<p>I'm currently in my junior year and of course going out of my mind about the whole college thing. I really enjoy both Tufts and Swarthmore, and plan to visit them both in the spring. I'm curious as to whether I should even bother worrying about my potential shot, so here are my stats.</p>
<p>-African American Male at a competitive Maryland high school
-3.54 UW GPA Freshman and Sophomore year, 3.8 Junior year (so far and plan to keep it)
-1670 SAT (took it as a careless sophomore...taking it again 3 times this semester)
-APs: AP World History, AP US History, AP English Lang, AP US Government&Politics
-APs taking senior year: AP European History, AP Statistics, AP English Lit, AP Macro Econ, AP Micro Econ, AP Calc AB
-Honors and GT (gifted and talented) classes throughout</p>
<p>Extra curriculars and such:
-School newspaper (editor for a year)
-School Improvement Team (since sophomore year)
-Student Ambassador
-National Honor Society
-American Red Cross Volunteer
-Published in school literary magazine</p>
<p>Also, would I get sufficient aid from either school? Thanks, everyone!</p>
<p>Your stats are really low. But URM status should help you. See what you get on SAT this year. Also take ACT. You never know what you’ll do better at. What about subject tests?</p>
<p>Do not take the SAT 3 more times. Tufts (and likely swarthmore) do not participate in Score Choice, so they will see that you have taken it that many times, which will not be looked upon favorably. It would be better juat to study really hard, every day over a period of several months, and then take it again to try to get a score in the 2000 and up range. Remember, you will also have to take SAT subject tests. Pick and choose those wisely, as you will again have to report all of your scores. Maybe try the ACT as well if you are unsure about your SAT performance.</p>
<p>Looking at the SAT test score scattergram, an SAT score of 1670 will NOT get you into Tufts (even if you had an unweighted 4.0 GPA and were #1 in your class). From the graph it appears that noone with that test score got in last year (nor are they deferred or waitlisted–ie no chance for admission). Most of the students who were admitted had an SAT of 1900 or higher or an ACT of 29 or higher. Given that, the ACT and SAT tests are very different. My daughter took each test only once. She did not do as well on the SAT so did not take the subject tests. She only submitted the ACT score, and got in. My son did better on the SAT than the ACT test so he only submitted his one SAT score to his University. </p>
<p>Also, rather than sign up to have the test scores automatically submitted to your Colleges, don’t indicate any colleges on the SAT/ACT test registration. Instead, when the scores are available, it they are good, then submit them manually. That way they won’t see your bad scores.</p>
<p>I recommend working your BUTT off to get that SAT up. After that, Swarthmore is probably too high of a reach. Tufts is achievable, especially if you show off your interesting and quirky side (if you have one) in your supplements and essay. If you nail your SAT, keep looking at schools similar to Tufts (i.e. Wesleyan), but if you are not above 2000, you might need a couple of safeties.</p>