Are SATs worth a thing to colleges?

Chance Me / Match Me!
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<p>How much are SATs worth to Ivies or other top colleges? </p>

<p>Read below if you have time,</p>

<p>I feel that I grew up with an old world mentality. Study hard and you will be able to go to a top college. Thus, I have not really considered ECs much. They are like the sprinkles on top of your ice cream. You buy the treat not because of the sprinkles, but because of the ice cream. </p>

<p>As many of you, I have studied quite hard for the SATs (almost 8 weeks!). Although I feel bad since it gives me an unfair advantage over people who take it cold, the studying paid off. </p>

<p>BUT after going through the chances threads, I am getting the impression that SAT scores are not worth much. For example, I have heard on numerous occasions that a 700+ is just as good as an 800 for top Ivies and other schools,that a 2150+ is not statistically significant when compared to a 2400. </p>

<p>I feel that it is true that 2150 could easily become 2400 if the person could get 2150 without prep, but what about people who prepared day and night for that 2150? Do colleges really believe that a 2150 is not much worse than 2400?</p>

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<p>If you are reading these posts and consider that a 2400 and a 2150+ are comparable, then either you are reading posts by people who don't know what they are talking about, or you are not reading all the other things that are being taken into account (lower GPAs with the 2400 compared to higher GPAs with the 2150+, a discrepancies in ECs between different applicants, or the fact that one student is applying to Cornell (the easiest Ivy) vs the other applicant applying to Harvard or Yale (the hardest Ivies)).</p>

<p>The schools do consider everything--but generally the order is approximately as follows:
GPA (or rank), difficulty of courses attempted, SAT Is, SAT IIs, ethnicity and diversity factors, ECs, essays, AP scores, awards, , teacher recommendations, volunteer service, other factors. So obviously, SAT I and SAT II test scores are extremely important.</p>

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<p>to be part of an ivy---say yale(i know its almost impossible to dream to get in there)..what range should your SAT 1 and 2 scores be?</p>

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<p>2400, 800,800 is preferred, but for mere mortals like you and I, I think 2250+ and 750+ is the baseline.</p>

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<p>uh-oh...i am a mere-er mortal</p>

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<p>Hmmmm, if they still use the AI as much as they use to, then yea SAT's are pretty important with a score of 2250+ being good on both.</p>

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<p>Well if AI is being used, you can still get a 9/9 without a 2250+.</p>

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<p>True that, but life would be easier :)</p>

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<p>wait...colleges actually use the AI??</p>

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<p>only ivies</p>

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<p>I use to think the same thing until my dad told me why they do it. He said that they do it because that some schools give A's like candy at halloween and that a test was needed to determine the actual people that deserved the graDE AND THE ONES WHO DID NOT. (opps caps lock :))</p>

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<p>Look at the middle 25 and 75 percents for ivies and you realize SATs are pretty essential...</p>

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<p>I interview for an Ivy. Trust me, they count. A few points here and there don't matter, but a 2150 is VERY different from a 2400.</p>

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<p>I would imagine a 2300 isn't that different than a 2400 though. Would this idea be correct, considering at that point, you're more looking for EC's and essays (considering excellent GPA)?</p>

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<p>I think adcoms look at transcript (meaning both courseload and grades) first, then standardized test scores second. If both are up to snuff, then they move onto extracurriculars and essay. So I would say that SAT scores are very important. If you have good grades but a crappy SAT, they think "hard worker but not actually that intelligent." A less than stellar SAT is ok if your grades are really great, but I do think that test scores are ultimately quite important.</p>

<p>And a 2150 is definitely miles away from a 2400.</p>