<p>Schools (like Cornell, JHU, etc.) have a slightly higher acceptance rate than the super-selective schools, like Brown, Columbia, Harvard, Yale, etc. Are they more prone to accept slightly weaker SAT scores (about 1400)? I'm under the impression that applicants who are slightly weaker in stats are admitted in hopes of them matriculating, since schools like Cornell, etc. are such great schools and no one can resist them.</p>
<p>I was a little vague on that question, but feel free to ask me to clarify.</p>
<p>Average SAT score for Columbia is something like 1380. Brown's and Cornell's arent very high either. A 1400 will give you a shot at any school. It just depends where your grades and stuff are.</p>
<p>If you have above 1300 your score will not be your limiting factor at most any american school. Especially if you scored above 700 on any 1 section. Super high scores help...but if you are above 1300 then they will give you a fair look.</p>
<p>Sorry for not being more specific, but I mean, what if an one of an applicant's SAT sections is near or under the 25th percentle of a particular school? For example, University X has a mid. 50th percentile at 600-700 for Math (and an overall average of around 1300) but applicant A has a math score of 550 but a verbal section of 750, making the overall score a 1300, but a very lob-sided 1300?</p>
<p>It's always hard to predict just how much emphasis is on SATs. My neighbor was valedictorian, national merit scholar, 1580 SAT and was rejected from harvard, but my friend from church got a FULL RIDE to stanford with a 1270 SAT, top 5%, no special awards. Neither was a URM, legacy, or athlete, and they applied in the same year. So, ya never know - don't let your SAT score discourage you from applying!!!</p>
<p>SATs account for more than colleges are willing to admit.</p>
<p>On the other hand, I simply don't believe boredofeducation's claim that someone can just 'get' a full ride to stanford w/ a 1270. Unless he's an athlete, that wouldn't happen.</p>
<p>Well, I'm not here to convince you. Believe it or not, she's at Stanford and her only obligation is occasional work-study. Whether you believe it or not does not change the fact that she's there.</p>
<p>Well "full ride" is what she told me - she said that when she got her financial aid form, it said "total expenses:" $43,000 something rather, and then "expected parent contribution:" $0. "expected student contribution:" I can't remeber the exact figure, but it was like $1,200 per year that would be gotten from work study. so i guess that is not technically a full ride - she still has to work for Stanford to come up with $1,200 a year.</p>
<p>I mean, 1400 is low for a non-hooked, average candidate applying to top-tier schools. Seriously, if interesting ECs and awards are what colleges are looking for, I'm only going to get into 1 of the schools on my college list.</p>
<p>Oh come on.....1400 is not low for ANY school, including Harvard, Yale, Princeton, etc. The 1400 will put you right in the middle of the applicant pool to these top schools. But to tell you the truth, most schools look at it as a first criteria(not the most important) to see if you match their basic standards for admission. Then they look at the rest of your application and use that to make their decision. If you have done outstanding things and your grades and rank are amazing, but your SAT scores are pretty low, not 1400, I'm talking about an 1150-1250, then most colleges ( including top schools such as Harvard and Stanford) will choose to accept you. Consequently, someone with a 1600 and a low GPA and rank is not gonna get in. Some people just don't test well, and colelges know that, but it does not make them any less intelligent than the people with the 1500+ SATs. If you worked hard in high school and have great grades and gpa, then you shouldn't worry about SAT scores that much. Test scores aren't even a quarter of what makes u a good applicant to a certain school.</p>
<p>Let me tell you this: my ECs are very mediocre and nothing in particular sticks out. My reading score is below the 25th percentile for a few of my schools as well, and it feels like a big hindrance.</p>
<p>P.S.- Where did you hear about that deal with the SATs? Are you sure that's exactly how they evaluate your admission?</p>
<p>well, im still stuck. i have bad grades that rose greatly (~3.0uw in frosh/1st sem soph year to 4.0uw this year and 2nd sem of soph year) but my rank is low (34/360) so yeah i need a great sat score to help me out. i only have a 700v 660m 700w which is low for HYPMS.</p>
<p>so yeah good sat's can help cancel out bad grades, but still a 4.0 val is in way better shape then a 3.5 2400 person.</p>
<p>If you think that the top 20 schools are going to accept more than a handful of SAT's below 1400 you are sadly mistaken. Only athletes and special talent students are going to get in with those SAT scores. Heck Duke only admitted 53 % of the HS valvectarions that applied last year. ALL of those students did amazing things with amazing grades. Heck I know a girl who didn't get into Harvard with a perfect SAT score & was valvectorian. Average SAT at Harvard & princeton is around 1530-1550. 1400 puts you at the low end of their applicant pool.</p>
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[quote]
Well "full ride" is what she told me - she said that when she got her financial aid form, it said "total expenses:" $43,000 something rather, and then "expected parent contribution:" $0. "expected student contribution:" I can't remeber the exact figure, but it was like $1,200 per year that would be gotten from work study. so i guess that is not technically a full ride - she still has to work for Stanford to come up with $1,200 a year
[/quote]
</p>
<p>At selective schools the application is looked at holistically and a stduent is evaluated in context of what they bring to the table. Your friend may have gotten a "tip" for being a low income student and as a result they "winked at her scores and felt that they were comprable to students who had more resources (tutoring, better schools, etc).</p>
<p>Also the reason that she got a "full ride" is because she attends a school that met all of her demonstrated need. Once she got admitted to Stanford their FA meets 100% of demonstrated need for *** all of its students ***/ Your friend had a financial need and stanford met it so she got a lot of grant aid from stanford in addition to pell, and the self help components (work study and loans). </p>
<p>*Her EFC as a freshman was $1700 which she had to obtain through summer earnings, At Stanford, the first component of your aid package is self-help, which is defined as the combination of student loans and student earnings during the academic year. The standard self-help expectation amount is $5,500 per academic year. This means we expect you to borrow and/or earn the first $5,500 of your financial aid award each year. If her financial need was higher than $5,500, the school will award grant and scholarship funds in order to meet her remaining financial need. Scholarships and grants are gift aid. *</p>
<p>Me: 30ACT, 3.47UW/4.02W GPA, top 12% when applied to Tufts ED I - Accepted
Friend: 31/32 ACT (Not sure), ~3.9UW, Rank: 4/540, applied to Harvard EA - Accepted</p>
<p>I go to a suburban public school in Florida...btw, I should note that my financial aid from Tufts was large, my contribution is something around 1,200; and my mom's is around ~3,200...covered 100% of ~42,000 in need.</p>
<p>I will be honest, SAT is nothing when compared to all the other aspects of your application. Of course you need to have good SAT scores to get into top college (2000-2400) but there are so many people out there, that I personally know that have scored in the 1750-1900 range who are equally smart and qualified as someone who broke 2000. Believe me, if your EC's, community service, awards, grades, essay, courseload, and even some good AP scores, any college will find it difficult to reject you.</p>
<p>I got a 1950 and I still think the SAT's don't prove a single thing about how good of a student I am.</p>