<p>Hi! I'm a rising senior in high school. I took the ACT this June and recently got my test scores back. They're quite average (23 composite score) but I have a high GPA. My weakest areas on the ACT are math and science. However, I'm taking college classes and next year I'll be taking a College Algebra class (I had to take the ACT Compass and it placed me in this college class). College algebra is the first math class my school will allow us to take. I'll also be taking a college English class. My GPA is higher than a 4.0 because I'm taking college classes. I'm taking these classes at my local community college and I currently have 24 college credits. I'm worried because my test scores aren't that great but they're sort of average. I'm wanting to apply to school in the Boston area (I really want to get into MIT but that's already hard enough so I'm not mainly focusing on applying to that school alone). I am going to take the ACT again in the fall.</p>
<p>It depends upon the college. Some schools put more weight on your transcript, course rigor and GPA as it’s a 3-year window into your potential as a scholar, while an ACT/SAT is a 3 hour window into that same potential. Other colleges – especially the state schools who do not look at teacher recommendations or EC’s – put equal weight on a student’s GPA and test scores .</p>
<p>FWIW: I’m on my phone right now so I can’t look it up, but check the Common Data Set for MIT, as I believe your test scores are way below MIT’s 25th percentile. MIT is known as a math & science school, which you admit is not your strong suit in the ACT – which mainly covers the first 2 years of high school math – so why are you considering MIT?</p>
<p>He could be doing humanities at MIT, I think they’re trying to boost their humanities.</p>
<p>You might consider test optional schools, but those are usually not the top tier schools - though there are a few. But if you managed to get in to those top tier schools, you might find yourself quickly overmatched. There are plenty that might be a closer match.</p>
<p>MIT sounds like a bad idea, to be honest. You need to be taking college calculus or above as a senior, not algebra, to be comfortable at MIT. Use the SuperMatch feature at left to find schools that might be ideal for you in the Boston area. And use you ACT score to get the most appropriate matches, even if you find a school that won’t require it.</p>
<p>Just some food for thought. Out of 305 people who applied with a < 25 ACT, MIT accepted 0 of them. The admit rate for those with a 34-36 was still only a measly 13%.</p>
<p>You can have a high weighted GPA and a low unweighted GPA. What is your unweighted GPA?</p>
<p>Also, it depends on the school.</p>
<p>But for most top schools gpa>test scores</p>
<p>@kei04086 it depends what you consider a top school. I would say that the top 20 according to US News put a higher weight in SAT/ACT scores than GPA. GPA varies from school to school and almost all the applicants have a perfect or very high unweighted GPA. Test scores are standardized and allow schools to see students on an almost equal playing field (although students who can afford prep classes usually have more opportunities afforded to them). Getting a high SAT and a middling GPA (like a 3.5 UW) is better than getting a 4.0 and a 1900 for these top schools. What Im trying to say is that test scores>gpa.</p>
<p>@ooohcollege I disagree completely. Every admissions officers and counselor I’ve talked to (and I’ve talked to quite a few) emphasized that your transcript is the single most important factor of admission. When I or anyone else on CC says gpa, we mean transcript including course rigor and grades not the number. Of course the number is meaningless. It’s the course rigor and grades that count. Test scores are the result of one 4 hour sitting on a random day. Your transcript is the culmination of your entire high school career, the record of what you’ve done in all 4 years of school. Colleges are first and foremost educational institutions. Regardless of ECs, character, or leadership potential, if a student is not academically capable of following and surviving a schools rigor, he does not belong at that school. Test scores can be flukes, depending on luck and the students condition on that day, which is why people argue above certain scores, all scores in that range are largely the same: adcoms understand that a score can waver due to multiple factors. Your transcript is the result of an entire semester. There is no fluke. Grades don’t lie. That’s why gpa (course rigor + grades not the number) is much more important than test scores, more important than anything else in the admissions process.</p>
<p>@kei04086, they say that partly to just get you to apply – more applicants means lower admission rate means higher rankings for the college. The test score is the ONLY way they can compare across the applicant pool. Grades DO lie – you are only compared to your fellow high school students, and the quality of the students and teaching can vary hugely. The OP has zero (and I mean zero) chance of getting into MIT with a 23 ACT, or most other top schools. And I think we are talking deeper than the top 20, potentially down through the top 50. The Common Data Sets do not lie, and it is easy to look at a school and see how many applicants with those kinds of scores were accepted. And don’t forget that a lot of the bottom 25% at each school has a hook – athlete, legacy, URM, etc. Colleges have minimum scores they will use to put applicants in the reject pile, and a 23 ACT isn’t going to make the cut at a lot of schools. (Sorry, OP…)</p>
<p>OP, you should take a hard look at test optional schools. There are some really good ones – Bowdoin, Brandeis, Mount Holyoke, Dickinson, Lawrence, Lewis & Clark are a few that come to mind. Here is a list to take a look at:</p>
<p><a href=“ACT/SAT Optional List - Fairtest”>http://www.fairtest.org/university/optional</a></p>
<p>You’re right, he has no chance with a 23. In fact, at MIT, I’m sure he still would have very small chance with a 36. My point was that gpa is comparatively more important than test score. And while teaching varies school by school, I think challenging oneself with the most difficult classes possible while earning high grades is more important than doing well on a 4 hour test. And while you’re right that test scores are good indicators of one’s chances at a school, you could also argue that that’s because students that get high test scores tend to do well in school. Correlation not causation.</p>
<p>It’s unfair to say with such and such score he has no chance at a super selective school. At those schools, having stellar gpas and scores are always a prerequisite. At the less selective but still selective schools, I think high course rigor and gpa could make up for a mediocre test score, while it may not be true vice versa. It’s difficult to say because there are so many other factors that go in.</p>
<p>@kei04086 Well if you meant course rigor you shouldn’t have said gpa. I do indeed believe that a heavy course rigor combined with scoring high grades in those classes is important. Yet that is not the always the best indicator as you say. Not every school affords students to take 10 APs and some schools may not have any such programs. I never said that gpa (and i guess course rigor as well) is not important, but that reaching a respectable gpa like a 3.5-3.6 won’t disqualify you from top schools but a 1900 will almost certainly put you in a position where admission is very unlikely at these top schools. While you make think that the 4 years worth of grades are more important than test scores, colleges cannot accurately choose between two applicants based on that. Test scores can be viewed as a culmination of a students high school career due to the topics are stuff that the student learned (except for maybe vocal) and since all students take the same tests, colleges can see the differences in the students more. While it may seem unfair to put all the weight on a 4 hour test, it is what it is. What I just discussed is regarding the very top colleges and I’m not including other important factors such as ECs and essays.</p>
<p>@ooohcollege wrote:
And you’re mistaken.</p>
<p><a href=“2400 SAT vs. 35 ACT - YALE - #8 by gibby - Applying to College - College Confidential Forums”>2400 SAT vs. 35 ACT - YALE - #8 by gibby - Applying to College - College Confidential Forums;
<p>@ooohcollege well @T26E4 just proved my point.</p>
<p>yolo (Its one in the morning and I don’t want to argue anymore)</p>