<p>I am a HS Senior. I have picked out 6 schools that match up well against my GPA, SAT scores, interests, and location; have visited them and would be happy with any of them. I figure I have roughly a 40% chance of getting into any one of them, so I ought to get into at least one. Which is good, because I haven't found a safety school that I would be willing to go to. (I have very specific athletic requirements that are a bit unusual.)</p>
<p>That was yesterday. Today I got my new SAT results and they went up 160 points. Now they are much better than my grades or anything else; while before they were about the same as my grades.<br>
Will that improve my chances of getting into the colleges I like, or will the fact that they are a mismatch to my GPA mean they don't help? I can even see them hurting, because it kind of implies I am not working very hard.</p>
<p>What colleges are you looking at specifically? It would help to know what range of selectivity you are shooting for. Also, what is your GPA and SAT scores? They might not be as mismatched as you think.</p>
<p>But do they help? Are my chances still 40%, or have they improved?</p>
<p>Anyhow… GPA 3.0; I have done 4 APs and will do another 4 this year. My SATs went from 2030 to 2190. I knew I could improve, but I was hoping for a 2100.
The schools I am interested in range from Colgate to Rochester. I figure I had 20% chance at Colgate to maybe 80% at U/R, with the other 4 in-between; so 40% on average.</p>
<p>It’s a bit erroneous to say you have x% chance to get in a college. They will either accept you or reject you. That said, your chance probably won’t go down by increasing your SAT that much, but it probably won’t help you a ton. 3.0 GPA is pretty low for a 2190 (unless you go to a very rigorous school–how is your class rank?).</p>
<p>I think you should get at least one school that qualifies as a safety that matches your athletic requirements… because the logic that you have a decent chance at a bunch of schools so at least one will be a hit disappoints a lot of people.</p>
<p>The fact that your SAT went up isn’t what your concern should be. A higher SAT is good.</p>
<p>your concern should be your GPA. Some schools are very “GPA oriented” and are admitting kids with higher GPAs.</p>
<p>Tell us more about your GPA. Is that your overall GPA including all classes? Is that weighted?</p>
<p>URoch</p>
<pre><code>* 64% had h.s. GPA of 3.75 and higher
20% had h.s. GPA between 3.5 and 3.74
9% had h.s. GPA between 3.25 and 3.49
5% had h.s. GPA between 3.0 and 3.24
2% had h.s. GPA between 2.5 and 2.99
</code></pre>
<p>A 3.0 GPA is not good for URoch. 93% of kids have a higher GPA. To me, that suggest that those who have lower GPAs are special admits…like athletes or URMs.</p>
<p>Here’s what I’d think if I was on the adcom at one of the selective schools you’re applying to. “Here’s a bright kid with mediocre grades in math and foreign language, which are arguably the hardest high school courses, those where even the brightest kids need to work hard to succeed. He clearly has the ability to do college level work at our school. And there’s a chance that if we admit him, he’ll figure out that he needs to work hard to succeed here. But we’ve got a bunch of other kids, just as smart, whose grades show they have already figured that out, and we have a limited number of slots. So who should we admit?”</p>
<p>Over the past 5 years 320 from my HS have applied to URoch. Every single one over 2000 SATs have been accepted. Roughly half with SATs under 2000 with a 90 GPA have been accepted.
With my old SATs my guidance counselor estimated my chances at 80%.</p>
<p>My question is essentially, have my chances gone up because my SATs have gone up 160 points.</p>
<p>For what’s its worth, I will make first boat on their crew team as a freshman, am a Jr. Asst. Scoutmaster, on a town advisory board, and first percussionist at school. Just not good at Spanish or math.</p>
<p>What GPA did the students accepted at URoch have? You can’t consider SAT scores alone.</p>
<p>Do you know your rank? Rochester and Colgate seem like pretty big reaches with a 3.0 GPA, unless your high school has unusually tough grading, so you still have a good rank, e.g. Top 10% or close to it. 79% of U. Rochester students are in the Top 10% of their class, and 93% are in the in Top 25%. </p>
<p>Well what are you going to do at this point, cancel your 2190? Just get your grades up first semester senior year, an upward trend is a good thing to have.</p>
<p>And also, I got into Colgate this year, decided not to attend though. If you row there maybe you’ve got a shot. Although your SAT is in their range, a 3.0 could murder your chances.</p>
<p>I agree about 3.0 being low for Colgate; I figure a 20% chance. My GC talked me out of even visiting a few others.</p>
<p>But at URoch…
They accepted 34 with GPAs between 88 and 92, denying or waitlisting 15.
But the highest SAT for a deny was 1910 and for a waitlist 2040.
It is hard to see that as a reach, since I have 150 points over anyone with my GPA who wasn’t accepted.</p>
<p>Despite having 4 APs, my senior schedule is rather easier than last year, so I hope to see a nice uptrend.</p>
<p>But of course, that is not the issue at hand.</p>
<p>I agree that you’re probably in at URoch, you’re well inside their top 25% for SAT scores which I would think they value just as heavily as grades. What GPA do you think you could pull next year? Even though the average over the 3.5 years you’ll have completed by then might be relatively low, I could see two solid report cards (unless your school is on like trimesters or w.e.) making URoch a safety rather than questionable. But like real solid ones though, just in case.</p>
<p>Admissions at a lot of places can be unpredictable and it’s difficult to say how one factor or another will play. You can’t predict how a reader will view the relationship of GPA to test score – or whether they will focus on other factors (we need someone on crew!!!) The good SAT score helps, and it sounds like URoch respects your school. So just put together your best possible application and apply to range a places so that you give yourself opportunities.</p>