<p>This seems to be a pretty common question, and I've been wondering about it. I'm taking the SAT in June, and on my last 3 practice tests I've scored above 2300. I still have like 8 more to do, so I'm hoping that I can get like ≥2380 on the real one in June. Also my PSAT was 230. My GPA (unweighted) is like 3.6, but by the end of this semester it should be about 3.7 now that I've motivated myself lol. I'm in the top 17-20% of my class, and I guess I'm kind of nervous about how that could affect my chances. My #1 school is MIT (Physics), but I'm pretty sure that's too much of a reach unless I get 2400, and even then...after that would probably be Berkeley. Do you think I would have a legitimate chance of getting in there? I don't think my ECs are very good either, all I really have is:
-3 years varsity tennis
-2 years volunteering at a tennis academy
-Treasurer for Walk Against Cancer club
-Played a pretty major role in our KMO team that was first in CA twice in 8th grade (not sure if I should mention that though)</p>
<p>...Honestly that's pretty much it. I don't know, I guess I never really felt like doing something that I didn't want to do just so I could impress colleges. Aside from homework hahahaha
Oh also does freshman GPA matter? I've heard different answers about this, so does it vary by college? Because if it doesn't count then I'm in much better shape</p>
<p>My son applied to MIT with a 36.0 ACT, 240 PSAT, dual 800 SAT IIs and a 1/400 class rank. He was rejected, as were a number of others with similar stats that year, based on CC reports. My son was also captain of his Scholastic Bowl team and Math Team, where he won 7 individual ribbons in Chicago citywide competition. No matter what their brochures tell you, we got a sense that MIT expects you to show that live and breathe math and science by entering multiple competitions and competing to at least the state level. </p>
<p>The Ivies and other ultra-elite schools rarely let in students who are not in the top 10% of their class – and the vast bulk of those students are ranked in the top 1%. Only about 3% of those below the top 10% get accepted, and you can bet most of them are athletes or URMs/first generation college or have world-class ECs.</p>
<p>A very high SAT or ACT would make you eligible for merit aid at a lot of state schools and some private ones. My son received a $15,000/year merit scholarship offer from our state flagship UIUC; most of those offers went to 35’s and 36’s and few to 34’s from Hispanic families.</p>
<p>I think frankly, at the upper echelon of colleges the answer is no. There are probably the rare exceptions but those schools attract the top students and many have perfect grades and honors etc as well as great SAT scores.
For a second tier of schools, there is certainly a chance, especially if coupled with improving grades (upward trend) and increased course rigor. You are going to get into a very good school with the numbers you are posting and the rest of your qualifications. Concentrate on finding some of those. Put apps in to MIT and Berkeley too- why not?- but read the current threads, and don’t let yourself get down about the chances. They are low for everyone.</p>
<p>If your GPA is between 25-50% of their admission stat, it may help by excellent SAT score. If your GPA is below 25% of admission stat, you must have a lot of luck, excellent essays, and some hooks.</p>