Hi guys. I have a quick question. I have this really bad fear that my application could simply be thrown away because of test scores and GPA, even though mine aren’t that bad. I feel as though the remainder of application (in particular my essays and ec’s) is really strong and would make me stand out, but I am aware of the rumor (perhaps it’s a fact) that many “holistic colleges” have unwritten cutoffs.
Here are my stats:
2180/2400 Single SAT (2220 superscored)
1500/1600 CR+M
GPA: UW: 3.82/4 W: 4.62/5 (These may seem really kind of low, but I go to a public school that is really difficult (Top 10 in state (MA) and top 250 in country)
I was wondering. Are my scores and GPA high enough where the adcoms would at least not throw away my application after seeing them (for schools like UPenn, UChicago, Columbia)? All I really want is the peace of mind knowing the SAT is not what caused me to be rejected to one of those schools.
You can look up the score, GPA, and rank ranges for the colleges on http://www.collegedata.com . (But note that Penn and Columbia may also have different ranges by division, but that is not publicly reported.)
The lower you are in the ranges, the more you need from extracurricular achievements and various not-very-predictable subjective factors to have a chance of admission. If you are below the 25th percentile, the odds are really long (even by the standards of super-selective schools) unless you have a “hook”. Almost all “hooks” are factors that you cannot control (e.g. relative of a big donor); the one that is related to your own achievement is if you are a recruited athlete.
So I am applying to Penn ED and I am a legacy applicant (my dad went there). Does that change anything in regards to my original question whether they will give me perhaps a little more attention in the essays and ec’s?
Okay everyone. Thanks, I just wanted to make sure something like that would not happen. Everyone deserves to get a full read in my opinion, but I understand that it often isn’t the case.