I’m quite confused as to what standardized tests and grades mean to colleges these days. Many colleges’ websites seem to emphasize that they don’t consider an applicant’s test scores or GPA nearly as heavily as they do that person’s “character.” However, I happen to know a number of folks who work with/in admissions departments (including my uncle who is a dean) or who have counseled students at large private high schools for years, and they have told me that, while an individual’s character is an important consideration, test scores and GPA are still among the most, if not the most, defining factor.
My teachers, counselor, and fellow students have further confused me. The adults at my school tend to say that grades and scores don’t matter as much as ECs and essays/recs, going so far as to devote entire class periods to explanations of why this is true. My informed friends, on the other hand, have said the exact opposite. I won’t share my test scores/grades here but almost every student I’ve talked to says I’ll waltz into top schools based on those. Granted, I am at a relatively poor public school that doesn’t send many people to college to begin with, so I can’t exactly trust what I’m hearing from any given person. However, it certainly hasn’t helped to clear things up.
To further add to the confusion, I’ve read many an article online about how neither outstanding character nor good scores/grades matter as much as having some sort of huge, focused intellectual passion (e.g. oncology, robotics, programming) that you have developed over the course of your youth. According to these authors, top schools are looking for an applicant who has, say, competed in national competitions and has loads of ECs related to one subject, even at the major expense of GPA/test scores.
All of the possibilities make sense, but I’ve heard so many conflicting stories from different resources that I’m not sure who or what to believe. Can anyone shed some light on how colleges actually view test scores and grades? I would be very grateful.
I think it depends on the college. For example at the ivy level all the kids have the test scores and gpa to be excellent students so what separates them is their personality and their ECs. However, your local state school probably wouldn’t care much about your LORs and ECs.
Im not even in college yet so take this with a grain of salt.
Google the Common Data Set for each college you are interested in. There is a section that looks like a table where they mark the relative importance of different aspects of the application. In general, more selective college are VERY interested in grades and test scores. However, the most selective colleges want that AND very strong ECs and LORs. The further you go down the rankings (and the higher the acceptance percentages), the less weight any of these carry.
But there is not a true formula. In general, you want your test scores to fall at the 50% mark or higher in all sections of the test. And have solid grades (a 3.7 UW is pretty much the minimum for top schools unless you are hooked, and with a 3.7 you want to be very strong in all other areas – test scores, ECs, LORs). And a bad LOR can scuttle anyone with the very highest statistics and ECs (and the applicant may never even know what caused their rejection).
At super-selective schools, there are so many applicants with top-end academic credentials (course rigor, GPA, class rank, test scores) that the other factors like extracurriculars, recommendations, etc. get magnified in importance among those applicants (applicants who fall short on the academic credentials are likely out of the running without something really special like relation to a huge donor or being a recruited athlete).
At less selective schools, academic credentials are typically the biggest factors in admission.
I would be amazed to see any college that values character over grades. Test scores are not as important for a few reasons. One of those reasons is that very selective colleges that are big on promoting diversity are willing to settle for somewhat lower, or (if test optional) no, test scores. Good grades in rigorous clases show a college that a student will be able to handle the rigor of college-level work. The less desirable you are as a diverse candidate, quite frankly,the more important good test scores are. (I am generalizing.)
There are so many different factors at play at the most selective colleges. Most applicants are going to have great grades and test scores, so this is where ECs and character come into play. Always prirotize grades. It’s very unlikely that a college is going to accept a student just because of their ECs, Malala Yousafzai not withstanding:-) You will do yourself no favors if you allow grades to suffer in favor of an EC and I am certain no one on CC will disagree with that.
What you bring to the table to any university, “top” or otherwise, is you. As others have said the more selective the institution the deeper they need to look to determine who they will offer admission to. I doubt, as your peers would say, you will “waltz into top schools”. Top schools will look more deeply into who you are and not just whether you met some predetermined criteria. I’d say your uncle the dean has hit closest to the mark. You must be a top achiever to be considered and you then you will be evaluated on how you have demonstrated the type of person you are. The competition is stiff so follow the guidance offered on this website to have safeties, matches and reaches. If you choose wisely then you can be happy regardless of the results.