<p>I'm doing this mainly out of curiosity, but do top 20, highly selective colleges really stop caring about your scores once you hit a certain threshold? </p>
<p>For example, I've seen many people set 2250 as sort of the "minimum score" for being at least your average competitive applicant at any top 20 school. They claim that after that point, it doesn't really matter anymore. I know that a few points higher isn't going to make much of a difference, but what about those that score in the mid to high 2300 range? 100 points is a pretty significant amount IMO. Between a score of 2150 and a score of 2250, I see people claiming that the 100 point gap can make a huge difference, but between 2250 and 2350, they say it suddenly doesn't matter anymore.</p>
<p>I get that they're just saying that college adcoms tend to stop looking at the score at that point and start looking at subjective credentials such as ECs and essays instead. However, say you have Applicant A and Applicant B. Everything about them is about equal except for their SAT scores and their ECs. A has a mid 2200s SAT score with pretty amazing ECs. B has a high 2300s SAT score with respectable but nonetheless weaker ECs. Would the higher SAT score at least balance them out or would those 100 or so points hardly be considered?</p>
<p>Again, I'm just curious... and perhaps mildly worried that I might end up being Applicant B if this sort of scenario arises when it comes time for my own application to be evaluated.</p>
<p>My guess is that colleges’ methods for picking students are a lot like students’ methods for picking colleges. 100 points is the difference between Caltech’s average SAT and U Penn’s average SAT, but I doubt that most students use that to decide where to apply/attend. It usually comes down to things like “fit” and “personal qualities,” from what I’ve seen.</p>
<p>Does this mean that colleges treat a 2400 and a 2250 the same way? Probably not, but it may explain why so many perfect scorers are rejected in favor of students with lower scores.</p>
<p>100 points won’t make a difference. The person with the better EC’s will get in. Colleges are looking for great people. Not someone who studied a little bit longer for to get 5 or 6 more questions right on a test. </p>
<p>@oxoxhawja3xoxo Ouch, that implication that the person with weaker ECs but a higher test score isn’t a great person, or at least not as great of a person. Well, that’s the reality of things, I suppose.</p>
<p>@constantius I’m sorry. I’m just being honest. Colleges are looking for people who can contribute to the community and make a difference. You can be a very nice and wonderful person with your nose in a book all day and a 4.0 GPA, but those people are a dime a dozen. the more successful person is going to be the one out there making a difference, and that is not something that everyone is capable of doing. Those are the ones who stand out. Of course that person also must be smart; if they had an 1800, of course, they’d rather the smarter person with the great score… but otherwise, that’s just how it is. College admissions are more competitive than ever and they need to accept people who will make the school proud. Not just utilize the resources for their own personal knowledge and not do anything with it. It makes sense to me. Best of luck in the admissions process. I’ve got me fingers crossed for everyone. The suspense is killing me! </p>
<p>I feel this is akin to the well worn question, “which is better: an A in a regular class or B in honors?” and the Adcom of course answers “an A in the honors class”. Of course colleges want the ultra high SAT score with the fantastic EC’s. </p>
<p>It’s not so simple a formula. That’s when the other stuff come into play such as essay (s), letters of recommendation, interview, interest level, how well they think you will fit and/or contribute to their community.</p>
<p>To a certain extent it is true, that because scores are only one factor in admissions, a slightly higher score no longer increases your chances of being accepted. There are students with scores of 2200 or less accepted and students with 2400 rejected at top schools. Are 2200 and 2400 going to be looked at as being equally favorable? Maybe not, but 2260 and 2300 are. And all of those scores will at least keep you in the running. </p>
