Another Exciting Chances Thread! Ivy with Bad SATs...

<p>SAT: 620V 690M 530W (11 Essay)
SAT II: Lit, Math I II, Chem, Latin (All under 600)
ACT: (28) 25E, 29M, 28R, 30S + 27 Writing 11 Essay
Rank: 1 of 450
Rural PA
Submitted Arts Supplement</p>

<p>Attended a governor's school for computer geeks and won the programming compitition there...</p>

<p>Color Guard Rifle Captain
Odyssey of the Mind Capt (founded)
International Club Pres (founded)
National Latin Honor Society Pres (founded)
Latin Club Pres (founded)
FBLA Sec
Key Club Editor
Nanotechnology Club Treasurer (At a local college)
and many clubs...</p>

<p>I take some college classes for fun, so far I've taken five and I have a 4.0.
(Two Englishs, Intro to Nanotechnology, Stage Make-Up and Statistics)</p>

<p>I want to be a classics major, but I have a strong interest in nanotechnology, computers and art.</p>

<p>I know my SATs are horrible, I really am a bad test taker, and each time I take them my scores go down. I am naturally smart, I have the IQ (141) to prove it, but unfortunately we can't submit those...</p>

<h2>The College List!</h2>

<p>Penn State: Accepted to Material Science and Engineering within the College of Earth Sciences (Going for Honors)
UPenn: Deferred
Princeton: RD </p>

<h2>Cornell: RD</h2>

<p>Be Viscious,
Honesty Appreciated.</p>

<p>If you were actually smart at least 1 of your standardized tests wouldn't be so low. You'll end up attending Penn State- no Honors College.</p>

<p>It is offensive that you would brag about your IQ or just plain mention it publicly. Never do that again. It's not like that IQ is even high compared to some of the folks on this board, anyway. :P</p>

<p>EDIT: You can't even spell "vicious" or "competition." I'm not sure if that supports your apparently genius IQ. Not saying that geniuses have to spell exceedingly well, but seriously, competition and vicious are not graduate-level words.</p>

<p>i didn't mean to brag about it, it's just it's not level with my SATs. </p>

<p>and i did mean to have honest opinions about my college chances, not personal attacks on my personality.</p>

<p>The only schools you applied to were Penn State + 3 Ivies ? You probably should've applied to more schools in between... To be honest, I can't see you getting into an Ivy with those test scores.</p>

<p>u mite get into penn.. they like leadership and a high class rank.</p>

<p>Your low SAT IIs will probably cause universities to wonder about the validity of your GPA, if you have a 4.0 there but <600 (which is in the bottom half of all test-takers) on your SAT II subjects. </p>

<p>Bragging about your IQ is a terribly uncivilised thing to do.</p>

<p>That apart, I can't tell you that you have no chance at any of these schools, because your leadership and class rank will count in your favour; still, don't count on anything. Good luck anyway, though.</p>

<p>i didn't mean to hurt anyone's feeling with the IQ thing, i didn't know it was such a big deal. meh.</p>

<p>i never really thought about applying to many schools, originally i was just applying to penn and penn state, as they were the only two i visited that i cared for with nano, classics and a marching band.</p>

<p>LOL i dont think the IQ thing is that big of a deal. Misstarineyes is probably just self conscious about her test scores and doesnt want to come off as being "stupid" so she just told us her IQ score to make herself feel better. Its human nature nothign wrong with that. However, i have to agree with the others, going from penn state to cornell and upenn and colleges of that caliber is just too much. Your sats wont hold up for a school liek that unless u have a serious hook (athletics, legacy/money). too bad u didnt give it one last try w/ january acts or sats. U shoudla applied to schools like U Mich, Tufts, schools in the 20-30 ranges.</p>

<p>you'll need an awful lot of luck/hooks to fight off an 1840 (1310 M+V) for ivy's</p>

<p>hook: she went to a **** school so didnt have many oppurtunities to get any prep?</p>

<p>Sorry, but you don't really have a chance with those test scores. Your rank and stuff is excellent, but that might even deflate your grades.</p>

<p>I also feel you lack a direction/passion.
Colleges can look through the im gonna start 10 clubs to put on my resume thing. Like you founded 2 different latin clubs....And you have some random lose connection to nanotech. You can have a few strong ECs and have it be more powerful than 10+</p>

