Does a higher SAT score make up for a lower GPA?

Applying to College
1

<p>and vice versa?</p>

2

<p>In some schools, yes.</p>

3

<p>Depends what higher and lower mean.</p>

4

<p>Without extenuating circumstances, almost never. It only helps if you attend one of the top HS in the country.</p>

5

<p>So the school one attends must be nationally ranked?</p>

6

<p>I can't find high school rankings online.</p>

7

<p>Here's the list for this year
<a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12532678/site/newsweek/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12532678/site/newsweek/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

8

<p>No. They both have to be high in my experience.</p>

9

<p>lol, my school is within top 250</p>

10

<p>Colleges would rather see a higher GPA relative to the SAT score, than the other way around. This is for several reasons.......a lower relative SAT score could indicate that you are not a good test taker, while a lower GPA relative to your SAT could show that you are a smart kid who did not work hard enough in school. You did well in the one SAT test, but you did not work consistently and diligently for 4 years of HS. Smart Slacker.</p>

11

<p>Cool. So what? I would think that a college would rather take a high potential kid than one who worked hard, but just isn't that smart. College admissions isn't a prize for hard work in HS. If you have two runners, who are running the same time, one has awful form and the other has perfect form, who do you take?</p>

12

<p>I don't think he mean the newsweek list as a top high school meter. You can have a lower GPA at schools where a test is needed to get in and most of the kids are very top students--top prep schools and top magnet schools, none of which are on the Newsweek list. So if you to to TJ or Exeter, a B+ average can still get you ino a top school wih a 2250+.</p>

13

<p>So would say a 2300 on the SAT balance out a GPA fo like 3.85ish that's barely in the top 10%?</p>

14

<p>i had a 2300 and was OUTSIDE of the top ten percent, and it got me into a lot of places. My GPA was 3.4ish</p>

<p>rejected at brown</p>

<p>in at
williams
pomona
vanderbilt
BC
BU
mcgill
miami
tulane</p>

<p>Nobody has heard of my school</p>

15

<p>Meatlover totally depends on the HS and the college. hYPSM, no, many others quite possible if your HS is strong.</p>

16

<p>I'm in the same boat. In my experiences, high test scores can kind of make up for low gpa for colleges outside of the top 10 or so. </p>

<p>The thing about GPA though is that it's usually an indicator of how hard you work/responsibility/work ethic. If you have a low gpa then you should try to work harder, or try to get more organized. I know 1600/36 kids that are failing miserably in college (1.8 GPA) because they simply do not know how to work hard.</p>

17

<p>
[quote]
Cool. So what? I would think that a college would rather take a high potential kid than one who worked hard, but just isn't that smart. College admissions isn't a prize for hard work in HS. If you have two runners, who are running the same time, one has awful form and the other has perfect form, who do you take?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>There's something very important that you have to understand here. It's not going to ever come down to a high SAT low GPA kid vs. a low SAT high GPA kid in the most selective colleges.</p>

<p>You know why?</p>

<p>Because if you have a low GPA with a high SAT, a (let's just say) Yale adcom will not have to make the decision between you and a high GPA/low SAT kid--they'll make it between a high GPA/high SAT kid.</p>

<p>In other words, it'll be this:</p>

<p>Applicant A: High SAT/Low GPA
Applicant B: High SAT/High GPA</p>

<p>Not this:</p>

<p>Applicant A: High SAT/Low GPA
Applicant B: Low SAT/High GPA.</p>

<p>The most selective schools have enough applicants to the point that they can easily find an attractive applicant with good marks all around to replace a High SAT/Low GPA kid unless the latter has something amazing (hook, circumstance, etc.)</p>

18

<p>But wouldn't a higher SAT be a better indicator since it is standardized and whole nation takes the same test? I mean, a person with a B's at one school, might mean straight A's at another. Some schools might be easier than others.</p>

19

<p>I think a kid with a 2.9 and a 2000 Sat looks better than a kid with a 3.8 and a 1550 SAT</p>

20

<p>Drew i'd have to question that, but again after reading "A Is For Admission" (if it still holds true to this day), standardized tests are more of factor in the process due to the standardized methods as others said.</p>