FAQ Part 2: SAT, ACT, GPA

Applying to College
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*These are based on my experience. Any disagreements are understandable. However, please understand there are people who need information and might value some of these things I post.

What is SAT and ACT.

SAT and ACT are the standardized tests created by organizations to help colleges understand “how prepared the students are” for colleges.

GPA is a Grade Point Average earned from the high school that the students attends from the freshman year to Junior year, and senior year.

FAQ: Why is SAT and ACT important?

     I will say that SAT and ACT are not as important as some people think and more important that some other people think. Think about them this way. In the student's application, SAT & ACT are like the face features of the blind date. It can either grab a person's attention or make him lose the interest all of a sudden. To the admission officers, those scores show them how "good-looking" you are in the first-sight. Then,

FAQ: What is a good SAT and ACT scores? (I will only talk about SAT. Please use the conversion chart for ACT scores)

     If a student gets over
     2000: Student is fine.
     2100: Student can try to apply for any school in the nation.
     2200: Student has a shot at any school in the nation.
     2250: It wouldn't be weird even if the student gets accepted or denied by any school in the nation.
     2300+: Student should stop taking SAT.

     from 2300 to 2390, the difference is very minor. Although higher score is better, if the student got 2300+ in the first try and if he doesn't have a confidence to get 2400, it is recommended to not to retake it. There are too little to gain, too much to lose.

for example there is a student who got M: 800, R: 770, W: 770, 2340.

A score of 770+, high 700s, means that student is capable of getting 800. So, it is not extremely necessary for him to actually prove it. However, if a student’s score drops and goes to mid 700s, then, the admission officer might think that student got lucky in the first try. Although SAT math tends to be the “easiest” subject, a single mistake might bring down the score to 770 and that happens to a lot of the test takers.

FAQ: Is GPA the most important thing?

     Yes, it is the most important thing.
     A single test won't change what happened for 3+ years of work. GPA relates directly towards the class rank. However, upper trend GPA is very favorable, so even if the student didn't do so well in the freshman year, which is regarded as the least important as opposed to the junior year, most important, an increasing GPA might give a little hook to the applicant.
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Hmmm I agree on almost all fronts except GPA being the most important. Colleges can’t really compare GPAs persay because difference schools grade differently. That being said, the SAT is the major way they bridge this comparison gap by standardizing scores. Also, GPA is a measure of how well a student does in his/her particular environment, which is important. I’d say SAT is paramount to GPA, but GPA is still important

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I think GPA combined with your individual high school’s profile (how competitive, how many APs offered, etc) and your course rigor is the most important for most schools. GPA alone doesn’t tell a college enough, for the reasons listed by @DaedricSaiyan