<p>@oxoxhawja3xoxo I know you’re not directing your commentary at me in particular, but I compared myself to so-called Applicant B in my original post (the applicant with high scores/grades and not so incredible ECs), so I’d just like to say the following (this isn’t directed towards you, it’s just me being a typical whiny teenager that needs to relieve some anxiety :P). In reality, it’s not as though I spend all day studying with my nose in a book and I don’t put forth enough effort into ECs. It’s almost rare for me to leave school every day any earlier than a good two or three hours after school has ended because the clubs and such I’m in at school have some seriously demanding requirements. Yet if you take one look at my school ECs, they just seem surface-level and rather bland despite the amount of effort I have to pour into them. However, I really do enjoy them, even if my participation in them would never win me any sort of distinguished academic awards that would actually show colleges proof of my efforts, unlike things like SciOly, debate team, etc. that produce material results. In return, colleges potentially see me as just another “jack of all trades, master of none”. Also, I don’t remember the last time I actually sat down and spent an evening with my nose buried inside books to study. It’s more like I do a LOT of cramming that somehow churns out good results instead because my ECs just take up so much of my study time.</p>
<p>Phew, that was incredibly cathartic. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be ranting, especially since I know that nothing’s ever completely fair, but… urgh. College admissions. The stress is getting intense! Good luck to you and everyone else in all your college endeavors. :)</p>
<p>There is a very high possibility that this is true for the UCs (excluding UCSB). I had a 2300 SAT score but a crap 3.66 unweighted GPA (4.29 fully weighted GPA and 4.00 capped UC GPA). I was rejected by UCB, UCLA, and UCSD. I was waitlisted by UCD and UCI.</p>
<p>@constantius I feel like as long as you’re passionate about what you do, colleges should be able to see that from your application, whether that’s in your recs, or your own personal essays. It’s not about what you do really, it’s more about your potential in the long run, and your character.
I thought you were saying that you didn’t really participate in EC’s and focused on your school work. As long as you are doing them, it doesn’t matter what they are. I don’t do anything special activity wise. I’m in clubs, music, and sports, and I also do this thing for cancer because my mom is a survivor which I connected in my essay. I’m not on debate, or shadowing a surgeon, or doing some intense research.
Just show that you care, and those things are important to you. Let your voice and personality come through. That’s all you can do, and just hope that schools appreciate you for that. </p>
<p>@oxoxhawja3xoxo Haha, ECs are unfortunately taking over my life. I don’t remember the last time I sat down and studied without feeling pressed for time. My ECs just consist of music and several, perhaps too many, honor societies. I’m just worried it might seem to the point I only joined the honor societies to look good for college applications, which isn’t true. I always get nervous when I see so many people on CC tell others to list honor societies under academic honors rather than under activities on the Common App because it’d be a waste of space to do so under the latter category, but if I did so myself, I’d be left with very few activities at all. It might seem strange being passionate about honor societies, but at my school, the honor societies seem more like social clubs with more requirements to uphold than I suppose the stiff, academically-oriented image that might come to mind when people first think of “honor societies”.</p>
<p>I expressed my interests and passions in my essays the best I could, so I suppose now all I can really do is wait for results to come out. :|</p>
<p>It seems like you’ll be okay. You’re over here stressing about a test score when you’re already in the range. I’d argue anything over a 2100, you’re competitive. Meaning they won’t reject you over your scores.
It would definitely have to be another factor. And from the looks of it, it won’t be your ECs either.
Best of luck to you.
Where’d you apply early if you don’t mind me asking? @constantius </p>
<p>@oxoxhawja3xoxo True enough. Stressing out is just my own way of trying to “hope for the best” while “expecting the worse”, as some people say to do when faced with nerve-wracking situations. When the time actually comes, I’ll remain calm, but until then, I’m probably going to flip out as much as I can to get rid of all the nerves. :P</p>
<p>And I don’t mind you asking at all. I applied early to Duke. Best of luck to you for your applications as well.</p>
<p>The reason why 2250 is often cited like this is that this is the 75th percentile for all but a few colleges. At this level things like SATII scores or quality of essay or AP course load become more meaningful</p>
Best of luck to you for your applications as well.</p>