Im taking the SAT in a few monthes and ive been wondering, if I applied to a college and my GPA met their required one for admissions but my SAT score was lower than their average, would it be significantly harder to get in? Because honestly no matter how hard I prepare for a test I never do that great so ive been worried about that
I’m assuming it depends on the school and how they look at your application along with essays, recs, ECs. It depends on the institutions you are planning to apply to. I am a high school senior at the moment. I have applied to schools where I fit the criteria for scores and GPA–but then have gotten rejection letters (well one rejection, one deferred me, and another waitlisted) On the other hand, I have also seen people with lower stats get in and at other times (a lot of the time) get rejected…It’s the luck of the draw really.
I’m not an expert…just what I’ve noticed
Under the average, for a holistic, you’d better be good in every other way (or a recruited athlete.) If a college has a “required” minimum score, you know the answer.
You’ll be swimming upstream with a score below the average and no hooks. You might want to think about test optonal schools as alternatives if this is really stressing you. Or you may want to try the ACT. With that said, it depends on the school, the strength of the rest of your application, and how far off your scores are.
It might be harder but depending on how much lower it may not be significant. Remember half of the scores will be at or below the median. Mathematically speaking everyone can’t be above the average. But chances are those below might have had something that made them get noticed - higher GPA, great ECs, good essays. Try to make your application show that you are a person that would fit at that college.