Hi everyone! I’m a junior just making sure I’m on track for the following schools.
GPA: (4.0 UW / 98 Avg) I don’t know the weighted but I’ll have 4APs after this year and 7 when I graduate.
Rank: 3/310
SAT1: 2160 (700-690-770, 11 on Essay) (should I retake this?)
Course Rigor: Will graduate with 8 honors classes & 7 APs.
AP Scores: (5) in APWORLD
EC’s:
Debate Team Captain (10th-12th grade)
Academic Team Captain (9th-12th grade)
Beta Club VP (10th-12th grade)
Senate Campaign volunteer last semester
HS Science Olympiad (10th-12), MS Science Olympiad Captain (9th)
Volunteer Tutor (11th-12)
(and other less major activities)
Essay & Recs: Both will be good
Hooks: Black Male
Georgetown University
George Washington University
American University
Emory University
Wake Forest
William & Mary
Rice University
WUSTL
I already have a safety that I’ll be ok going to (and should get strong money from), Finances aren’t a major issue. Are there other schools I should apply to? Should I retake the SAT?
I would say you’re in at GW and American, you are well above their GPA and SAT averages and you have some good EC’s. Can’t tell you about the others, but from the look of that list, GW and AU are probably your safeties/low matches.
American, Emory, William and Mary, and Washington University all superscore the SAT (take your highest score for each section, across all test dates. Georgetown, George Washington, and Rice consider all your scores. Wake Forest asks you to contact them for information on their SAT policy. Source: https://professionals.collegeboard.com/profdownload/sat-score-use-practices-list.pdf
If you fell like you can take the SAT again and get roughly the same number of points on the two English sections, while raising your math score by 30-40 points, that’ll help you with the unis that superscore. However, if you feel like your current scores are almost your maximum (in other words, if there’s only about a 10-20% chance that you’ll get the same scores or better if you retake the test), then taking it again and getting a worse result will hurt you with Georgetown, George Washington, and Rice. If you fell like the odds are in the realm of 30-40%, this becomes a difficult decision that ultimately requires you to think long and hard about it, and perhaps ask your teachers for their opinions. I don’t know your “true” level, and I wouldn’t presume to make a recommendation on a matter like this with the little information at my disposal.
In general, you seem to be on track. Georgetown is quite selective, and a lot of students who are into politics apply there because of its proximity to D.C. This means getting in won’t be easy. If it’s possible, I’d suggest adding an IB course or two-not just because unis love the IB, but because I can attest to the fact that regular US HS coursework, and even college-level courses, will seem easy if you can handle an IB subject.
Thanks @chubwagon
@NotVerySmart yeah I was worried cause the CR+M is only a 1390. I know my math could definitely improve, I’m less sure about CR. I’m leaning towards the retake at the moment, but I’m not sure if there’s any reason for me to take the ACT. Very informative!
@NotVerySmart So GW only takes the highest score from one sitting? I applied and sent all of my SAT scores, the first being an 1890 and the second being a 2060. Will the 1890 hurt me? Don’t mean to highjack your thread @TheAtlantic
Not exactly, @chubwagon - they consider all your scores, meaning they’ll look at the 2060 but also at the 1890. Your score breakdown may matter as well.
If your scores by section vary greatly (e.g. 740, 500, 650 on the first sitting and 590, 720, 750 on the second) they’ll read that as a mark of considerable ability but also of a questionable work ethic. If your extracurriculars and grades are strong, they’ll probably take the ability into account more than the work ethic, because ECs and grades show that you’ve worked hard for most of your HS career.
If, on the other hand, your scores are fairly consistent (i.e. you just improved a bit in each section from test #1 to test #2), they’ll feel quite comfortable averaging the two.
@NotVerySmart How would they perceive a first score of (CR, M, W) 590, 690, 610, and a second score of 730, 720, 610?
THey wouldn’t look at the first score if they superscore or require all scores to be sent.
@MYOS1634 - When their policy says they consider “all scores” and require applicants to forward every score, it means just that-they consider all your scores. They don’t superscore-in the document I linked above, that would be “highest section-version 1 (or 2).” They don’t take your highest sitting-that would be “highest sitting-version 1 (or two).” Georgetown, GWU, and Rice all have an “all scores” policy. They’ll look at your good sittings and your bad sittings. They’ll look at your good math score and your terrible math score. They’ll look at your CR scores even if they’re within 10 points of each other, when some people might expect them not to bother.
“All scores” means you are required to send them all your SAT (or ACT) scores, and they consider any and all such scores in their admission decision. They would definitely look at that first score as well as the second one.
@chubwagon -Your math and writing scores are steady, which is good. Your CR score went up considerably (along with a small bump in your math), which certainly can’t hurt. Ideally you’d have scored a bit higher on your first sitting, but that isn’t a score that will be a real problem. Your second sitting is fairly good: 2050 means that if your entire family have bought Harvard sweatshirts, it’s time to return those to the store, but you’ll be a viable candidate at most good universities, including some of the ones listed by OP.
^strictly speaking, that might be how it’s supposed to be, but in reality, the goal is to control the top score for number of sittings, so that a student who took the test 4, 5 or 6 times is not judged the same way as someone who took the test twice (or three times). In addition, it enables adcoms to see whether a student played the superscore game, focusing on one area for one sitting, on another area for another sitting. Finally, it tracks trend.
The first sitting is almost always discarded, even if all scores must be sent.
Thanks @NotVerySmart and @MYOS1634 for clarifying. And no, my family and I haven’t all bought Harvard sweatshirts haha.
Lol this got off track fast 