<p>^^ Most of the time, but I didn’t pay for SAT courses…</p>
<p>Free courses? Well that’s lucky :P</p>
<p>But the free courses kind of makes it seem like anyone could take those courses even the lower classes which would eliminate the disparity between the social classes obviously present in SAT test.</p>
<p>Oh and I didn’t know about free courses lol. And thanks lol! Good job on your scores too (which I am assuming are great) !</p>
<p>srry had to edit realize it made no sense.</p>
<p>No, those free courses are not available everywhere. Here in NYC you would have to pay.</p>
<p>And I did pretty horrible lol</p>
<p>Silence, I fear you may be misinterpreting the literature. While many (but certainly not all) studies have found a “statistically significant” effect resulting from test prep programs and coaching, the magnitude of that effect has been very small: usually 10-15 points per section, at absolute most 30 points per section. Prep courses may take you from 2200 to 2300, but it’s unlikely to take you from 1800 to 2100. The majority of high school students who score above 2100 would do so with or without “test prep.” Maybe they’ll take the test twice or take some practice tests, but the majority of students, even those with perfect scores, have not taken expensive prep courses. The reason that Kaplan et al. offer the courses is because people are willing to pay, especially in the New York City area where there’s an abundance of wealthy families willing to do anything that <em>might</em> give their children an edge. That doesn’t mean the prep courses actually work, though.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.nacacnet.org/PublicationsResources/Research/Documents/TestPrepDiscussionPaper.pdf[/url]”>http://www.nacacnet.org/PublicationsResources/Research/Documents/TestPrepDiscussionPaper.pdf</a>
[Effects</a> of Coaching on SAT I: Reasoning Test Scores - Powers - 2005 - Journal of Educational Measurement - Wiley Online Library](<a href=“http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1745-3984.1999.tb00549.x/pdf]Effects”>http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1745-3984.1999.tb00549.x/pdf)
[The</a> Effects of Special Preparation on SAT-Verbal Scores ? Am Educ Res J](<a href=“http://aer.sagepub.com/content/17/2/239.abstract]The”>http://aer.sagepub.com/content/17/2/239.abstract)
[JSTOR:</a> An Error Occurred Setting Your User Cookie](<a href=“http://www.jstor.org/stable/1162723?seq=6]JSTOR:”>http://www.jstor.org/stable/1162723?seq=6)
<a href=“http://aer.sagepub.com/content/17/2/239.full.pdf+html[/url]”>http://aer.sagepub.com/content/17/2/239.full.pdf+html</a></p>
<p>^Exactly. Point I was trying to get across. I think its really easy to say “I didn’t take a prep course and I didn’t do well on the SAT. So everyone who did better than me probably took a course.”</p>
<p>^^^Ok Ill end this debate. </p>
<p>I just want the decision O_O</p>
<p>The SAT is hardly an accurate measurement of intelligence as you make it seem to be. It measures what is perhaps merely a subset of “intelligence”, in what is hardly a 100% accurate manner I might add.</p>
<p>I would consider intelligence (and really abilities that most definitely would make a good student) to be inclusive of such factors as the ability to acquire and retain knowledge (memorization I guess), to synthesize and organize this knowledge, to apply this knowledge, to engage in abstract reasoning, and to express the acquired knowledge and reached conclusions.</p>
<p>With that being said, I think it is simply impossible to throw the SAT out as a part of the college admissions process overnight, as it does (however inadequately) try and plug a hole that otherwise would exist: the unequal nature of what a 4.0GPA really means for each student in the context of his/her school.</p>
<p>I read something on college admission process recently, it says SAT counts about 30% of weight in admission decision, while GPA counts about 40%. One college sets up a baseline for SAT, 1500 (total of CR, M, W). Every 50 over this number will earn you 1 point, up to 18 points.</p>
<p>Yes, wealthier people do better because they have access to prep courses and such. But one does not need a prep course (or hardly any prep at all) to do well on the SAT. Prep courses can help, but they aren’t needed for a good score.</p>
<p>well here’re my two cents/personal anecdote.</p>
<p>i absolutely agree that the whole SAT system perpetuates socio-economic equality. not only are wealthier people able to pay for prep courses but, i think more importantly, wealthier people can afford to take the test an unlimited number of times. sure, there are fee waivers, but they don’t cover an important and i think fairly large middle-ground of people who don’t necessarily qualify for fee waivers but who nevertheless don’t have enough expendable income to take the test more than once or twice, especially when subject tests are taken into account. the same problem extends throughout the process, with application fees and score reports fees. yes, there are fee waivers for all these things, but the system demands more initiative and effort in general from those who have a low income. </p>
<p>all this being said, the separate argument of specifically how helpful payed prep course are is more questionable. as pwoods explained and provided statistics for, prep courses can only do so much. furthermore, i think that, especially now with the internet etc., they’re simply unnecessary. you can get a similar quality of preparation if you have the self-motivation to buy the collegeboard prep book and look through it, or even to go to the free website and look through prep tips there. i’ve already related this anecdote in another thread, but i didn’t take a prep course, pretty much all i did was look through the website for an hour or two the night before, read the instructions, looked at some practice problems and suggested strategies. i did well. as someone already pointed out, prep courses exist because there are people with enough income to feel comfortable paying for them, and because our culture tends to suggest that they are necessary for success. but it is precisely the exaggeration of their potential effect that some people engage in that sustains them. if people realized how inefficient they are, they wouldn’t exist.</p>
<p>finally, i think the prep courses are kind of self-fulfilling prophecies (if that makes any sense). people that don’t take them can feel kind of helpless trying to prepare without them (i did), because they don’t hear about the many cheap or free preparation alternatives (which i found). the goal of those who market programs like kaplan is to make it seem like the course provides a level of preparation and information that is completely unavailable without the course, and the success of this marketing makes a lot of people who can’t afford to take courses feel like they are at an insurmountable disadvantage, perhaps psychologically making it more difficult for them to prepare using different means. i dunno if that’s total ********, but it kind of makes sense to me…</p>
<p>do u think i have a chance for medical at a top school with a 4.3 out of 4.6 gpa and a 2230 sat score</p>
<p>No, based only on your GPA or SAT.
Probably Yes, if you have a lot more strong points beyond GPA and SAT.</p>
<p>I think SAT I and GPA are two important factors for most public colleges,while some elite colleges will factor in SAT II and extra-curriculum.</p>