GPA, SAT I, SATII, which one is most important?

<p>this thing about how a high gpa is correlated with a high SAT and vice versa isn’t always true though. i have a 3.9 gpa(W) 4.5 (UW), go to the second most rigorous school in my area, and only got an 1820 on my SAT, superscore of 1830. i realize that an 1830, in the grand scheme of things, is not too bad of a score, but for columbia, it’s certainly well below the score of those usually accepted. i worry though, that despite me having a very rigorous school record, a high gpa, high ranking, etc, that my SAT scores will ultimately be my downfall. surely when you shine in all areas the lackluster of one is then slightly overlooked?</p>

<p>That’s very much possible. Just wondering, are you a URM or anything like that?</p>

<p>If all your other factors are excellent except for SAT score, you don’t have to worry about. SAT is used by many schools to explain (support) the high school performance (GPA,curriculum etc), your excellence in other areas will belittle the SAT effect. But for some most selective schools, they will still raise one question on your SAT I, unless you have 5~10 high-scored AP courses or high SAT II scores to support your GPA. Deviation does exist among same GPAs in different school systems, that is why colleges have to use SAT I, or SAT II as a tool to judge people’s GPA.</p>

<p>TWELVE MORE DAYS EVERYONE!!!</p>

<p>I can’t wait, whether it be an acceptance or rejection…I just hate the suspense. O_o …so getting a waitlist would kill me.</p>

<p>@Silence</p>

<p>Yes, as soon as you said specialized high school I knew what school you went to. And, like I said, they don’t have too many URMs? The reason is simple: admission to specialized high schools in NY is based solely on an admissions test. Until your school adopts a holistic admissions process, they’ll continue to be 60% Asian. But I digress. A 3.9 at your school is nothing to laugh at, and your SAT score is mitigated by your ethnicity (since URMs, as a group, score statistically lower than members of other ethnicities) and your high GPA at such a rigorous school. Still, though, it’s a low SAT score for Columbia, and there are a lot of other students applying from your high school, so your chances for Columbia aren’t spectacular.</p>

<p>@stalker</p>

<p>Although I have no idea how they did it, there were a few people with 3.95+. One of them went to Oxford, one went to Harvard, and another went to Princeton. The rest of the people in the top 10% or so (out of a class of 120 people) were in the 3.8-3.9 range I think. I was probably around the 15th-20th percentile with my score. I considered myself to be in the bottom of the top tier. Most of my friends in the top tier ended up at great schools (Yale, Amherst, Williams, Dartmouth, etc.) though I know a few with higher GPAs and slightly lower SAT scores who did not get into those schools and ended up at Georgetown (still a fine institution, and the destination for maybe 30% of the students from my class each year). So it definitely surprised a few people when I was admitted to Columbia early.</p>

<p>@pwoods: I don’t think I’m a URM though. I am Egyptian…</p>

<p>Yeah, I knew from the start I have no special hook…if I do get it it’ll be based on luck =/</p>

<p>EDIT: Well the good news is that only 25 from my school, according to navaince, EDed to Columbia. lol</p>

<p>only 25? That’s crazy. I think two or three from my school Eded to Columbia</p>

<p>Not really…lol…annually about 150 (ED+RD) students apply to Columbia from my school. So far 91 from my school applied to Columbia (ED+RD). I hope this year it stops before reaching 100 lol.</p>

<p>What high school is this? I think I may have asked this b4?</p>

<p>It’s a specialized High School. The largest specialized high school. And the largest school in New York. Want to know its name?</p>

<p>It has 1,133 seniors. -________-</p>

<p>I go to a high school in NY. I’m pretty sure you are referring to Stuyvesant. My friend goes there. I actually got into one of the specialized schools, but decided not to go.</p>

<p>You will be fine :D</p>

<p>Nope. Not Stuy. Stuy is not the largest. Tech is the largest.</p>

<p>LOOOOL!!! I just read that my school is the largest school in the entire USA. There goes my little chance at getting into a decent (ivy) school. Colleges have quotas, and everyone at my school wants a decent school. ■■■.</p>

<p>It is. It doesn’t say here:</p>

<p>[America’s</a> Best High Schools: Largest Enrollment - US News and World Report](<a href=“http://education.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/articles/education/high-schools/2009/12/09/americas-best-high-schools-largest-enrollment.html]America’s”>http://education.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/articles/education/high-schools/2009/12/09/americas-best-high-schools-largest-enrollment.html)</p>

<p>Well that’s wrong. Perhaps because it is 2009. My school has 5,184 students enrolled this year.</p>

<p>[Register</a> - Brooklyn Technical High School - K430 - New York City Department of Education](<a href=“http://schools.nyc.gov/SchoolPortals/13/K430/AboutUs/Statistics/register.htm]Register”>Find a School - New York City Department of Education)</p>

<p>On US News the biggest is 4,483.</p>

<p>hmmmm, I’ll take your word. I’m too lazy to do any more research.</p>

<h2>Don’t take *my[/qi] word lol, I posted a link from a government website :P</h2>

<p>When I entered Tech, it just had 4,200 students. Now its about 5,200…just after 4 years. I blame budget cuts for this nonsense.</p>

<p><em>Sigh</em></p>

<p>one of my friends goes to brooklyn tech…
im so tempted to ask if you know her =P</p>

<p>You could message me her name…</p>

<p>Colleges never have ‘quotas’ from any high school. What if one year is extremely brilliant and the next rather poor on the intelligence scale?</p>