Does Boston College care more about GPA or your SAT's?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Boston College
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<p>Boston College is my top school and I’m desperate. The thing is, I have a 3.5/3.6 gpa which is REALLY low for BC. </p>

<p>I haven’t taken the SAT’s yet but I did really well on the practice tests plus I’m really good at taking standarized tests. </p>

<p>Will an amazing SAT score make up for the low GPA? I’m talking 2200+. If not, what score would make up for a 3.5 gpa? </p>

<p>Also I know extracurriculars and AP’s and SAT II’s help. Right now, I’m just concerned about the bare bones of a college application which are the GPA and SAT score.</p>

2

<p>I am taking a guess that you are a junior. Assuming that is the case, I would suggest you work really hard getting that GPA up. It would look great if you had all A’s junior year in very hard classes. That along with solid SAT’s and great EC should go a long way. BC is becoming more and more competitive to get into. You should make sure that you have no regrets. Good luck:)</p>

3

<p>No, I am actually a very worried sophomore. </p>

<p>I really messed up in freshmen year, getting a 3.56 gpa. I was very unmotivated back then. But now, I really want to go to Boston College and I really really want this!</p>

<p>Right now, I am probably going to get 2-3 B’s again which will lower my GPA. Again. School isn’t my strong point but tests are so I’ll hope for the best. Any more tips? Are you a student there?</p>

<p>Thanks :)</p>

4

<p>Honestly, take the ACT. It was literally one of the best decisions of my life haha. like for me, I got a 2120 superscored on my SAT (1320/1600) which is not really that great for BC or other good colleges. However, I took the ACT and got a 32 composite score (33 on english, 32 on math, 31 on reading, 30 in science, 34 writing w/ a 12 on the essay) and my composite ACT score is 100 points higher than my SAT score! like my ACT score translates to a 1420-1440/1600 on the SAT. which is obviously way better than a 1320/1600 :slight_smile: so take the ACT!</p>

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<p>Oh I never thought of that! Anyways, what’s the difference? Does it look more impressive if you do well on both? Sorry if I sound stupid lol</p>

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<p>You don’t sound stupid :slight_smile: There really is no difference, and no school prefers one over the other. Here’s whats cool about BC: BC wants either your ACT score ORRR two+ SAT II’s & the SAT. so you can take the ACT and bang out the standardized test requirement for BC in one test, as opposed to taking SAT II’s and the SAT for the standardized test requirement. and I did bad on my SAT subj tests, so I was really happy when I did well on teh ACT and didn’t have to submit subject tests</p>

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<p>“Will an amazing SAT score make up for the low GPA? I’m talking 2200+. If not, what score would make up for a 3.5 gpa?”</p>

<p>My D is a junior at BC. </p>

<p>Personally, I think BC does consider GPA as the most important component in your application. I think you would be better served to have a 3.8 GPA and top 5%, taking a full load of AP classes, and score a 2050 on the SAT I, then you would having a 3.5 GPA and top 25%, taking only a few AP classes, and scoring a 2200 on the SAT. Getting a better score on the ACT will not sufficiently make up for a low GPA. What was your course RIGOR and rank/decile? I think BC also puts really strong emphasis on EC’s, so depending on your commitment there this could also make up for your “low-ish” GPA. As a Jesuit college, their emphasis is on “educating the whole person”, so EC’s are really considered one of the “bare bones” components as well imo-- to use your words.</p>

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<p>@ collegegirl Wow that’s awesome! I will definitely check that out!</p>

<p>@jshain I take the most advanced classes my school offers for my grade. Next year, I am planning to take AP’s in English, Math, Science, History (maybe doubling up in a class so 5 AP’s) Yeah, I’ll basically just take the most advanced classes. My school doesn’t do class rank. </p>

<p>Extracurriculars- </p>

<p>Member of Red Cross Club (not really worth mentioning though)
Volunteer of an elderly care organization that my friend and I formed
Golf team at school
Job at Kumon (tutoring)
Library volunteer
Animal Shelter Volunteer
Shadow buddies (working with disabled kids)</p>

<p>Thank you for your insight! May I ask what your daughters stats were?</p>

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<p>^Full IB
3.86 uw
top 5%
2160 SAT I
cannot remember SAT II scores</p>

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<p>The thing is that I want to go to veterinary school so it doesn’t matter what undergraduate school you go to, only your GPA during undergrad. However, my mom is obsessed with the prestige of the school as well and BC seems to be both prestigious (and possible for me to get in). </p>

<p>Any other suggestions for schools I should look into?</p>

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<p>Wow, your daughter seems very smart! What were her extracurriculars? </p>

<p>Thank you!!!</p>

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<p>By the way, I just spoke to my D, who said she got a 760 in Lit. but a 690 in Math II on SAT II’s, and reiterated that test scores are slightly secondary. She’s an accounting major in Carroll School of Management.</p>

<p>Where else did you apply/applying ?</p>

13

<p>I’m only a sophomore so I’m not apply anywhere yet but I still want an idea when the time comes. </p>

<p>Boston College*
Boston University
Rutgers University
University of Maryland- College Park
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Northeastern University
Emory University*
George Washington University
Pepperdine University
New York University*</p>

