This week, we're discussing sources of students' stress. A comment from KaurA123 serves as a reminder that the SAT and ACT aren't the only stressful parts of applying for college:

i'm a senior...and college apps r like due at the end of this month which is totally strssing me out!!! I hv started filling the apps out but they r pretty confusing ....idk WHT 2 DO!!!!!

Over the past few weeks, we’ve been discussing what the SAT means in terms of your complete college application. One of the questions that comes up when discussing SAT and ACT scores is whether or not they are important depending on your intended major.

For example, what if you want to be a theater, art, music, dance, or film major and you don’t score very well on the SAT? This is the case with one reader who emailed us:

I'm a 3.5 student, I'm the drum major/conductor of the marching band and vice chair of school site council. I'm also in G.S.A. and N.H.S., but my SAT score was horrible: 1280. Do you think I have a chance of getting into the UC that I want, which is UCI, as a film major?

We’ve been discussing SAT scores quite a bit lately: What do they mean to your college application? Will they help you get into the school of your dreams? But one of the toughest questions that inevitably comes up when discussing scores is whether or not to retake the test. Here's an email we received from one concerned reader:

My reading score is 530, math 730 and writing 630. So I am below the 50% mark in critical reading, but above it in math and writing. Would you advise that SAT be retaken? My key grades (math, physics and chemistry) are all A, and I have an average set of extracurricular activities.

Our recent post about SAT scores struck a nerve with a number of readers, as the comments prove. The post gave some of you a chance to show off the results of your hard work and share some impressive scores. For others, it brought up one of your biggest anxieties: that a good SAT score represents a golden ticket to the university of your choice and that, if you don’t have it, you can forget about ever getting through those pearly campus gates.

Here’s an email we received from one worried reader:

I need some advice dealing with SAT scores. I want to get into Emory University, but I have a low SAT score. My score is a 1460 with writing included and a total of 1000 with my math and verbal scores added together. I have a 4.0 GPA, I am in Beta Club and also a Beta Club Vice President, 4-h Club and 4-h officer, FCCLA, Top Ten Percent of my class, Senior Superlative, and Colorguard Captain. Just about everything goes my way but SAT Scores. What should I do? I am taking the SAT again,but I don't think it is going to help. I have already sent in my application. I was nominated for the Emory Scholars Program, too. Please help me I really want to get into Emory! Thank you!

We recently received an email from Nelson, a student who has applied for early admission at the University of Georgia. He wanted to know if the following constitutes a good score:

Critical Reading - 590
Math - 650
Writing - 660

If you took the SAT earlier this month, then your scores will be available online this Thursday, Oct. 29. For many of the students I tutor, the days leading up to the release of SAT scores can be nerve-wracking and stress-filled. So now seems like a good time to review what the SAT score means—and doesn’t mean—to your college plans.

Studying for the SAT can be an all consuming affair, and it's easy to think that your entire future hinges on this one test score. I tutored a student who aced his SAT and asked me if I thought he should apply to Harvard. As delicately as I could, I reminded him that his grade point average was 2.8 and his extracurricular activities for the most part took place in front of his Xbox.

My relief at completing the SAT was very short lived. I went out for a celebratory pizza with friends who also took the test, and before I was even halfway through my big red cup of Diet Coke, one of them said, “So when are we getting the results?”

Ugh. Immediately, my anxiety rushed back. Did I do a good job on the essay? Did I totally bomb the math section? Why did I take so many guesses? Were they good guesses?

I relive a little of that anxiety every time the students I tutor return from taking the test. When I ask them how it went, the response often goes like this: “OK, maybe. I don’t really know. I can’t believe I have to wait nearly three weeks to find out!” If you took the test this past Saturday, you might be feeling this same impatience. Here are a few dos and don’ts to help you make it till October 29th, when the  College Board will post scores online.