<p>This is just my opinion, but I’d choose high SAT score, for the rationale. When you think about it, colleges don’t set a basis for the 25%ile to 75%ile in GPA, because it is relative to the school. However, because the test is standardized, colleges have a good indication as to how you rank out of people in the nation, which, I believe, is more important than just relative to your school. I’m in a very similar situation as cortana; in my school, I’m ranked #1 with a 2120/34 …the salutatorian has a 1930/28. She just happens to study much more than I do. Studying does not equal intelligence; a person can spend hours memorizing something, but intelligence is an inherent trait, so you either have it, or you don’t. That’s why I’d pick the SAT score over the GPA. And boy do I wish my score was higher. -_-</p>
<p>If I were a college I would choose SAT.
I think in reality they look at GPA though.
SAT directly correlates with intelligence, which is what I would want at my school. GPA can be achieved by somebody who works extremely hard but isn’t very bright.</p>
<p>SAT takes what, a few months to study for? I went from a 1980 to a 2300 in a few weeks. However, boosting GPA can take soo much more effort.</p>
<p>Sheep, don’t mislead people. According to you, you received a 2080, 2210 twice, and a 2260. You superscored 2300 after taking the test 4 times. Your scores did not deviate much on all 4 tests, with your CR staying at 700 each time. I think this validates that the SAT does serve its purpose.</p>
<p>Yeah but I started with a 198 PSAT.</p>
<p>Which means you did not go from a 1980 to a 2300 in a “few weeks.” That’s misleading…
And your deviation on the actual test isn’t that much</p>
<p>I’m just saying the amount of studying I put into the SAT could be compressed into about 1 month. Hence I went from a 1980 to a 2300 in ‘a few weeks.’ </p>
<p>My point was that it is possible to dramatically increase one’s SAT score in a relatively short span of time, whereas it is extremely difficult to do the same for one’s GPA. In fact, it is sometimes impossible to go from a 3.0 to a ~3.9.</p>
<p>I was never questioning the variance on the SAT itself. I admit that without studying in between (as evidenced by my scores), your scores aren’t likely to change much.</p>
<p>@Sheep </p>
<p>i think ur perspective is interesting, some people are just good test takers and while colleges may consider that as intelligence, isnt it also reasonable to consider diligence? i mean, what is a smart person worth if he/she doesnt apply themselves?</p>
<p>But what is a person with a very high GPA worth if he/she goes by memorizing all the information needed for tests, then forgets most of it by the end of the year?</p>
<p>You’re discounting the people whose GPA and SAT scores are both high. Memorization can only get you so far in most classes, at least in my experience</p>
<p>To reiterate, the problem lies in the fact that GPA’s are not equal across the landscape. Argue what you will about the validity of the SAT/ACT but, it is the same everywhere.</p>
<p>Yeah @stageforsurvivor, my school has very rigorous course work and you have to work your ass off to get at least a 3.5, while at many schools in my district, getting a 4.0 would be a joke. Also in Tennessee, all schools use the grading scale: A=93-105, B=85-92, C=75-84, D=70-74, F=0-69. Many other schools in the US use the scale where A=90-100, B=80-89, etc. so they have an advantage since my school doesn’t have grade inflation.</p>
<p>I think that ACT/SAT scores as well as GPA are important, but someone with high test scores are obviously very intelligent while someone with a decent GPA may not be.</p>
<p>Who cares about so called ‘intelligence.’ To me, the smartest person is the type of person who knows what it takes to be successful. Usually this includes hard work, diligence, and a little bit of luck.</p>
<p>Consequently, these ‘intelligent’ people will put in time and effort into studying for the SAT and usually arrive at good scores.</p>
<p>The type of kid who goes into the SAT, wings it, and gets a 2300+ is not very impressive to colleges.</p>
<p>Yeah but being successful at some high schools may not lead to success in college. Like I said there are plenty of schools in which education is a joke.</p>
<p>And I didn’t say GPA didn’t matter. I just said that it varies from school to school. Both are important. And how is a 2300 not impressive to colleges? How are they supposed to know if they studied for it or not?</p>
<p>I’m questioning the truth of the following statement:
</p>
<p>Ah I see what you’re saying. Yes it is hard to compare GPA’s across different schools. I go to a private school and work very hard for my grades. Private schools notoriously grade delflate. I still have a high GPA but it kills me when I see how many kids at the public school near me do very little work in their classes and are not required to do any analytical or critical thinking on their own. They also have high GPA’s. However, admissions is supposed to know the competitiveness of the different high schools in the area. But Sheep, I’m not sure how the college would know that someone winged it and got a 2300. I think they can tell that someone with a 2300 and a low GPA probably did not reach their full potential in their classes. It does take some intelligence and some luck to get 2300+ in a single sitting (not superscored). There are many kids in my school who paid for private tutoring and still couldn’t break 2000. I used the college board blue book and did all 10 tests myself and got a 2300+ single sitting. I’d like to think my intelligence played a role in that achievement.</p>
<p>SGK,</p>
<p>LOL, “who cares about intelligence”? “winging a 2300 SAT is not very impressive to colleges”?</p>
<p>Are you serious??? Do you really believe that?</p>
<p>I believe that diligence and hard work are important, but if you are talking about succeeding at the top schools then some degree of natural intelligence is needed. Many smart, hard working people cannot get great grades and high SAT scores no matter how many hours they study. They try hard, and they deserve to go to a great college. And they will! But if you are talking about getting into a top school, then hard work, natural ability, high scores, and some luck is needed.</p>