<p>It sounds like your d. already has some good acceptances in hand – and I don’t know where you draw the line at “top tier” – but I’m sorry that you made the assumption that her test scores would have kept her out of whatever schools she was aiming for. Colleges take kids with lopsided scores all the time – they are used to seeing that pattern - and it is something that might have been overlooked in some settings. (When applying to male-dominated schools, your d’s gender is advantageous for admissions; at LAC or female-dominated schools, her strong math skills are advantageous). Most colleges place greater emphasis on GPA than test scores anyway, and they highly value class rank when they have that info – they are going to take a serious look at any student who is in the top 1% of their class no matter what their test scores.</p>
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But you don’t know whether your d. would have been accepted to MIT, because she didn’t apply. You can’t assume that the URM friend got in because of his race but your d. would have been turned down – for one thing, her gender would have been a help at MIT. But the difference between the friend and your daughter isn’t race or gender – the difference is simply that he applied and your d. didn’t. No one can get into a top school without applying. </p>
<p>I realize that there are a lot of other factors that go into making application decisions, and sometimes the best fit for a given student will not be the reachiest college in any case. Kids who don’t apply to schools because they assume they will be rejected obviously are less confident in their own abilities than kids who do apply, even if acceptance seems like a longshot – and the differences in attitude in themselves may impact college experience. So it may be that the kid will flourish in an academic setting where she feels confident, and not do as well in an environment where she feels uncertain and intimidated, even if that feeling is entirely subjective and misplaced. So I don’t think that the OP should be second-guessing college app strategy at this stage… my comments are intended for the next round of college applicants. I’d encourage any rising senior with stats similar to the OP’s daughter to apply wherever they wanted – with the usual advice to also have a good safety as well.</p>
<p>That said, I think a young woman with 800 math scores and A’s in English (even with a 600 CR score on the SAT) is going to be extremely desirable at many engineering schools and definitely as a shot at the top ones.</p>
<p>By the way, MIT might actually be easier to get into than Carnegie Mellon’s School of Computer Science if you are a woman - although its overall admit rate is lower. If you are male the admit rate is 7.87% while if you are female it’s 17.3%. From: <a href=“MIT Institutional Research”>MIT Institutional Research;
<p>Hey umd- I just wanted to reassure you that there are other students like your daughter. I’m a senior too this year, and a girl, and almost the opposite of your D with an 800 in critical reading and a 620 in math (which was actually much higher than I thought I’d get after finishing the test!)</p>
<p>I’m also the same in that I get As in math and am in calculus this year but that it is a real struggle too. I think as long as your daughter keeps striving then she will do just fine. And don’t mind those schools that she didn’t apply to- in the end she’ll love where she goes and it’ll be a great school regardless.</p>
<p>Very lopsided is not how I would describe the OPs D. Stronger in math perhaps but not lopsided. As far as dyslexia…I dunno…I know my dyslexic at times in his K-12 years has scored 13th percentile in reading and 99th percentile in math on standardized timed testing - now I call that lopsided! It’s a interesting observation none the less…my oldest was dead even on standardized testing and my number two was stronger in math/sci. I remember I was dead even back on my 1970s SATs. </p>
<p>I think the OPs D will have great choices, no doubt, about where to pursue comp sci…</p>
<p>When my sibling graduated from undergrad decades upon decades ago there were only two girls in their engineering graduating class…and they both had the same first name.</p>
<p>The best advice I ever heard in grad school was to sit in front - that way you don’t actually have to see how few women there are in your classes.</p>
<p>A significant disparity between verbal and performance subtest scores can be diagnostic of a learning disability, so yes, even a score that is in the normal or higher range could represent an underperformance for that particular individual. The trouble is, many school districts won’t test unless the student is basically failing. They just don’t have the budget to provide that kind of support. </p>
<p>Someone close to me has significant dyslexia and with the help of tutors through middle school learned strategies and study skills. She scored in the 700s on the verbal SAT, attended an Ivy and professional school. By the time she was in college she no longer required any additional accommodations. To this day she’s incredibly well- organized, a by product of necessity from when it took that much longer to complete assignments.</p>
