<p>"Some of you are very mistaken when you argue that people who did very well in high school, but did poorly on the SATs went to easier high schools or received artificial grades in high school. While some schools are less difficult than others, to discredit someone's GPA and academic ability based on their SAT score is ridiculous. " ~Lilspike</p>
<p>I totally agree. I go to a college-prep school which definitely does not use "grade inflation", and my school is also ranked one of the top public schools in our state. I worked my butt off to get a 3.9 GPA, and I even scored 4's and 5's on my AP exams, but my SAT scores were really bad...1720. Does that mean that I'm truly a mediocre person who is getting easy A's in school? Absolutely not. But it does mean that I'm a really bad test-taker though...</p>
<p>Depends upoum your school.. is it one that hardly gives out A (easy earned grades) or a competitive school which gives out Bs to the hightes earners.. </p>
<p>from my experience standardized tests such as SATs are pure crap.. I've worked my ass off through high school .. most people do'nt even go off to good colleges in our high school. did good on my APs .I ended up w a 4.0 GPA ended up getting an 1800 on SATs.. an i studied for them too.. how does that work?.. it's soo unfair!!</p>
<p>Some students are not good at standardized tests and some are not good at turning in all of their homework for four years. I suspect very few students are truly balanced. That is why the schools take the WHOLE application into consideration and try to get a picture of the student's strengths and weaknesses through a variety of measures. Having said that, I would happily trade 100 points off my child's SAT scores for a .6 boost in his GPA so I know how worrisome these things can be!</p>
<p>I'm the original poster and my school is very rigorous. We are a small, private, college preparatory high school in Orange County. I am currrently taking honors classes that I get into. As of junior year, no AP's. Next year, I will take the three I can take. The only sucky thing about my school reflects exactly what Lostinbalt said and that you need to pass prerequisites to get in to classes such as honors and APs; there are only a limited number of APs you can take because my school does not offer a lot. I didn't get into the honors that I tested for, which I worked so hard to prepare for. Oh and my chemistry teacher sucks *ss, which is the reason I got a C in that class. That little *sshole. Anyway, this year, I am self-studying for the APUSH and AP Biology Test.</p>
<p>Don't forget that you can easily get a 2300+ score on the SAT if you either</p>
<p>A) Take a SAT class that forces you to study hard for like 2 months+</p>
<p>B) Study rigorously on your own for the SAT through multiple practice tests</p>
<p>I have high GPA but got a 2060 on my SAT. Then I studied really hard over the summer and got a 2370 the second time. IMO, it's pretty far-fetched to claim that someone who scores really high on the SAT is "intelligent." Now if it was someone who took the SAT for the first time without preparation and got a high score, that may suggest a different story.</p>
<p>To answer the original post, ya it does look weird if your GPA is low and your SAT scores are super high. The adcoms aren't going to say "hey this kid is really smart and that the only reason he has low gpa is because he does not try hard enough in school," and excuse you for your gpa. Having a low gpa is of course going to hurt you, so just try your best to get an A in your classes.</p>
<p>Also remember that admission officers know the difficulties of most high schools, so it's not like the kids who get straight A's in easy classes with easy teachers have a HUGE advantage.</p>
<p>SAT measures preparation. Its a measure of your cumulative preparation throughout your schooling years (even to elementary school - think about it, if a student had a very good grammar teacher, I think the grammar in SAT writing would be much easier in his high school years with such a foundation). Someone who scores a near perfect score for the first time isn't necessarily more intelligent then others but better prepared--he has taken advanced courses, had good teachers, and LEARNED the algebera, grammar, critical thinking skills necessary to do well on the test.</p>
<p>The Critical Reading section of the SAT (ignoring the vocab part) in my opinion is the most important part of the SAT. If you cannot read fast and be able to understand the text then that clearly means you aren't really for a rigorous college experience. The other two scores I'm more skeptical of, but in my opinion the critical reading section is the greatest measurement of your ability. A 400 in CR means you're a moron or aren't a native speaker.</p>
<p>it could also mean that the SAT is filled with deceptive wording and half-true answers. but what do I know. I only got a 710 on the CR.</p>
<p>if you misinterpret one section, you can mistake several questions and lower your score significantly. that's what happened to me. all 5 of my errors were in one section.</p>
<p>It's not a matter of looking weird or not. Your application as a whole should make it very clear as to why the discrepancy exists (not just blame and excuses). You can't leave it to the adcoms to figure why it happened, so you better make a good case and show why, in your case, it's really meaningless. Otherwise apply to schools with admission philosophies that will dismiss that kind of thing.</p>
The Critical Reading section of the SAT (ignoring the vocab part) in my opinion is the most important part of the SAT. If you cannot read fast and be able to understand the text then that clearly means you aren't really for a rigorous college experience. The other two scores I'm more skeptical of, but in my opinion the critical reading section is the greatest measurement of your ability. A 400 in CR means you're a moron or aren't a native speaker.
