Junior year sched-
AP Chem
AP Language
Physics
Pre Calc
Bioethics
Spanish IV
Senior year-
AP Bio
AP Govt
AP Human Geography
AP Literature
Spanish IV
AP Calculus
My SAT scores are currently 1900-
710 Reading
570 Math
620 Writing
I took them again and am waiting to get my scores back. I didn’t really study but have had more math prep and felt like it was over all easier. My score will improve 100 pts max but that is a stretch. I’m also taking two subject tests. I expect to do well on the Literature test and fairly well on Chemistry.
I’m part of NHS, International Club, Pony Club, Yearbook Committee, Cross Country team, and tutor at the local elementary school. Had a full time summer job (worked 40 hrs a week) and a part time winter job.
Other activities- Governors Institute of Environmental Science, Chinese immersion week long course
Spent 2 weeks in South Africa shadowing at HIV/AIDS research clinics and HIV/AIDS international conference.
Fine teacher recommendations, excellent & unique essay
Plan on majoring in Anthropology and going to grad school to study international public health
Right now your SAT score is too low. To feel good about your chances, you need to be at the 50% line, and that is 2220 SAT and 3.75% GPA (both together). Also, Vassar’s website says the typical student is in the top 10-20% of their HS class, so you are just below that too at 25%. If you are good enough to run cross country for Vassar and can get at least a 2000 on then you have a shot. If you don’t have a hook like that, you need to get that SAT above 2100 with that 3.7 GPA in my opinion to have a chance, and even then you could be denied. Good luck!
Well, that’s not true. 2100 SAT by itself is more at 50%, but if you couple with 3.75 GPA (which this student doesn’t quite have but is close to) then you need a 2220 to be at the 50% line with both things considered together as I said in the original post…and actually the latest updated info is that the 50% line is 2230 SAT along with a GPA of 3.76. If you raise the GPA, then the SAT score can be lowered, and vice versa.
It amuses me when someone argues with Merc. It almost always proves futile. Anyway, do you have a link to those statistics? The latest statistics I have are for the class of 2019. I’m not sure how you can have more recent figures than that.
I’m perplexed. Vassar, nor any LAC that I’m aware of, has ever even intimated that’s true.
Nor to my knowledge has Vassar ever published a graph of admitted student’s SAT scores versus GPA. Actually, there’s anecdotal evidence that suggests students with exceptional SAT scores but a low(ish) GPA are at a disadvantage at elite colleges. Admission officers are prone to question if the student is working to their potential.
Additionally, the SAT combined scores have to be parsed carefully. A low writing score, but a very high math plus critical reading score, might very well be viewed differently than a very high writing score and a low math and/or critical reading score.
Then of course a student who submits only the SAT reasoning test must also submit two SAT subject tests. If a student scored a hair below the SAT 50 percentile but scored an 800 on both subject tests, then what GPA would they need?
@crewdad - there are lots of places to get this kind of data, and some of it is perhaps suspect, but the data I quoted came from the former ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■.com which is now https://colleges.niche.com. If you sign up for the site, you can get scatter graphs of all of the kind of stuff I mentioned, enter in different GPAs and SAT scores and see where on the percent scale you fall. In any event, considering JUST a 2100 SAT and you will be about 50%. Add that to a 3.76 GPA and you then fall a bit below 50%.
^^
Are you cognizant of the methodology used to create the scattergram? When compared to the ~7,600 applications Vassar receives, the scattergram is compiled from a minuscule number student submissions, Nor are the statistics verified as accurate or from actual Vassar applicants. In other words, the graph (and the "how do I stack up compared against the students in the chart " feature] is worse than useless, it’s enormously misleading and damaging to prospective students. https://colleges.niche.com/vassar-college/admissions/
I hope you don’t believe everything published in The Onion too.
That is definitely good information, but applicants still shouldn’t be too comforted by knowing the average SAT score. Some students will study and practice and take multiple tests to get a super-scored SAT of 2100 but then if they have a 3.2 GPA, that will lower their chances significantly. Definitely need all aspects of the application to be pretty good to have a good shot at being admitted.
Yeah. Definitely true. I think the mean GPA is also mentioned there. But the gpa and SAT are sort of prerequisites for consideration, only your application as a whole can get you in.