<p>My dyslexic son scored 700 on SAT CR. My early-reading, highly verbal daughter, scored 620. SAT’s are NOT appropriate for testing for LD’s – the “disparity between verbal and performance subtest” you are referring to is on a test such as the WISC, which is a validated diagnostic tool – not the SAT, which is simply a normed standardized test for group administration. </p>
<p>If the SAT score was totally unexpected – such as an A student showing up with scores in the 400 range - then it might be a red flag. But for a kid who clearly prefers math to reading, and does not enjoy literature – 600 is pretty good. The best “prep” for the CR section is to be a voracious reader – and obviously the OP’s daughter isn’t coming into the test with that level of preparation. </p>
<p>So yes, a “lopsided” profile could be an indication of a LD, but I don’t think you can draw conclusions from an SAT discrepancy, where the “low” SAT is in the 600 range. It’s more likely simply a problem with the structure of the test.</p>
<p>I don’t think that 600 is all that bad of a score in any case. Certainly I would encourage a kid with that score to retake – but as I noted above, I wouldn’t attach more significance to it, especially given that it’s fairly common for students to be somewhat lopsided between math/verbal skills. Keep in mind that every question in the math section definitely has a “right” answer, whereas the CR section calls for fuzzier logic. A person with a very precise and analytical mind can get thrown off by some of the CR questions that are really more of a judgment call based on a subjective interpretation of a passage.</p>
<p>Thanks, Calmom. Sorry for not making that clearer. I realize my post may have read to suggest that the SAT is diagnostic for a learning disability, which is certainly not the case. Verbal and performance subtests are, just as you say, part of tests such as the WISC, not the SAT. My point was that if there are red flags such as the struggle with reading, seemingly inconsistent with overall intelligence, it might pay to be professionally evaluated.</p>
<p>I read the thread title as “accidentally lopsided child” and got very concerned!</p>
<p>I managed to get a 30 composite on my ACT and pass two college math classes when I actually have a 7th grade math level and a serious learning disability. These things can be weird like that. Intelligent, determined kids can sometimes barrel through despite all odds. But I agree that OP’s D just seems more leaning toward math/science kind of stuff, and I think it’s very normal to lean one way or the other. I hope she gets a good result from Carnegie Melon!</p>
<p>I would call three of my four kids lopsided - two (boy and girl) toward math, one (girl) toward reading. They find their way! It is a good idea, though, to try to continue to develop the weak area during college. My son who was much stronger in math and is now working as a number-cruncher was given a grammar test as part of a job interview! Fortunately, he did well on it.
Best of luck to your daughter - I’m also betting that she will get into CMU! She also has other great choices.</p>
<p>We always thought our D was a bit lopsided. She loves math and has always been in advanced math classes and done well. She does not like language arts. She has never really enjoyed reading, she doesn’t enjoy her English classes, she hates writing and, while she does get A’s in English, it’s in the standard classes and she barely makes an A (unlike in math where she’ll have high A’s in the more advanced classes). Imagine her (and our) surprise when the ACT results came back - English 34, Reading 33, Math 32. Go figure.</p>
<p>I think that for kids who are going into math related, engineering or computer science majors, schools focus more on the math score. I don’t think your daughter’s 600 in CR is the kiss of death - I think she’s got a good shot to get into the computer science major at some very good schools.</p>
<p>This is a great thread! My d is a sophomore and extremely lopsided–strong in math (just placed into AP Calc BC, which she will take as a junior along with AP stats), weak in languages (B to B-), has to work very hard for a B in history (AP US). Does okay in English (A to B), and can go either way in science according to the teacher’s style. No SATs yet, but her first PSATs were strong on math and writing and weak on CR. </p>
<p>I’ve been trying to ID the best teaching style for her–she needs things laid out clearly and sometimes repeatedly, but once she learns them, she knows and can apply them well. She does have some processing issues, although not to the level of being classified as an LD (my son has LDs so I am in the loop on this). The hardest thing is trying to figure out a college setting that will feel right to her and give her a chance to shine. As of now, she hopes to major in theoretical math and philosophy, but that will change, I am sure.</p>
<p>Anyway, all suggestions are welcome–I have my fingers crossed for your d!</p>