Does a perfect score work against you for HYPSM?

<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/massachusetts-institute-technology/1625217-mit-class-of-2018-ra-results-thread.html#latest"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/massachusetts-institute-technology/1625217-mit-class-of-2018-ra-results-thread.html#latest&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>That thread has a lot of 2400s. All but 1 got rejected, if I remember correctly. I'm worried because that's me. 2400, two 800 subject tests, taking a third one soon (expecting an 800). No AP scores less than 5. </p>

<p>Don't come out and yell at me for bragging or trolling. I'm genuinely scared.</p>

<p>Do colleges assume you're a nerd or a try-hard? Will they reject me simply to say "we rejected this many perfect scores this year, hurr hurr" or something? </p>

<p>I've come to believe that colleges value imperfection and drive for improvement over what I'd have to offer. Any advice, stories, encouragement? </p>

<p>MIT has like a 6% acceptance rate so almost everyone gets rejected. </p>

<p>Yes, they’ll automatically reject you for getting a 2400. What were you thinking?! How dare you get all those multiple choice questions correct. </p>

<p>I haven’t gone through that thread but in some cases, people achieve a 2400 after multiple sittings + superscoring. That time spent on studying and such could be spent doing other things to better your app. Personally, I feel that I was made much better off after scoring a 35 on the ACT my first and only time, and spending the time that my peers were spending on studying on doing other things, such as running a club or working a job. I ended up getting into my dream school, Brown, so I am very happy. </p>

<p>No.</p>

<p>Appreciate the above poster’s brevity^</p>

<p>I agree with his answer:
No. </p>

<p>I don’t think you should worry about this. A lot of people with 2400s probably are tryhards (being a nerd is good for college admissions, because nerdiness is defined by passionate interests and typically a lack of self-consciousness), but essays and ECs are a far better metric for that than test scores. </p>

<p>

These schools are choosing among the best students in the entire world. I’m sure they’ll find lots of imperfection in you. </p>

<p>I do know someone that did have the perfect score / 5’s on 20 AP exams and ridiculously strong EC’s / didn’t get the admission to some of the Ivies, he’s more of someone that mastered the high school system so well. His claim is colleges saw him as a “machine” or maybe other worded as a tryhard, but one could model his high school life after what he did, social life included. He continued to stand out in the Ivy League that he got into throughout his college years, but there were quite a few waitlists that he got back in high school. So I am actually wishing you luck on your admissions!</p>

<p>I will say your SATs can count as much as one third of your profile , so a 2400 can be a Plus Factor, but each school is looking at different parts of your application differently. You can be accepted by Harvard or Amherst , and rejected or waitlisted by Georgetown or Stanford.</p>

<p>lol</p>