GPA/SAT for Top Schools?

Applying to College
1

<p>Im not talking about HYPSM, but like
Northwestern (ED), Duke, Cornell, U. Chicago (EA), UC Berkeley, and NYU. </p>

<p>If my ECs are decent....
-a couple of clubs [all 4 yrs of HS]
-some leadership (VP to P in one, Public Relations in another)
-a few regional/state awards (club)
-community service (400hrs)</p>

<p>and I can write good essay and get good recs... </p>

<p>What should I have for SAT/GPA?</p>

<p>Right now I'm 3.8967uw (current Junior) with 5 APs taken so far (~10 by seniors year).
Assuming I get all A's again, I will have a 3.9 or 3.91uw GPA. Ranked top 1~3%.</p>

<p>I have taken some practice tests and I am getting 2100~2200.
720~770M; 610~670CR; 710~760W.
I will be taking my first SAT in Jan ahhh!</p>

2

<p>are you a URM?</p>

<p>if not, then aim for 2200+. if you can hit that mark, i think you’ll be competitive</p>

3

<p>nope ORM, and what does that mean competitive? like reach or what.</p>

4

<p>Your GPA is certainly good enough, and a SAT score in the 2100-2200 range is nothing to sniff at. Chill.</p>

5

<p>try this:</p>

<p>go to collegedata.com, and plug in each school. In the overview section for each school, you will find the 75% score for SAT CR, SAT M, and SAT W. You will also find ave. GPA.</p>

<p>If you are at or above the 75% mark, and slightly above the ave. GPA mark, you are at the midpoint of non-hooked current students (not athlete, not URM, not legacy). You are a statistical MATCH in that case. Anything under than is a statistical SLIGHT REACH, and anything under the 25/75 average is a pure REACH.</p>

6

<p>dunninLA: “slightly above the average GPA” is a little ambiguous, although i do agree with everything else you said. if only there was a 25/75 gpa chart for schools. =]</p>

<p>um…let’s put it this way. i got deferred from uchicago with a 2260 and a perfect 4.0 gpa while having 6 ap tests of a score of 4 or better. and i really liked my essays. i also had a 760 math 2 and a 750 bio. (i know, my scores aren’t that good, but uchicago isn’t supposed to be that that selective. no more than cornell really) i also applied to uchicago early action, which is supposed to be advantageous. </p>

<p>simply put: if you’re asian and applying to the top schools, you better have a 2200+ to even have a chance in the world. if you’re white you better have a 2100+.</p>

<p>if you’re a URM, you can get away with an 1800. as far as how much URM status matters, it goes native american, then black, then hispanic, from greatest advantage to least.</p>

7

<p>Wuchu, your deferral from UChicago was probably based on something other than your stats. As easy as it would be to say that UChicago doesn’t accept Asians with SAT scores below 2300 and be done with it, fit and character play an extremely important role in college admissions.</p>

8

<p>@ Ghostt: i think it was based on my stats actually. i sent uchicago, like i did cornell, all my test scores, which meant the fact that i took the sat 1 3 times. i also took the math 2 twice, doing 10 points worse the second time. and i sent them my 700 in chem lol</p>

<p>anyway, i’m well aware that they accept asians with scores below a 2300, but do you really think that many un-hooked asians get into UofC with below a 2100? i’m sorry, but i just find that hard to believe. </p>

<p>i showed the same fit and character as i did with cornell. i’m pretty sure that area was fine.</p>

9

<p>UChicago EA was very stats-oriented this year, judging from the results thread. The RD acceptance rate will be significantly lower (10-11%) than the EA rate, so the competition will be fierce and they will be looking for the same excellence in stats. Just something to keep in mind.</p>

10

<p>Cornell and UChicago are extremely different schools! If you really think that showing fit and character for Cornell should have gotten you into UChicago…</p>

11

<p>You took the SAT thirteen times? Or did you mean SAT I once and SAT II three times?</p>

12

<p>Please stop with the nonsense. Urm with a 1800 will not get into Cornell. My son urm 1440 cr+m…780 math 2. Applied to CoE.</p>

13

<p>^smileygerl: it’s not nonsense, but it may have been exagerrated. Nobody can quantify the URM advantage, as each school has established their own targets for African American, Native American, Hispanic, and perhaps financially impoverished or remarkable life challenges.</p>

<p>Having said that, it is not at all beyond reason to think a URM with 3.7ish GPA and 1800 SAT would get the fat envelope from Cornell, whereas a 3.9 GPA 2200 would get the TWE.</p>

<p>Take a moment to look at the Cornell (or any highly selective college) Admissions Scattergram at collegedata.com, <a href=“http://www.collegedata.com/cs/admissions/admissions_tracker_result.jhtml?schoolId=787&classYear=2013[/url]”>http://www.collegedata.com/cs/admissions/admissions_tracker_result.jhtml?schoolId=787&classYear=2013&lt;/a&gt; and look for green dots (accepted students) that are outliers. Then click on them. MOre often than not, the applicant is URM. I’ve read a few admissions books over the past couple of years, and spent a great deal of time on sites like collegedata trying to get a read on the range of SAT/GPA that is normal for various colleges. What I’ve read and sometimes see is that not all URM is the same. The heirarchy of need at elite colleges seems to be 1) Native American, 2) African American Male, 3) African American Female, 4) Hispanic. Hispanic is sort of like half URM.</p>

<p>I take no position on this. It could be good, could be bad, none of my business really. It simply IS.</p>

14

<p>^ Here is Harvard from the same site: [Harvard</a> College Admissions Results for Class of 2013](<a href=“http://www.collegedata.com/cs/admissions/admissions_tracker_result.jhtml?classYear=2013&schoolId=444]Harvard”>College Admissions Tracker - See Who Got In Where and How You Compare | CollegeData)</p>

<p>and Yale: [Yale</a> University Admissions Results for Class of 2013](<a href=“http://www.collegedata.com/cs/admissions/admissions_tracker_result.jhtml?classYear=2013&schoolId=244]Yale”>College Admissions Tracker - See Who Got In Where and How You Compare | CollegeData)</p>

<p>you see the pattern rather quickly.</p>

15

<p>^^Very poor analyzing on your part. </p>

<p>Scattergrams do not distinguish between urms, legacy, recruited athletes, big donor students, celebrity students, and politically connected students(Bush yale 1200). I guess you have a crystal ball, that nobody else has. You should think twice before making such claims…your credibility is at stake.</p>

16

<p>I have heard that UChicago is a nerdy school and are really focused on high SAT/GPA. Hey Wuchu, you are still at Cornell, its an amazing school! my hope is to be at any of the following: Northwestern, UChicago, UPenn, Cornell, Colombia, Duke, Berkeley, NYU, Notre Dame.
(I also think I can break 2300, but after 2nd or 3rd try :P)</p>