i keep hearin from colleges that the SAT scores dont matter as much as ppl think they do, is that true? or actually the essays and recommendations are more important?
<p>It depends on the college. Some schools use a formula that plugs in GPA and SAT scores (mostly state schools), and some find courseload, ECs, recs, and essays more important (usually LACs).</p>
<p>in selective colleges, SAT scores matter less than what students think and more than the colleges are willing to admit.</p>
<p>At alot of normal state schools, tests can take up 80% of the admission points. It usually matters less at Liberal Art Colleges.</p>
<p>Most colleges stress your grades more than your SAT scores. I agree that SATs usually matters less at Liberal Arts Colleges. It probably would depend on what the school is looking for, though. I know kids with low SAT scores that have gotten into really prestigious schools. I've also known kids with high SAT scores that have been rejected. </p>
<p>This is just an observation I've made. It's not necessarily true in all cases, but this is what I've gathered. For schools like Harvard and Yale, the extra-curriculars and essays tend to be the deciding factors just because most of the people who apply have perfect grades and SATs.</p>
<p>For the purpose of rankings such as US Nres, colleges want to keep their average SAT score as high as possible. Bottom line, unless you have a major hook, your SAT score needs to be above average for any given school.</p>
<p>Lots of smart, lazy students think that having excellent SATs will outweigh having bad grades. While excellent SATs may help them get into second tier and below universities that are desperately trying to boost their stats, excellent SATs, mediocre grades will not get students into top colleges like HPYS. </p>
<p>Most applicants at places like HPYS have extremely high scores and also have excellent grades. Thus, such universities will not accept someone with high scores, low grades unless the applicant has a billionaire donor parent or has a highly desired talent such as being a world class athlete.</p>
<p>People who do poorly on standardized tests will shout from the mountains about how the SATs don't measure intelligence. These poor-testers are either the majority or a very vocal minority of students, because I hear this all the time.</p>
<p>But as a consistently high scorer with a low gpa, I beg to differ. Grades seem to measure a person's ability to memorize things and complete homework. Those two things are what I find most difficult about school.</p>
<p>It's all about the complete picture.</p>
<p>tests can't measure intelligence. they measure how well u take the test. A variety of factors could contribute to a low score: bad test taking strategies, lack of knowledge of the material, falling for the frequent traps, etc. A variety of factors can also contribute to a high score: knowing the test inside and out, haivng a good education, being a perfectionist who makes very few mistakes( redundancy I know), being a slow thinker, misreading questions. none of these factors measure intelligence.</p>
<p>SAT scores do matter a lot. a crappy score can keep you out of a college or at least lower your chances of entering a college. an extremely high score can cause admission officers to look over some bad grades( only to a certain extent).</p>
<p>they dont matter much because applicants applying to good schools all have high SAT scores so its no distinction. so in reality yes u have to have a good SAT score, but when u get a good one will it help? not really</p>
<p>probably true</p>
<p>If you do good they don't matter, if you do bad it is bad, at some colleges</p>
<p>bleak, isn't it lol</p>
<p>ya why not just do well on it?</p>
<p>my cornell interviewer told me that the admission office actually has a cut-off line (as a matter of fact they DO hav a cut-off though they all say they dont hav one), and if ur scores have passed that line, what REALLY matter are the rest of your app materials: ECs, essays, recommendation letters, transcripts...</p>
<p>and just realized that the interview is really important, screwin it up can get you rejected right the way</p>
<p>Colleges want you to succeed. That is the whole point. And the fact is SATs are a relatively poor predictor of success in college. A much better predictor are your grades and the difficulty of your courses. AP classes, for example, <em>are</em> college level classes...if you do well in those...it pretty much tells the schools you can do the work....</p>
<p>We realized with my D's low SAT scores (below 1100) that this was going to be a huge hurdle, so this is what we did: She enrolled in a summer UCLA course just before her senior year. It was a Gen Ed history-type course with full college credit, and she got an A in it. </p>
<p>We felt this accomplished 2 things, first it short-circuits the question "can she succeed in college?" by clearly proving she could do well in college level classes. Second, it saved her from having to take the same class in her senior year, giving her an extra free period, AND college credit. So the 6 weeks spent in summer school was, I thought, a pretty good investment. And she has got 5 college acceptances so far.</p>
<p>I think if you're not great at standardized testing, but do well in school work, that taking a summer course for college credit can be one way to tell the adcoms your SAT score isn't everything.</p>
<p>
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AP classes, for example, <em>are</em> college level classes...if you do well in those...it pretty much tells the schools you can do the work....
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</p>
<p>Ah? My brother told me that AP classes are essentially a semester long college introductory course stretched out over a year. They're probably a better indicator of your ability to do college-level work than your average high school class, but they're still not the same level that college is.</p>
<p>what exactly is a GOOD SAT score?
is the cut off a 1300 and above? im just curious for your opinions</p>
<p>i think anything over a 1300 is a respectable score</p>
<p>True, AP classes are "stretched-out" from a time perspective. But you get honest-to-goodness college credit nonetheless....pretty much anywhere, inculding Harvard. There are also "dual-enrollment" classes which are "college-level" as well. The point I was trying to make was that doing well in the hardest classes in high school is, by far, the best predictor of success in college. SAT scores are not nearly as well correlated.</p>