<p>Obviously, the starred ones are my reach schools. I really like Boston so that’s why Boston College and University are on my list. What do you think of my list so far? Mainly, I’m looking towards big state universities with prestige. Can you suggest other ones? </p>

<p>Thank you for your help :)</p>

14

<ol>
<li><p>You are a sophomore, you should be spending all your energy on your high school classes.</p></li>
<li><p>There is no magic number for an SAT/ACT that “makes up” for a specific GPA. That’s true just about everywhere not only BC.</p></li>
<li><p>*“School isn’t my strong point…”<a href=“from%20post%20#3”>/i</a> makes me think you’re going to have an uphill battle for a many of your current colleges.</p></li>
<li><p>As a sophomore if you are going to have a list of colleges I think you should have about 50 schools you’re considering. It’s WAY too early to have a short list.</p></li>
<li><p>Why pay out-of-state tuition for a public school? This is financially ridiculous. There are very few out-of-state public universities that are “worth it”. To me the list is Michigan, UCLA, UC-Berkeley, North Carolina and Virginia. That doesn’t mean other states don’t have very good programs, but if you insist on buying prestige, those are the five I would suggest (Of course, a 3.5 will make it extremely unlikely that you’ll get into those schools as an OOS candidate).</p></li>
<li><p>The last time I checked (and it’s been a while) veterinary school was as hard or harder to get into than medical school, primarily because there were far fewer vet schools available. So if school isn’t your “strong point” you’re picking a tough row to hoe.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>To summarize: Spend all your energy on getting your grades up. Forget about a college list until June of 2011. Then you’ll have more information and a better sense of what you’re realistic chances are.</p>

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<p>Dear vinceh : One of my oldest child’s friends has applied to several veterinary programs and has been granted an interview at Tufts. Now, just to underscore how hard it is to gain acceptance, this young lady was thrilled to get the e-mail for the interview. We can confirm that the medical school programs are easier for top candidates than veterinary programs for the exact reasons you mention : supply and demand.</p>

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<p>Dear limmering : According to information from admissions and the link below (which reflects accurately our experience), Boston College provides the following guidelines on importance of application components.</p>

<p>Very Important : High School Record/Rigor, Academic GPA, Standardized Tests</p>

<p>Important : Class Rank, Recommendations, Essay, Extracurricular Activities, Volunteerism, Specialized Talents, Character, Religious Affiliation, Relationships with Alumnus</p>

<p>Now, from the “important” category, class rank is that most dominant characteristic and given the correlation to GPA and strong statistics offered by Boston College, we would have to place GPA/Class Rank on a par with SAT/ACT scores.</p>

<p>[Boston</a> College Admissions Information - CollegeData College Profile](<a href=“Boston College Acceptance Rate | CollegeData”>Boston College Acceptance Rate | CollegeData)</p>

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<p>Just keep in mind that while BC seems to have a tighter range on GPA, they don’t value either more…at least not publicly. All applications are reviewed holistically. good luck! :-)</p>

18

<p>Oh wow guys, thanks for all the replies!</p>

<p>Do you have any other suggestions for colleges to look into? Suggestions would be appreciated!</p>

<p>And about vet school, they don’t look at your high school GPA, only your undergraduate ones so I was planning to work really hard in college and succeed. I live in a dysfunctional household so maybe if I get out of here, I might do better academically. The problem is getting into a good undergrad school… </p>

<p>Oh and today, I took a practice test and I got a 2340! I am very confident about the SAT’s now. What would colleges in general think of somebody who got an average GPA but a high SAT score? Do you think they would see my potential? </p>

<p>Thanks for your insight!</p>

19

<p>Dear limmering : In the movie, Pretty Woman, Vivian and Kit have an exchange towards the end where Vivian says “We think you have a lot of potential Kit De Luca”. In a very poignant moment, Kit says “You do? You think I got potential?”.</p>

<p>limmering, I am saying this to you as an adult in my very late 40s to a young person looking for assurance. “Yes, limmering, we think you got potential”.</p>

<p>Right now, ignore the discussion of vet school and all the other side conversations. You have the Calculus hurdle, the Organic Chemistry hurdle, Biology labs, and a dozen other science courses that will test your resolve to make a graduate school decision. Let’s harness your potential for Boston College cohort schools.</p>

<p>If you ask the Princeton Review, your cohorts include Boston University, Brown University, Georgetown University, Harvard College, and University of Pennsylvania. These are somewhat obvious, so let’s add a few more where you might find a comparable or softer field of applications yet with a strong science tradition : New York University, Holy Cross, Lehigh University, Lafayette College, Muhlenberg, Penn State, Purdue, and Bucknell. You might also want to consider the academically strong NESCAC schools in your expanded search.</p>

<p>Now, harness your potential and stop asking silly questions here on college confidential. Do your research and in your mind, explain why each of these schools including Boston College should be accepting you. Part of “potential” is being able to sell your capabilities and you are sufficiently well written that you should be able to share your passion in writing.</p>

<p>Yes, limmering, you have potential. Now use it.</p>

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<p>I had little EC’s, a 3.67 GPA (2 A’s for every 1 B pretty much), [weighted GPA of 4.5 if that helps], barely in the top 10% (top 9%), and got a 2220 (2240 superscored) on my SAT.
Hope this helps</p>