Son goes to very competitive Texas HS and is Junior - takes all honors/AP classes and is probably top 13%. His most recent SAT is 740M and 630 Verbal. So he meets the overall requirement for Academic Admit, but not the minimum on Verbal. However, he had another SAT that he got the 660 Verbal…(that one was 660/660). Given that he is so close to top 10% and has all the requirements (just not on the same test), what do you think his chances are? I’ve heard they do let a few through in the Fall…what do you think?
Seeing as many students this year with scores a bit higher, I would say his chances are not necessarily high, but not necessarily low either. With cases like this, if you can’t quite meet the top 10%, continue focusing on further improving other aspects of their applications when the time comes, like extracurricular activities, community service, etc.
Oh, and theres also the option to transfer to a “worse” school and have him automatically jump into top 10%! Haha, not recommended, but definitely there are students that do that. A student that went to another school in our district was top 15% but came to our school and jumped to top 3% in rank, and he was offered many scholarships, accepted into many schools.
If he is a junior, there is the June test and the other later SAT tests also. I think his chances should be pretty good, after all, he has several more chances to get his SAT above the minimum.
As for his class rank, my college prep advisor told me that Junior year class rank is usually the highest it is ever going to be. He said this because apparently in senior year, many of the lower class/low grade students either drop out or don’t get counted so the total number is students normally decreases. The explanation I made is probably off because I didn’t really understand what he was saying regarding students not being counted (he could probably explain it better himself). Nevertheless, this basically means that going up class rank is a lot harder for Junior>Senior compared to Sophmore>Junior.
Please continue to test, test, test if at all possible. It is so much easier to get in on academic admit. This years was brutal for review applicants. Close really does not count right now. If you are in review have a really good resume for outside activities and leadership. They really mean holistic review, but there are very few slots available for review students to get.
He should try the ACT as well. He’ll likely make the Academic Admit cutoff by simply re-testing.
IF by chance your son is also applying elsewhere that counts every exam ( there are colleges that do that) then take the ACT. If not, retake both exams. Are you really willing to gamble a 14% acceptance rate vs. 100% by not trying again? Over 80% of full freshman CS campus admits ARE academic or top10% automatic admits (no wiggle room for almosts… those ARE fully qualified students). Huge difference between holistic review and scores + rank only admissions.
RETEST!!! I have been told that the June SAT & ACT are consistently the easiest versions of the year by an SAT/ACT tutor whose kids have always done better on these dates. No clue if there is any veracity to this observation, but it is worth a try to get Auto Admit, IMHO!
Try the ACT! My son did better on ACT. He ended up taking it twice. The first time he got 30 and the second time he got 33 with perfect 36 on English and Science. Academic admit is so much better for your health :))
Agree, take the ACT. Math/Science kids often score higher on the ACT than the SAT. My son decided to take a one-time try at the ACT – was sick that day and had a fever but scored well!!