<p>Also your arts supplement:
what was the focus?
And is there a connection to your prefered major?</p>

<p>Its just not adding up in your favor, I agree with others you should have put more thought into your application list.</p>

<p>are there any more schools for her to apply to with deadlines still ahead of us? Recently I saw a thread about that. Ithaca College (didn't know what your arts supp is all about) or SUNY (espec SUNY Purchase, the "creative arts" SUNY; each SUNY has a different strength) for example? Of course the SUNY would be out-of state tuition from PA.<br>
Founding new clubs shows leadership where oppty's were few. Some of these respondants were pretty rough on you. Being first in your school is helpful, just not enough to pole-vault you into Ivies. We lived for awhile in rural NY and people have NO IDEA how unequal are the opportunities, how bad the advice to students.
I just think you'll need to pull upwards from here, step by step throughout your college and post-college career -- rather than count on getting into an Ivy right now, although there was no harm to apply.
You just need MORE aps (and it's not too late) or be very happy about Penn State to start with.
I don't know what it's like in PA, but I've met some outstanding people whose careers start with their state school (where they go to the top) and then they either transfer out or go onto a very good graduate school later.
As for not mentioning IQ, it's safer to learn that here than anywhere else, so don't feel badly.
To me you sound bright but not well schooled, which isn't your fault. An "11" on your SAT-I essay is almost perfect and not easy to get, but the low overall writing mark says that your training in writing rules, and feedback from teachers to correct you as you go along, is weak.
Stay positive. Do you really want to go where people will jump all over your case, anyway? Me, I couldn't take more than one round of it. Go step-by-step upwards. You'll see that others crash-and-burn, but you won't. Don't lose the "stars in your eyes."</p>

<p>I'm sorry, but I have to disagree with each and every single one of you who says that SAT scores actually reflect intelligence.</p>

<p>Honestly, I'm in the same situation as you. I'm first in class as well, but I cried when I got my PSAT scores back because they were just so low. For several months, I just felt like I was simply dumb, and just good at getting grades.</p>

<p>But I'm a bit more convinced now that I'm just a bad test-taker. I find that in class I am able to understand the concepts fairly quickly, provided that I pay attention --and I've practiced the SATS on my own. I find that when I'm under no time constraints, I am able to get at least 700 on my sections.</p>

<p>I really sometimes don't think SAT scores are valid... they don't really show anything except for the ability to take SAT-type tests.</p>

<p>Thank goodness for schools like Bowdoin, Newbury, etc. I suggest you apply to those ones -- they don't require SAT scores.</p>

<p>But yeah, I think everyone on this thread responded to you way too harshly. Actually, on this forum, members tend to get enraged over the smallest "boastings" (even if unintentional). It seems like you have to be overly humble here. Even if you're not trying to be arrogant, people on this board tend to assume that you are trying to be. I learned that lesson in one of the threads I posted. -_-</p>

<p>Hey, good luck. I can't predict what colleges you'll get into because I'm no college-expert, but I hope I at least made you feel a little bit better.</p>

<p>maybe so, but if you are really all that smart, why should SATs be such a struggle? while its true that in the real world, you'll rarely if ever face situations that are comparable to the SAT, but you will face situations in which you are under severe time constraints, and where you'll have to apply to concepts you learned to the real world.</p>

<p>good luck to the OP, but those schools really are reaches due to your SATs.</p>

<p>SATs are important, no doubt, but if you have other strong areas, then you have a chance. </p>

<p>And not to be mean or anything, but if SATs didn't have time constraints, then all of us could score above 700 on the tests and a 2100 would be a 1 percentile, but its not like that.</p>

<p>guys.... she got deferred (not rejected) from Upenn with her stats. Obviously she has something going for her.</p>

<p>That's a good sign. UPenn does love ED applicants though.</p>

<p>umm if you're os bad at taking standardized tests, then how could you have gotten a 141 on an IQ test? what, did you take the test online or something like that lol? plus, IFFF you did have an IQ, you could ace the sat's because the sat's are sooo much easier than ANY IQ test. anyone with an IQ above 130 would have very little toruble ACING the test w/ minimal prep.</p>

<p>you really don't have any chances.
you should apply to.. maybe rutgers or some other state university.
even then, i mean, your school obvs inflates extremely.</p>