I am wondering whether I should withdraw from the December test or to go ahead and just take it. My pt scores are around 168 and with my gpa below the medians at HYS, I need a 172 at least. I am hoping maybe the adrenaline of test day will give me a 5 point boost at least. Tonight I was -7 on the two LR sections combined, -3 on LG and -3 on RC. On test day, can I get to -2 on LR combined and -1 on RC and LG? Or should I swallow my pride and keep plugging away till June? I was planning on applying next fall anyway so there is no particular rush. But I thought I could get the test done now with 172+ score and confidently approach next fall's cycle. What do you wise folk think?
Comments
Have you taken before? You could sit for December, see what happens, and plan a retake. Then you'll have the advantage of a first take under your belt, and may feel more prepared or less nervous when you retake. HYS will take your highest score anyway.
Also it might be worth a little research to double check; I believe most top schools basically take your highest score and have abandoned averaging multiple scores, but I can't guarantee that is absolutely true.
As far as S and H are concerned, the former is a mostly a black box, but they will only care about your top score. H will be easier simply from a numbers perspective since their classes are roughly the size of S and Y combined.
But the biggest thing here is if you are applying for Fall 2017 there is no reason to take this test before June. Keep plugging away and get your PT scores up because you are not going in there and gaining 9 raw points, it's just not happening. It's not quite monkeys typing Shakespeare odds, but it's not something to bet your future on, especially when there is literally no reason to rush. Postpone now and get your head in the game to crush it in June, or next fall if necessary.
Also, adrenaline does not raise scores, it lowers them because it gives you false confidence rather than true confidence. You need to be relying on having put in the work in order to set yourself up for success rather than trying to luck into it. If you go in next Saturday, you're likely going to end up with a 165 and a bruised ego and that's going to negatively affect your outlook until June and it won't help you get where you want to be in the end. Don't put yourself in that position. If you haven't seen a 172 5-10 times then you have no business taking the test if you're marrying yourself to that number.