If you improve your SAT score by 200 points, you’ll significantly improve your chances and get almost guaranteed admission for most schools. With a 1290 SAT score, you’re already strongly competitive for these schools. You’re very likely to get admitted if you apply.

You can absolutely retake the SAT—many students improve their scores when they take it a second or third time. But not everyone needs to retake the SAT, and only you can decide if you should. When deciding, ask yourself these questions: Did I reach my goal? Am I satisfied with my score? Does my score qualify me for the college I want to attend?

So yes, the statistics definitely indicate a clear preference for very high scores, but the benefit of a few extra points is not as dramatic as it might appear when you’re already at a 1530+. Another reason you shouldn’t retake a 1530+ is the time and effort it takes away from the rest of your application.

The College Board typically recommends students take the SAT twice. High school juniors should take it for the first time in the spring, and then retest in the fall of their senior year. If you don’t reach your target score by then, consider taking the SAT a third time in the fall of senior year.

How many points do I need to improve my SAT score?

If you apply to these schools, you’ll have a decent chance of admission. If you improve your SAT score by 200 points, you’ll significantly improve your chances and get almost guaranteed admission for most schools. School Name. Location.

Out of the 2.13 million test-takers, 296024 scored the same or higher than you. You can apply to 1333 colleges and have a good shot at getting admitted. You have a very low chance of getting into 165 schools with this score.

Reach Schools: Harder to Get Into. These schools are hard for you to get into now, because they have average SAT scores that are higher than a 1290. But if you improve your SAT score, you’ll have a much better shot. School Name. Location.

Safety Schools: Easier to Get Into. With a 12 90 SAT score, you’re already strongly competitive for these schools. You’re very likely to get admitted if you apply. If you improve your SAT score, your Safety Schools will get better and better. School Name.

What is a student’s percentile on the SAT?

A student’s percentile represents the percentage of students whose score is equal to or lower than his or her score.

Once a student gets past that initial experience, however, a retake usually goes much better simply because of the newly established comfort level.

If you’ve already exceeded your target score, there’s no point in retaking the test. Conversely, if you haven’t reached it, you should be more open to doing so. Not getting your target score does not mean you won’t get in. Your target score is just that—a target, a nice goal to have.

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A 1530+ is in the upper end of that range. You would be doing yourself a disservice by retaking a score this high, not only because it would be a waste of your valuable time but also because you’d be putting yourself in serious danger of scoring lower.

First, do not confuse correlation with causation. Just because Stanford applicants with an 800 on SAT Reading are 71% more likely to be admitted than those with a 700-790 does not mean that an 800 on Reading causes the entire 71% increase.

The people who get in with much lower scores will be those who have hooks (recruited athletes, minorities, legacies) or those with otherwise very strong applications (incredible extracurriculars). To complicate things even more, your target score might vary with the school you’re applying to within a university.

Stanford applicants with an 800 on SAT Math are 14% more likely to be admitted than applicants with 700-790 (8% vs 7%). Stanford applicants with an 800 on SAT Writing are 63% more likely to be admitted than applicants with 700-790 (13% vs 8%). The following is Brown University’s Class of 2020 (source here ):

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