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Given the reasons colleges using it, I’d assume it showed extreme aptitude or dedication for college work…</p>
<p>2400’s are extremely rare. For 2009 college-bound seniors there were just 297 with scores of 2400. Here is the data:
<a href=“http://professionals.collegeboard.com/profdownload/sat_percentile_ranks_composite_cr_m_w.pdf[/url]”>Higher Education Professionals | College Board;
I don’t know if these represent the best single sitting or super score. I suspect the former.</p>
<p>Texas GPA’s significantly higher than other states</p>
<p>[Jay</a> Mathews - If You Want Good High School Grades, Move to Texas - washingtonpost.com](<a href=“http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/30/AR2007103000537.html]Jay”>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/30/AR2007103000537.html)</p>
<p>Highlight of article</p>
<p>Hartranft, using College Board data, has produced some fascinating charts showing that grading standards not only vary from one classroom to the next, but among states. According to College Board surveys of members of the 2007 senior class who took the SAT, only 29 percent of students in Connecticut and Massachusetts had A-plus, A or A-minus averages, while 38 percent of students in New York and New Jersey, 39 percent in Virginia, 40 percent in California, 42 percent in Florida and a breath-taking 49 percent in Texas had grade point averages that high. In the United States as a whole, 43 percent of seniors who took the SAT reported A-plus, A or A-minus averages.</p>
<p>Should I use GPA as the standard or the SAT?</p>
<p>I said “the usual standards for that college” because they vary tremendously from one college to another.</p>
<p>I think that this is essentially unanswerable. A 2400 will be noticed because there just aren’t many. But it will also then be put in context. If you’ve taken an SAT prep course at your school (uncommon but not unheard of), taken the SAT1s a dozen times, have no ECs, and then explain (in an interview or essay) that you spent two hours a day every day during the school year and six hours a day during the summer working on the SAT1, I would imagine that many admissions folks would wonder why you don’t put all that energy elsewhere. If you come from a disadvantaged background, took the SAT1 once, with little prep, then I can imagine the admissions folks being exceedingly impressed. For everyone else - the truth lies somewhere between.
Similarly , a 4.0 is put in context. What’s the level of rigor? Did you challenge yourself or protect your 4.0 with easier courses? Is there grade inflation at your school?
These two indicators demonstrate different things, and it’s all about the context. THinking about the schools I know, and the kids I know… I would be much more impressed with a 4.0 at certain schools with certain course loads than a 2400. (And, I know several kids in the 2300 - 2400 range, including at least one 2400 scorer.) For other schools, I would be more impressed with a 2400.</p>
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<p>Interesting. I guess this is why I hold the ludicrous opinion that a 4.0 is worth more than a 2400 (I’m in Connecticut).</p>
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Sure, of course they do. But I don’t think you could point to a SINGLE college in the US where the “usual standards” are a 4.0.</p>
<p>(For some reason checking the “Quote message in reply” box hasn’t been working for me – don’t know what’s up with that.) kameronsmith said “I don’t think you could point to a SINGLE college in the US where the “usual standards” are a 4.0.”</p>
<p>I never said that there was such a college. Are you saying that you got that implication out of what I did say? Because I honestly don’t see how.</p>
<p>Guess I must have misinterpreted your messages…</p>
<p>I’m amazed that you’re even considering that. NO WAY is a 4.0 even important at all. </p>
<p>Consider it like this: your arrest record won’t be a major part of your college admissions, unless you’ve just got out of prison for rape or something. </p>
<p>For the ■■■■■■ that thinks that a 4.0 with a 2000 matters more then a 3.8 with a 2400, you’ll sure learn your lesson when the only college that wants you is a community college based in East L.A.</p>
<p>For that same person, let me tell you something. Making “dumb mistakes” tend to come from people who are dumb in the first place.</p>
<p>Single colleges with students that had a ‘standard’ of a 4.0 in high school: Stanford. Harvard. Princeton. Yale. Dartmouth. Columbia.</p>
<p>I think this is not the question to ask.</p>
<p>The thing is, a 2400 SAT I means the same thing everywhere, since there is only one SAT I. Meanwhile, a 4.0 GPA can mean many difference things because it’s not standardized.</p>
<p>For example, freshman year, I went to one of the worst-performing high schools in my state. I took a huge load of advanced classes because I wanted to challenge myself, but the result was: I was able to take the attitude of “out of sight, out of mind” with school. This included homework – I did them during passing periods, lunch, and other classes. Yet, I still eased a 4.0 my first year.</p>
<p>So, that environment was a problem, and my parents and I wanted a solution. So, after doing research on which high schools will actually provide me an academic challenge, we moved over 1000mi away and I attended one of the Newsweek top 100 high schools. It took me over three times the effort to get a 3.6 unweighted for my three years there.</p>
<p>Assuming the 4.0 is in the context of a top high school with little grade inflation, it’s better than a 2400 SAT. However, in the context of your average high school, the scale doesn’t extend to your actual abilitiy.</p>
<p>Similarly, the same can be said about SAT scores towards the top of the range. Once you get there, the scores reflect more on chance and less on actual ability because the SAT was meant to test those centered around a total score of 1500 – extremely low by CC standards. What this also means is that if you need to “earn” or ensure a 2400, your effort and aptitude must be ridiculously high.</p>
<p>The other question is – exactly what does the SAT I measure? The actual concepts are quite basic. It’s basically measuring how many words you can memorize on the reading section, percision on the math section, and ability to think the same as the rubric in the writing section. After being in college for two years, I’ll just say that while these skills are essential to succeeding in college, after you go above a certain amount, they won’t be that helpful.</p>
<p>When you optimize yourself towards a test instead of the actual things that the test is intended to measure, you’re just wasting time. The SAT I is supposed to measure your scholastic aptitude, but that’s a very difficult thing to measure, and like most things, it is imperfect. Doing too much prepping for the SAT I is similar to cramming the morning before a test – it gives you no long-term benefit!</p>
<p>Colleges much rather someone who has both scholastic aptitude and the ability to put it to good use rather than those with just the ability to game the system and get high SAT scores and GPAs. Hence, why the large picture shows that the SAT and GPA are only fractions of a college application.</p>