<p>I have about a 92-93 average out of 100 which is pretty good, but not ivy-leauge material. But my GPA seems to be in range w/ some schools I like such as Wisconson, GW, UCONN, Delaware, miami, etc. However, my SAT was horrible. I got about 1150/1200 and 1680/2400 just about the 2 times i took them. Does this KILL me? What can i do?</p>
<p>It does kill you.</p>
<p>You study.</p>
<p>Colleges might look at it as grade inflation.</p>
<p>Yeah, it's really unfortunate as I would score more in the 1250-1300/1600 range more often in my practice tests. Heck, I may have done better on my PSATS. On regents such as english and US history where AP, honors, and regents students take the same tests I got 98, and 95 beating or tieing the AP kids who mostly got 1400+/1600 and 98 averages. Am i really just doomed?</p>
<p>You are not doomed--consider the ACT or apply to SAT optional schools
You could try again too. My son went from M 550 CR 500 W 500 in April to M 640 CR 650 W 590 in June simply by doing 2 practice tests the night before---</p>
<p>I know these scores aren't stellar by CC standards, but as a recruited athlete applying to top LACs he is now quite competitive to get into his top schools
with the best teams in his sport</p>
<p>As you have probably learned as you read through CC, some score higher on the ACT than the SAT- so that is an option. Also, there are more and more good schools not requiring the SAT and a few that don't require the SAT if you are in the top 10% of your class (Franklin and Marshall).
Just this past year St. Lawrence University in Canton, NY and
Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass dropped the SAT requirement. </p>
<p>For a starters check out. . .
<a href="http://www.fairtest.org/%5B/url%5D">http://www.fairtest.org/</a></p>
<p>Hobart William Smith College and Providence College also just dropped the SAT requirement</p>
<p>eh... right now they're not bad, just average. Try once more to get them up. If not, shine in other areas.</p>
<p>I'd consider retaking the test. The GPA should match other individuals within that range. It just doens't make any sense when a val with a 4.5gpa scores a 1200 on the sats. And some people wonder why those vals don't get into an ivy. Its just one of the things I hate about high school(grade inflation).</p>
<p>Grade Inflation.</p>
<p>I don't know what you mean by inflation, but if your trying to say that my grades are higher then they should be you are wrong. I excel on tests and state tests and finals. I.E. i took a college level marketing class where my avg. was a 94 but my test/quiz average was a 99 but class participation was arounnd a 85. So, it's just i don't test well with the ACT (i took and did about equally as i did on the SAT).</p>
<p>Hmm...</p>
<p>my predicament is the same as yours, except my average is around 97-98. this grade inflation stuff is a bull. im enorlled in one of the top schools in the area and take several ap and honors courses. your test scores dont define who you are. contrary to popular belief, hard work pays off. i work hard and my grades show it, im just not a good test taker.</p>
<p>Might look at Holy Cross-top30 LAC-which is SAT optional.</p>
<p>Inflation doesn't mean you're getting a higher grade than you should be getting, it means that the class is easier than it should be, making it easier to attain a higher grade. </p>
<p>Either that, or you're just one of the kids who isn't on the same level of intelligence with other advanced kids, but makes up for that in school by working hard. There's nothing particularly wrong with that, but the SAT really shows who those kids are, because you can have a low GPA and still score high if you are innately smart. </p>
<p>The innately smart kids do have their own issues though, many don't have the same drive or work ethic as you and other hard workers do, so unless they're incredibly intelligent, they often will not reach their full potential. Work ethic and intelligence are the main two factors in school, and they're weighted pretty equally, except when the nation-wide tests roll around.</p>
<p>Or the third explanation is you have some anxiety problems which would negatively impact your ability to take a test, however that would show up on any test.</p>
<p>The best explanation I can come up with is the innately smart v. hard worker argument. Since the SAT and ACT aren't really testing you over something you learned, they're more about how you think and how well you take the test. To some people that's worthless, but when you're thrust into a situation with little preparation and expected to perform, the two groups of students really separate from eachother in terms of results.</p>
<p>*Not to say you're stupid by any means, but of course there is a difference between someone who walks in and scores a 1500 with no preparation, and another who studies for hours every day to attain a 1100, which is above average, but not nearly as good as a 1500.</p>
<p>^^^^ thats a great explanation - thank you</p>