<p>Can anyone list some of the upper-rank schools (for a general reference, top 30?) that weighs GPA more than a test score? I'm afraid I won't be able to get a 2200, which I hear is the general standard.</p>
<p>Bowdoin doesn't require SATs at all. Check out fairtest.org for a comprehensive list of all the colleges in the U.S. that don't require SATs. </p>
<p>And I think most LACs would weigh your GPA more heavily than test scores anyway.</p>
<p>^^ that's generally how it is, more so at state universities than privates.</p>
<p>Michigan does not really care for SATs/ACTs. A 3.9+ unweighed GPA with a challenging courseload will generally get it done, assuming one's SAT/ACT is solid (over 2050/28).</p>
<p>^^ I'd hardly say they don't really care for the SAT/ACT if 2050+/28+ is the bar.</p>
<p>Despite popular wisdom many top publics don't weight SAT's as strongly as you might think. The UC's have been on a crusade to deemphasize them. U Florida only considers them ~10% of the overall admissions process. Further, SATs do not correlate with academic sucess as well as GPA does, so it only stands to reason that GPA, class rank, and difficulty of schedule are "more important".</p>
<p>Many of the LACs care more about your high school record than your SAT. Look at the common data sets.</p>
<p>The stock answer is that the GPA likely is the favored number, but consider the following facts before you reach that conclusion.<br>
1) 340,000 high school students will graduate this year with a record of being in the Top 10% of their class and most of those will do so, having compiled very high GPAs.<br>
2) By contrast, of the nearly 1.5mm students who took the SAT last year, the top 340,000 students scored at the 1185 level or better (this was the top 24%).<br>
3) Only 15,000 students scored at the 1500 SAT level, 60,000 students scored at the 1400 level and only 154,000 students scored at the 1300 level.
4) There are approximately 30,000 spots for entering freshman at the USNWR Top 20 National Universities and another 10,000 spots at the USNWR Top 20 LACs</p>
<p>My conclusion is that, while I believe that GPA is probably the most important aspect of one's college application, the SAT can be THE greatly differentiating number in a universe of students that nearly all have strong GPA records. To get into the most selective schools, the very large majority of applicants need high marks on both of these measures to be truly competitive.</p>
<p>I asked my D counselor and she said they spend about 2 seconds to look at the SAT score. As long as they are generally good, she did not tell me the exact number about SAT I, but I remember she said for SAT II>650. So don't waiste your time going from 2250-2400, same with retake the SAT II tests. I wish I knew this before my D spent her time taking one extra SAT II unnecessarily.</p>
<p>I don't think that one is necessarily more important than the other. To get into the top schools, both the GPA and test scores have to be very high. A high GPA and low test scores might indicate an "overachiever" while a low GPA and high test scores might indicate somebody who is intelligent but lazy.</p>
<p>Despite the growing trend toward deemphasizing standardized test scores, they are VERY important. Unlike GPA, which is highly variable and non-uniform from school to school, standardized test scores are a completely fair way to compare students from all around the country and the world. Is an A average at one high school better than a B+ average at another high school? - possibly. Is a 2250 better than a 1950 on the SAT? - certainly! Standardized tests, despite the complaints about them, are a great equalizer in the admissions process and schools still care about them. From what I saw in my high school, this is definitely true.</p>
<p>A look at the common data set for any top college will show that toorichforaid could not be more incorrect. Your chance goes way up as your scores rise. At Harvard a 2400's chances is multiples of that of a 2200.</p>
<p>That is what D high school counselor told me and she had training with all the top private high schools on how to read an application from high school students( so she can help them). She said she was surprised that all 4 years of high school boils down to 2 seconds.</p>
<p>Numbers tell the full story, just have a peak before you convince kids there's no difference between 2250 and 2400.</p>
<p>^^You can believe what you want to believe. I'm not trying to convince anybody, just want to rely the counselor's comment.</p>
<p>As I said, the numbers published by top colleges prove her wrong so repeating her comments is harmful. I believe facts, give it a try.</p>
<p>I did look at the common data set and that is why I went to ask her. She will tell you flat out if she thinks you are not competitive.</p>
<p>So you're saying the facts printed in the CDSs lead you to seek further information regarding numbers?</p>
<p>Numbers don't always make sense, I asked her to help me interpret the numbers because SAT score is not everything.</p>
<p>Check this out
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=357745%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=357745</a></p>
<p>I don't know why I'm bothering to respond, I guess in hopes of getting people not to post what they know nothing about.</p>
<p>Who cares about other silly posts? CDSs give you the stats of kids who ACTUALLY got in. No college counselor anecdote. No CC thread, just the REAL numbers.</p>