Does anyone have any advice about whether and how to address a high-verbal, mediocre-math disparity (possible math LD) in applications to very selective schools? I am sorry if this topic has been addressed in a prior thread, but I am new to CC and have not seen this yet.
By high-mediocre, I mean 800 vs. 670 - 700 (extra time on the math part); in other words, more than one standard deviation, which is often regarded as significant. I realize that in the non-university world this would hardly be a catastrophe, but it is extremely hard for such a student to get high enough grades in advanced h.s. math courses to show the sort of stellar GPA effort most demanding schools look for.
My instinct is to avoid the big and little ivys. With ten or twenty thousand applications each, I suppose they would just move quicky onto the next folder.
By the way, I have read some of the posts by parents and have found them extremely helpful. I just read “A is for Admission” by Hernandez at the suggestion of a parent poster, which is first-rate. So, thank you to those parents who have provided lots of thoughtful input here.
<p>I'm not sure that score will kill you, even at the Ivies! They DO look beyond test scores, you know, and are highly unlikely to reject someone based only on test scores, especially if you have awesome ecs and essays. A 1500 is a very good score, and colleges would generally prefer a 800V to an 800M. LACs in particular would jump at a high verbal score. Your scores may not guarantee a spot in a top school (is there such a score?), but they will certainly not keep you out. Don't worry too much about your math classes (unless you're aiming for MIT :eek: ). As long as your math grades are decent, your other grades should balance them out. </p>
<p>By the way, I had the same problem:
1st try: 800V, 700M
2nd try: 750V, 660M (ouch!)
3rd try: 800V, 740M (after much, much practice)
I managed to get into several great schools. :)</p>
<p>Thanks for your comments, Warblersrule86. By the way, I am a parent, just in case that wasn't clear. You got into really terrific schools. U.Chicago is one of my favorite schools.</p>
<p>I realize that no set test score is dispositive; I guess my question should have been whether to disclose actual suspected LDs (having trouble with math is not a small impediment, I realize, even if you don't want to go to MIT).</p>
<p>The disclosure might explain to a college why a student got Bs in math and dragged his/her GPA down to below top tenth percentile.</p>
<p>Oops! I hadn't read the part about the possible LD. I think it would be perfectly reasonable to mention that to colleges. There have been several threads about including ADHD in the application, and the general consensus is that it would probably be helpful to mention it, so I assume the same would apply to LDs. It would be more helpful, in my opinion at least, if the LD was actually diagnosed and then included in the app.</p>
<p>I also had a >100 difference between my M/V split, and I got into Penn. Don't give up on selective schools entirely! I did get better grades in HS math, but I think that the possible LD could well carry some weight.</p>
<p>Thanks, everyone. I feel more hopeful, anyway, although no one reading CC faithfully could be exactly optimistic, unless they enjoy risk more than I do.</p>
<p>Thanks especially, warblersrule, for your kind replies. We are doing what you apparently did, intensive math tutoring, (expensive outside talent, in our case, since we are not exactly math geniuses ourselves).</p>
<p>from what i've heard, schools generally regard a high verbal score as more impressive than a high math score because the verbal section is harder to coach.</p>
<p>i got 790V 690M and i'm going to georgetown next year.</p>
<p>Son's scores were 790V 670M and he's going to UChicago this fall. His score was mitigated by a 750 on the math IIC - but I think they cared more about the verbal.</p>
<p>Hmmm. Duke, U Chicago, Johns Hopkins, Davidson, UNC, Wake Forest, Penn, Georgetown. U. Chicago again. Cornell for high math split.</p>
<p>U.Chicago seems to come up more in the "tolerant of imperfections" column, within limits--an impression I have gotten from many sources, not just this one. I personally really like it a lot, and when people figure out that it has cleaned up a lot of the crime in its neighborhood, it will get much much harder to get into and probably less tolerant of imperfections. It already gets amazingly smart kids, so it is hard to see how they could go up much in that department.</p>
<p>Duke, on the other hand, is regarded by kids in our public school as just impenetrable, likewise, the others on the list. So, on the whole, hopeful signs. </p>
<p>The issue really seems to be the possible LD (hedging, due to strong disagreement among testers -- all agree there is something, but disagree on what), even if the record shows only mild indications. If I were an admissions officer, I might get jaded by repeat excuses along these lines, even if backed up by genuine expert opinion letters. I am going to find the thread that Warblersrule86 mentioned to see if that has anything new. </p>
<p>Well, if it amuses you all any...back in the dark ages (early 1970's) I scored a lopsided 800v/420m. Went to Brown, lived happily ever after with a MIT grad who had an 800m!</p>
<p>i was also lopsided: 800m/690v.
but i got into Pomona, my dream school as well as uchicago and wesleyan. but i did get a lot of waitlists....rice/amherst/washu.....so just work on your essays and everything else. i did 11 apps in less than a month, about 20 days so give yourself time, dont procrastinate like i did. also visiting seemed to help. pomona is technically as selective as amherst and maybe a little more than rice/washu, but i still got in. i also visited, stayed overnight, on campus interview, wrote follow up letter to interview, etc. so show interest i guess.</p>
<p>I'm lopsided too--790V and 710M, but I'll be at Princeton in the fall. Honestly, your scores are very good. A couple ivies use numbers as a deciding/heavily important factor, but, because most applicants already have amazing scores, I think most of them care more a/b you as a person and what you've done with yourself. If you look at Pton's avg SAT scores, you can see that 1/4 of the people have less than a 700 on the math and/or verbal part. Apply where you want to go, and don't sell yourself short by assuming you won't be able to get in. Congratulations on an impressive score, and good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks again, everyone. I guess the grand prize so far goes to Annelise for biggest difference. I am making a note, Annelise, to tell my daughter to marry someone with a high math score, just as you did. Obviously it was a winning strategy. Yes, I am joking, just in case you couldn't tell.</p>
<p>Lepidoptera- you are very encouraging, but what I have learned from this thread is that it isn't the gap that is important, it is the LD, which has left my daughter with all Bs and one C in math courses, even with lots of tutors. If people with math scores like hers are taking calculus and doing okay, then it isn't the score that is the problem. She is struggling even in pre-calculus. </p>
<p>Thank you all for contributing to the thread. This has really helped.</p>