GPA

What is usually valued more? GPA or test scores? I’m gonna be applying with a strong SAT (mid to high 1400s) and a meh gpa (3.6ish UW). Course rigor isn’t great either (one AP through Junior year but 3 for Senior year). Just wondering if an SAT can overshadow bad grades

Depends on where you are applying. For super competitive schools, GPA and course rigor “can” be slightly more important than SAT scores. It’s hard to predict each individual case. For not-so-competitive schools, your strong SAT scores will definitely balance your GPA.

GPA is generally considered more important for admission, but test scores can be a tip for many scholarships. Of course, there are plenty of exceptions to that rule. I suggest searching for the name of the college and “Common Data Set” and it will tell you how important each part of the application is at that particular college.

Thanks, that seems like a good idea with the common data sets

GPA is on average a little more important than test scores, based on what colleges put in the CDSes, but individual colleges will vary.

http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/2131779-what-colleges-use-in-admissions-according-to-cds-listings.html

Most admissions officers I’ve heard speak say that they start with the transcript (including GPA and course rigor) but there is no hard and fast rule. That said, I would focus on seeking out colleges that are matches for your GPA/course rigor and you can always throw in a couple of reach schools.

I’ll just pile on to say that transcript is at the top. Yes, test scores show up a lot in the top category of importance. But if you asked schools to force rank the inputs, I bet GPA and course rigor would dominate the top 2, with test scores being well behind.