On this board, I see an interesting mesh of SAT scores and GPA’s.
Some people have 4.5 weighted, but only achieve <1400 SAT’s, while others have <4.0 GPA’s and get high 1500’s.
What do colleges seek more? Which is more important? I fall in teh second category, and I want to know how that would reflect on my person.
<p>I can only speak on personal experiance, so here it goes. I am a senior in high school, and my GPA was wght 4.2 and i had a rather low SAT(1300). I got into all the UC's, williams and tufts. My friends had better SAT's (over 1400) and didnt get into those schools. While grades and scores are not everything, this seemed to be a common theme among many at my school. So yea, a good GPA will get you farther (in my opinion.)</p>
<p>Same here...I have a 4.05 weighted UC gpa, but a very mediocre SAT score (1200+ sat, 740math2c, 670physics, 570 writing). I got into UCLA, UCI, UCSB, and UCD. I got rejected from UCSD though =(. My major is engineering with the exception of LA, of which I was admitted into Materials Eng. w/ electronics option.</p>
<p>My suggestion is to keep your GPA the top priority and keep your standardized tests and ECs second.</p>
<p>I think everybody knows those Vales and Saluds with pretty mediocre test scores that still got into really good schools. A high GPA in tough courses is what demonstrates to colleges that you can handle their workload.</p>
<p>The rule of thumb I've always heard from admissions people is that while a high GPA can make up for a low SAT, a high SAT cannot make up for a low GPA.</p>
<p>Damn. I guess they see more value in the hard work of a GPA than the potential of someone with a high SAT score, which makes sense. From what i've heard from my college friends, lots of the people who get high scores just kinda slide by in college, doing what they have to, while others with lower scores are the real achievers.</p>
<p>GPA's probably more valued than SATs because it takes more time and dedication to build a strong GPA, while SATs usually consist of a few months of study. At the extremes, a hard worker is more valuable to any part of society than an intelligent lazy bum who does nothing. Not saying that a low GPA and high SAT makes you the latter.</p>
<p>GPA hands down, SAT's have been getting flack which is probably why they had to come up with the new SAT</p>
<p>Yes, GPA is more important because a high SAT and low GPA usually means that you're a slacker (which I see is true in many cases, including my own).</p>
<p>i don't know...a 4.4 gpa and a 1300 sat isn't going to get you into HYPS...</p>
<p>I would say at middle tier schools a high GPA and low SAT is better than a low GPA and high SAT.</p>
<p>However, at the upper tier schools you have to try to have both high GPA and high SAT.</p>
<p>The most important thing that ALL colleges/universities look at is your GPA AND the quality of the curriculum you've taken in high school. Then come test scores. </p>
<p>High tests scores with a mediocre curriculum or GPA won't get you into top schools. A tough curriculum with a solid GPA will trump so-so test scores every time.</p>
<p>And by curriculum, I'm not just talking about the number of AP and honors classes you've taken but about how you've filled out your schedule in terms of academic core classes (math, science, history, foreign language and history). Someone who has a great GPA but has only taken 3 years of math or 2 years of language is going to be at a disadvantage when compared to someone with approximately the same GPA but a full 4 years of math or language. Someone with a great GPA but a transcript full of electives is not going to be considered the same as someone who forego's electives to concentrate on those core academics.</p>
<p>Finally, keep in mind that many, many schools will recompute your GPA according to their own system - they may drop non-core classes, they may not weight honors or AP classes, they may only look at GPA from sophomore and junior year. So, always always ask admissions if and how they recompute GPAs and use that information to realistically weigh your chances at a particular school.</p>
<p>A top private HS GPA >>>>>>>>>>> average public HS GPA.
If you see a high SAT (> 1400) with average GPA, the kid 99% is from private
school.</p>
<p>how about GPA improvements?
i have a pretty high SAT score.. although a pretty low GPA due to slacking.
My freshman and sophomore years, I basically didn't meet my academic potential, getting a 3.45 avg gpa (4.1 weighted)
HOWEVER
my junior year im anticipating a 3.9, based on my first semester grades and my current grades (4.6 weighted)
so how important is the factor of improvement?</p>
<p>I know that UCSD weights GPA more (4000 points), while SATs are like a total of 3200 points</p>
<p>For sure, high GPA helps tremendously. I have a 4.5 GPA with 1300, 710, 720, 630 test scores and managed to get into cal, ucla, ucsd, uci, ucsb, and ucd.</p>
<p>I agree that GPA is more important and so is curriculum. When my daughter applied as a graphic design major, we actually heard some art teachers ask, why did she take Physics, Calculus and Spanish 4 Honors? She doesn't need those classes? She also has AP Art Hist and an art studio course in addition to the other trad classes. She was surprised someone would question her desire to take difficult classes. Her feeling was she wanted to be prepared for anything (what if she changes majors?). In any case, her SATs weren't as high as her friends, but she got in everywhere she wanted to go.</p>