that is reflected in my SAT writing scores and my English class grades.
 
Last edited:
I don't know you well enough to really answer this question. You probably need to talk with a college counselor who knows you better. But if you write personal essays on cubing, I'm sure we'd all like to read.
 
Tyson said:
I don't know you well enough to really answer this question. You probably need to talk with a college counselor who knows you better. But if you write personal essays on cubing, I'm sure we'd all like to read.
Click to expand...

So cubing would be a good topic for essays? Did anyone write about cubing for his/her essays? It would be interesting to read.
I don't know if I have any great stories to tell about anything. :( I'm a boring person.
 
fanwuq said:
Tyson said:
I don't know you well enough to really answer this question. You probably need to talk with a college counselor who knows you better. But if you write personal essays on cubing, I'm sure we'd all like to read.
Click to expand...

So cubing would be a good topic for essays? Did anyone write about cubing for his/her essays? It would be interesting to read.
I don't know if I have any great stories to tell about anything. :( I'm a boring person.
Click to expand...

Well, what topics would be good for you in a college essay again is a very personal choice. I did not write about cubing in my college essay... I did not cube back then. Cubing isn't necessarily about a single story, but likely an essay about cubing would be about the journey of discovery, exploration, and mastery, with a punch-line of 'with hard work, the human mind can truly accomplish anything'.
 
Tyson said:
fanwuq said:
Tyson said:
I don't know you well enough to really answer this question. You probably need to talk with a college counselor who knows you better. But if you write personal essays on cubing, I'm sure we'd all like to read.
Click to expand...

So cubing would be a good topic for essays? Did anyone write about cubing for his/her essays? It would be interesting to read.
I don't know if I have any great stories to tell about anything. :( I'm a boring person.
Click to expand...

Well, what topics would be good for you in a college essay again is a very personal choice. I did not write about cubing in my college essay... I did not cube back then. Cubing isn't necessarily about a single story, but likely an essay about cubing would be about the journey of discovery, exploration, and mastery, with a punch-line of 'with hard work, the human mind can truly accomplish anything'.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice! Well, I still have a few months to think about it...

Edit: By the way, the SAT essay question was
"Does being ethical make it hard to be successful? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations."
For one paragraph, I wrote about Ville and Rowe claiming the BLD WR without peeking. Ethical and successful.
For another paragraph, I wrote about the Ponzi scheme.
Another random edit:
I just realized that I failed to spell "Bernard Madoff" correctly. :p I don't think that affected my score.
 
Last edited:
fanwuq said:
Tyson said:
fanwuq said:
Tyson said:
I don't know you well enough to really answer this question. You probably need to talk with a college counselor who knows you better. But if you write personal essays on cubing, I'm sure we'd all like to read.
Click to expand...

So cubing would be a good topic for essays? Did anyone write about cubing for his/her essays? It would be interesting to read.
I don't know if I have any great stories to tell about anything. :( I'm a boring person.
Click to expand...

Well, what topics would be good for you in a college essay again is a very personal choice. I did not write about cubing in my college essay... I did not cube back then. Cubing isn't necessarily about a single story, but likely an essay about cubing would be about the journey of discovery, exploration, and mastery, with a punch-line of 'with hard work, the human mind can truly accomplish anything'.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice! Well, I still have a few months to think about it...

Edit: By the way, the SAT essay question was
"Does being ethical make it hard to be successful? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations."
For one paragraph, I wrote about Ville and Rowe claiming the BLD WR without peeking. Ethical and successful.
For another paragraph, I wrote about the Ponzi scheme.
Another random edit:
I just realized that I failed to spell "Bernard Madoff" correctly. :p I don't think that affected my score.
Click to expand...

I personally would approach that question differently, but again this is personal so you have to interpret it your way. I would probably focus on the idea of success, that it doesn't require money. And that success comes in many forms, and sometimes being happy and contributing can produce a good fulfilling life, and that can be a type of success in which case ethical dilemmas are much less prevalent.
 
ExoCorsair said:
Don't bother re-taking; any score above 2200 is more or less considered in the same "pool".

Also, this forum is more appropriate for this sort of thing:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/
Click to expand...

Thanks.

Tyson,
That is a nice approach! Too bad I couldn't think of it in 25 minutes. I actually sat there for over 10 minutes and couldn't think of anything that I feel really answers the question. Finally I started just writing as fast as I can on whatever I can think of.
 
fanwuq said:
ExoCorsair said:
Don't bother re-taking; any score above 2200 is more or less considered in the same "pool".

Also, this forum is more appropriate for this sort of thing:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/
Click to expand...

Thanks.

Tyson,
That is a nice approach! Too bad I couldn't think of it in 25 minutes. I actually sat there for over 10 minutes and couldn't think of anything that I feel really answers the question. Finally I started just writing as fast as I can on whatever I can think of.
Click to expand...

Lol, I'm a pro :-P

Well, sadly I had to think about what 'success' meant to me recently when the company I used to work at completely blew up. It's easy to get sucked into a world full of money. Money buys stuff and it's fun to have stuff. But in the end, I know I want to go back to California and be surrounded by my family.
 
fanwuq said:
ExoCorsair said:
Don't bother re-taking; any score above 2200 is more or less considered in the same "pool".

Also, this forum is more appropriate for this sort of thing:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/
Click to expand...

Thanks.

Tyson,
That is a nice approach! Too bad I couldn't think of it in 25 minutes. I actually sat there for over 10 minutes and couldn't think of anything that I feel really answers the question. Finally I started just writing as fast as I can on whatever I can think of.
Click to expand...

You do realize that what you actually say makes no difference, and they are only grading you on how you present your argument, regardless of the point you try to make( i.e. cohesion, transitions, providing evidence for all claims, etc) The point is to evaluate your writing, not your comprehension of business ethics.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

n0nco
CCC : casual cubing competitions on fri/sat/sun! (3x3) sat algs generated.
2
Replies
26
Views
2,442
n0nco
n0nco
Zaksox
  • Poll Poll
Have you sat on a pyraminx?
Replies
1
Views
568
tnk351
T
antoineccantin
  • Poll Poll
NCR 2012 Date (Sat/Sun)
Replies
2
Views
2,015
Sa967St
Sa967St
J
Blindfold Live show in Sat 1 TV , Germany
Replies
5
Views
2,490
john louis
J
dudemanpp
  • Locked
I'm taking the SAT tomorrow
Replies
16
Views
5,320
deathbypapercutz
deathbypapercutz
Back
Top