<p>what is more important when colleges weigh in their decisions - a good gpa (i.e 3.7+) or good SATS (2200+)</p>
<p>obviously the top schools want both but would someone have a better chance in getting into great schools (non ivy) like duke, northwestern etc. with a 3.8 or 3.9 gpa but only a 2000 sat or a 3.5 or 3.6 with a 2200 or 2300 sat</p>
<p>this is assuming both applicants have taken all honors ap, great ECs, sports clubs and good essays and recs</p>
<p>GPA is more important than SAT scores. Particularly with the top colleges, however, having a rigorous curriculum also is important, and most successful applicants to such colleges have a strong curriculum, gpa and scores.</p>
<p>Although both of those are important, you have to keep in mind other stuff like extracurricular activities. Between those two though i'd say gpa is more important.</p>
<p>just a humble opinion, why is GPA still important, i mean, isnt it a fact that the inflation is crazy in the US?</p>
<p>GPA is important because it's the best predictor of freshman year college grades and is an even stronger predictor than scores.</p>
<p>GPA reflects work ethic, perserverance, etc. There are plenty of students with sky high scores, mediocre gpas who'll flunk out of college while students with excellent gpas and low scores (for a particular college) will stay in and graduate because they'll do what it takes to succeed. I am writing as the mom of a S who had scores in the 98th percentile nationwide, went to a tier 2 where he was among the top students accepted in terms of his scores, and then got a sub 1.0 average freshman year because he didn't bother going to class or doing his assignments.</p>
<p>I think most people would say that GPA is more important. The SAT often seems to be used to standardize, to account for differences between curricula at different schools. Like someone above said, though, GPA isn't a perfect indicator of academic strength, though, due to things like grade inflation/deflation and cheating.</p>
<p>You could get a perfect SAT score without a day of study, which makes you a bright-test-taker. A good GPA actually shows that you are a serious student who consistently gets good grades, studies and does well in quizzes, tests, midterms etc. all year round for 4 years.</p>
<p>Couldn't a good SAT and low gpa show that your school is more rigorous than others though?</p>
<p>well low GPA vs SAT scores is much more important to have a good SAT because that really shows your mental capacity as if you had a low GPA was maybe because you really didnt show interest in school academic classes</p>
<p>Strong GPA in the most rigorous coursework available is much more important than test scores. While one can hope to have it all, if there's an area to shine, it's your GPA. Your GPA is evaluated based on the courses you selected based on what was available to you and how you did in them. </p>
<p>As previously said in this thread, your GPA reflects ability and work ethic over a long period of time and tells adcoms how you would apply yourself in college. Test scores are a one or two shot deal over several hours. And this thinking is not just for good schools--it is for great schools. I was at a meeting with a rep from a top school just last week and this was exactly what she said. Just keep in mind--it's not just GPA--it's course selection.</p>
<p>"Couldn't a good SAT and low gpa show that your school is more rigorous than others though?"</p>
<p>Sure. However, there are thousands of students with great scores and grades who also are in very rigous colleges. So, when it comes to the top colleges in the country, they'll accept the students who prove they can do the work in a very rigorous environment. And, for space reasons, they'll end up rejecting plenty of students with top grades, scores and Ecs.</p>
<p>When it comes to less competitive colleges such as the tier 2 colleges, they may accept the student with grades that aren't stellar (such as B- grades. I'm not talking about students who are getting Ds and Fs) if scores are exceptionally high for the college's pool.</p>
<p>I think that having a good sat is better than a good gpa.</p>
<p>it would seem to me that gpa would be more important because im sure there are a lot of kids that are real smart but are just poor standerdized test takers and GPA can show that. whether a kid is genuinly smart or not it would make sense that colleges want the kids they admit to get good grades and if the student did this throughout HS via their good GPA by taking all honors and AP it makes sense for GPA to be more important</p>
<p>Ofcourse a good GPA is important; however, without the good test scores, colleges will still deny the applicant no matter how high the GPA is. Even a 5.0 isn't going to impress them, if their test scores aren't in the middle 50% range.</p>