Can essays, letters of recommendation, gpa, and extracurriculars help with these lower schools? And does it depend on the caliber of school? For example, Pitt v. Johns Hopkins.
Some people just don’t test well. Colleges understand this. If the rest of your application is outstanding they may take a chance on you. However, don’t get your hopes up and make sure to apply to solid matches and safeties.
If you have a score at the 40th percentile for that school, of course it isn’t ideal but it isn’t devastating either. Remember that 40% of the freshman class had scores lower than you and got in… Albeit they may be URM, legacy, or athletes but take confidence that you still have a chance. I recommend working on stellar essays
I recommend on finding matches/safeties first…and then if you really want to apply to JHU, go for it. But generally the low scorers have something else going for them as @gurl567 mentioned.
Its also not the best to be a small fish in a big pond…better to be a Big fish in a small pond.
The below 25% applicants who get in are usually hooked. Under 50%, you want to be extremely strong in the rest of your app, and the school is considered a reach.
Clearly there is a chance, since 50% of the students are below the top 50%. It depends on how far out of range you are, and who else you are up against. You have less chance, but not necessarily zero chance. Even if you’re in the top 5% of stats you’re not guaranteed admission.
Be realistic in your expectations and make sure you’ve got those safeties.
for some schools, i think it really depends. for example, caltech is known for being brutal when it comes to standardized test scores. if you have below a 34 on your ACT, you’re more than likely not going to get in.
for many, many schools, however, there is always some sort of chance, just be realistic. being one point below a school’s 25th percentile mark is different than being three or four points below. it’s contextual.
If you’re unhooked and are in the bottom 50% of a school that admits 40% or fewer students, then it’s a reach to high reach. Have a few of those but you should have more universities where the acceptance rate is 40-50% and/or where you’re near or above the top 25% threshold.
Different strokes for different folks, and all that, but I’ve never understood the desire to apply to schools where you already would be in the bottom quartile. There are going to be lots of tests at those colleges that are a lot harder than ACT/SATs, no? It would seem to be setting yourself up for stress if not failure. Maybe I’m wrong (I’ve been out of school for a long time), but I encouraged my D to apply to schools where she at least would be competitive, if not a rock star. You need good grades for many grad programs and I wouldn’t want to set myself up to be on the wrong side of the bell curve. Just sayin’…
Would my chances improve if nobody else from my school or area applies to the schools I am applying to? Does this matter more at specific schools?
I think it is true that at highly selective colleges, the kids accepted from the bottom percentages are either hooked or URMs. Some like UofC aren’t requiring you to submit standardized test scores anymore, so having a stellar GPA, ECs, LORs and geographic diversity will be critical.
Such schools are still worth a shot, if you can afford to attend without much financial aid. Make sure you apply to some schools where your scores are in the top 25%.
The degree of influence depends on the school. For example, many colleges are not especially selective. A school with near open admissions is going to accept the vast majority in all score ranges. Many colleges are test optional. If you do not submit test scores, the percentile of your score is irrelevant for admissions. The same is also true for colleges with guaranteed or near guaranteed admission for a combination of non-score criteria. Among selective colleges that requires scores, some less holistic colleges have admissions decisions that can almost perfectly be predicted by stats. Among selective, more holistic colleges that require scores, some have decisions that are only loosely correlated with scores, with many exceptions in all score bands. At the same colleges, scores may interpreted completely differently for different groups. For example scores might be considered different for Cornell Engineer and Cornell Hotel School. It short, it depends.
For example, the first school you listed is Pitt. Pitt is less holistic than HYPSM… with a greater emphasis on stats. Scattergrams suggest a strong correlation with stats, although there are also numerous exceptions, suggesting also considering various holistic criteria. However, the acceptance rate is ~50%, suggesting it is not as selective as HYPSM, which would lead to admitting from a wider score range, if stats were the only consideration. Comparing scattergrams to score bands, it looks like the vast majority of applicants who have a high GPA + 25th percentile test score are accepted. So in this case, it’s quite likely that you have a good chance of admission with 25th or 50th percentile scores.
Stop and think about the math.
The 25th percentile means that 25% of the current freshman class below that score. The median means that 50% scored below that score.
Translation: 25 and 50% of the freshmen, respectively, scored below those scores.
Yes, some are hooked and some are athletes, and so on.
But, yes, of course you have a chance.