That's good... I surprisingly scored highest on my critical reading section (790). That was my worst section on all my practice tests (high 600s and low 700s on CR)</p>
<p>hi SAT test scores does not mean you're talented, but high competition test scores (AIME, USAMO, etc) and low grades means you're really talented but just lazy.
and schools like MIT can reject you for that =)</p>
<p>Speaking for myself some years ago, I had a 3.0 unweighted GPA, 32 ACT, and 1300 SAT (when it was only Verbal and Math, no Writing section). I was fortunate to be a National Merit Semifinalist and get an automatic full-tuition scholarship to my local state college due to my PSAT scores, because my grades certainly weren’t going to get me any merit aid.</p>
<p>I am one of those who was always resentful of high-grade/low-test-score types. (I know this is not fair! I’m just saying.) I felt that I <em>could</em> have gotten better grades, but high school was boring as h-e-double-toothpicks, and I could never bring myself to slog through the busywork and get those A’s.</p>
<p>Anyway, I went on to get a 3.5 GPA in college, ace the GRE, and get a master’s degree at a top university in engineering. I felt like that vindicated me a bit. So to all of you 4.0-ers, nyah-nyah! :D</p>
<p>It’s frusterating because a lot of people on here are those annoying work hard kids who will argue for a couple of points and study for hours and hours. I went to a school for gifted kids. I NEVER study for tests except on rare occasions (APs). I get good grades in normal society. I’m taking 7 ap classes next year and I don’t really think AP classes are hard. But for college-weird people, my GPA, which is a 3.4 (GASP!), is embarrassingly low. I guess to college admissions people, it would look like I’m a sub-par student. Except for the fact that I got a really good score on the SATS (M760,CR730,W690). I got that without studying and I def. partied pretty hard the night before. My scores were way higher then my friends’ who took the SAT more then once and even took a CLASS for the SATS. Wow I guess I had to vent. I just don’t like those kids who will argue like crazy for points and will cheat off each other when they are really dumb. Or the ones who take honors classes even though they are just stupid, but their parents make them do it. At least I got national merit, because I was beginning to think those hardworker/dumb students were going to reap ALL the benefits.</p>
<p>I know yesnomaybeso7 was just venting, but I would like to reply anyway.</p>
<p>It’s important to keep in mind that there are different types of intelligence.</p>
<p>There are those without natural talent but who have focus and drive; they may have high grades and low test scores.</p>
<p>There are those who have an easy intelligence but find hard work boring; they may have high test scores and low grades.</p>
<p>There are those who may have low grades and test scores, but high social intelligence that enables them to engage and lead people.</p>
<p>All of these may be successful if they choose the right fields of study and subsequent careers. That’s the real trick, and I think we should all devote time to helping our kids find the course that is best for them, not just gaining admission to the “best” college.</p>
So to all of you 4.0-ers, nyah-nyah! :D</p>