<p>I feel ticked off every time I see someone on here that has 1600-1900 SATs and a GPA of 3.8-4.5. </p>
<p>I have seen this numerous times and my brain can't wrap around it!! I have a 3.5 W GPA and my SAT is about 2300. WHy is this? I did so well on the test with NO preparation and my grades are, in comparison, pretty pathetic. This gets me so worried now about being accepted into college. I have, imo, oustanding everything except grades! NO one at my school, in its history, has had higher than a 4.4...</p>
<p>It's just that the SATs test more "reasoning" ability, rather than actual knowledge. So it doesn't require memorizing anything, but in school, there are more tests on what you know and memorize.</p>
<p>Plenty of people who have either/or. Alot of top kids at my schools had not so hot SATs, but they still got into where they wanted to. Believe in yourself :)</p>
<p>What the SAT, ACT, and all of the others actually measure is somewhat of a mystery (for fun reading on this topic, visit <a href="http://www.fairtest.org)%5B/url%5D">www.fairtest.org)</a>, and some people are just born with a knack for doing well on these things. Class grades measure class performance as determined by the teacher and/or the school system. Some teachers/schools grade harder than others. Diligence counts when it comes to grades.</p>
<p>There is no clear correlation between grades and test scores because they measure such different things. The simple horrible truth is that colleges and universities will look at your transcript first. They do want to know your grades and the courses you earned them in. That is because the SINGLE BEST FACTOR for predicting success in college is the high school GPA in academic subjects. Good college admissions officers who are familiar with your school will know if your school consistently grades harder than peer institutions.</p>
<p>im in same spot as OP, my school doesn't weight on its own but by my own calculation it is somewhere between a 3.6 and 3.7, 2250. my school tends to be harder than most, there are a lot of schools that basically hand out As for attendance, the hope anyone in our position has that colleges really understand the school you come from and that your test scores set you apart. i think people like us have worse shot at state schools because they are so stat oriented but better at private ones.</p>
<p>GPA is a relative measure. It's good within a school district. Otherwise, it is really meaningless. I know a friend who goes to a school where a 3.0 out of 4 gets 34 or 35 ACTs, and I have a friend with a 4.0 who has a 1600. One goes to a really tough school, the other an underfunded public school with a poor curriculum.</p>
<p>what's your rank? colleges care a lot more about that because every school does their gpa differently. Plus it also depends on whether or not you took challenging courses. </p>
<p>If you're a smart person who made plenty of accomplishments outside of the high school, such as international piano competitions or Siemens research awards, trust me when I say that GPA means near to nothing. However, if you don't have these things, I'm sorry to say, but it will be hard for you to get into the top schools. (write an awesome essay :D)</p>