<p>Whoops that should be “significantly lower”.</p>
<p>High scores and low grades can indicate ADD. Who knew these silly exams could actually be useful for something!</p>
<p>^Or it could indicate massive grade inflation. The valedictorian of my school has a GPA around the OP’s (maybe even 3.9), but he has a 2400 too.</p>
<p>“There is nothing “wrong” with being dyslexic. It just means that some typed of reading and writing may take you longer than the average student.”</p>
<p>@happymomof1 - this is hilarious…no, I guaruntee you I don’t have ADD. It’s not denial, its just flat out truth. I’m actually considered a speed reader, however I guess I read too fast sometimes to fully understand the passage.</p>
<p>“I’m actually considered a speed reader, however I guess I read too fast sometimes to fully understand the passage.”</p>
<p>That could put you into the “poor test-taking strategies and skills” category then. In which case, you should be readily able to improve your test scores with a bit of serious prep. Read up on Xiggi’s method. It works for any standardized exam. <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/68210-xiggis-sat-prep-advice.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/68210-xiggis-sat-prep-advice.html</a></p>
<p>There is no point in speed reading if you are missing out on the concepts. Slow down, and think through the questions, and you will do better.</p>
<p>Connorb123-</p>
<p>I understand your frustration with the suggestion of having a learning disability, but it is just one view out there. For another view, I am a parent of a high school student, and believe that the SAT/ACT scores don’t tell much about a person’s intellectual ability, or if they have a learning disability. If someone had a learning disability, it would be affecting the testing in their classes, also. I also don’t think it is grade deflation if you go to a Catholic college prep. To me, it just lets you know if you are good at taking standardized tests. Back in the day before anyone studied for these exams at all, my brother scored a 22, and I scored a 31 on the ACT. He is one of the smartest people I know, and does not have a learning disability. He did get into college, and did get a master’s and is very successful in his field, much more than his 31 ACT sibling. I just happen to be much, much better at standardized tests. I think a good comparison would be a person who is good at Jeopardy (me), and a person who may not be good at Jeopardy, but would be good in a situation where critical thinking in a real situation over a long period of time is important, such as many high level business jobs (my brother).</p>
<p>Having said that, I think that the SAT score does matter in college admissions, unfortunately. I think that this sucks for the students who work so hard at difficult classes for their GPA, but just don’t happen to be good at taking standardized tests. I don’t know if you want to hear this, but I definitely would suggest studying for the SAT or ACT this summer so you can increase your score. Try the Rocket Review (2005 seems to be cheaper than 2006) and both Silverturtle’s and Xiggi’s method. And take practice exams to see where you are having a problem. </p>
<p>If Depaul is your first choice, and you think you can get in with your SAT, and you don’t require financial aid, then disregard my SAT testing suggestions. Increasing your SAT may help with Merit Aid, however. </p>
<p>Best of luck to you, you sound like you have a wonderful future ahead of you!</p>
<p>Your GPA is good but not phenomenal (your course work isn’t too difficult either) and if your ECs are really as good as you make them out to be, you should be fine at DePaul. GPA is generally valued more than test scores.
Still, like others said if your SAT doesn’t match up to the caliber of your GPA and colleges have no past info on your school, they have no way of knowing whether there was some inflation or not. Your opinion on that matter doesn’t count for squat.
You said you had no thoughts about taking the SAT a 3rd time but I would advise you to do so.
Here are my tips for the three sections:
CR: You said you were a fast reader but you don’t fully understand the passage. Bluntly put, for cases like this, its a matter of focus. I, too, am a fast reader; but given a passage that doesn’t interest me, I find myself having read the entire passage without a clue on what it was about. The day of, for every CR passage, I could have burned through the test book I was glaring at it so hard. Other than focusing the only thing you can do is practice, practice, and practice some more.
Math: You said you were taking Calc senior year so I assume you have some background in precalc and have taken Alg II and Geometry. If you took those courses and fully understood the topics, the only problem you may have in the math section is making mistakes or running out of time. In this case, all there is for you is practice and time management. Never forget to double check your answers.
Writing: Your essay score is fine so I assume you’re a decent writer. This section should be easy to improve then. The writing section recycles a certain number of tricks and traps. If you can recognize all of them, your scores should improve dramatically. Other than that practice using proper grammar in normal conversation as well as on the computer. It keeps you in practice.
This was my objective advice.</p>
<p>Otherwise, I would advise you to be a bit more polite in your response to the people on this thread. Save for a few, most of the people here are here to give you their take on your situation, which you asked for in making this thread altogether. They’re just giving you their two cents worth and responding with attitude, even if it isn’t a response you wanted, is rude.</p>
<p>“Still, like others said if your SAT doesn’t match up to the caliber of your GPA and colleges have no past info on your school, they have no way of knowing whether there was some inflation or not. Your opinion on that matter doesn’t count for squat.”</p>
<p>@jhkmyun - What opinion? Stating that I go to a college preparatory catholic high school and that my SAT score is actually the average at my high school is an opinion? Do you go to my school?</p>
<p>“Otherwise, I would advise you to be a bit more polite in your response to the people on this thread. Save for a few, most of the people here are here to give you their take on your situation, which you asked for in making this thread altogether. They’re just giving you their two cents worth and responding with attitude, even if it isn’t a response you wanted, is rude.”</p>
<p>@jhkmyun - You seriously need to look at perspectives here. I’m just gonna logically assume you did a decent job on your SAT, a lot better than mine. Considering you sound like a smart and thoughtful person, you’d be shocked if you got scores like mine, and probably as frustrated as me. Seriously, people on here need to learn that I’m the average student here, not you guys. The average SAT on this website is probably around 1800, with most of those “Chances” thread with people implying how awesome their grades are. </p>
<p>I asked what’s more important, GPA or SAT, not an analysis of my testing troubles, which I ALREADY know I have. I accept that, but based off of the “answers” I got, it seems like most people on here beg to differ. I guarauntee you that you’d be as ‘rude’ as me if you were surprised to get scores like me, the AVERAGE. I know you want better than that.</p>
<p>You know what. I get it. I wish you the best of luck in your endeavors. Consider retaking a 3rd time, it won’t hurt.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Taking the SAT 3 times is not frowned upon. I suppose it’s the upper limit of what admissions officers tend to consider reasonable, as the FAQ sections of some universities’ websites imply, but it will not bring down your application. I would only suggest that you retake, however, if you were confident you could improve your score. It is, after all, just a test. Do not obsess over it, and do not let people’s interpretations of your score affect your self-esteem or ruffle you.</p></li>
<li><p>If you are looking for more reach schools to apply to, consider some test-optional schools, like Bowdoin, Middlebury, American U, Colby and Bates. This website claims to provide a full list of the schools that do not require the SAT/ACT, so it could be a good place to start looking:</p></li>
</ol>
<p>[SAT/ACT</a> Optional 4-Year Universities | FairTest](<a href=“http://fairtest.org/university/optional]SAT/ACT”>ACT/SAT Optional List - Fairtest)</p>
<ol>
<li>Also maybe try CC’s own college search engine:</li>
</ol>
<p>[College</a> Search - College Confidential](<a href=“http://www.collegeconfidential.com/college_search/]College”>http://www.collegeconfidential.com/college_search/)</p>
<p>I took the liberty of inputting your stats and preferences, and it suggested Clemson, the University of San Diego, Gettysburg College, Cal Poly SLO, UCD (which you are applying to), UCSB, the University of Puget Sound and Muhlenberg College, among others. These are all schools where your scores wouldn’t look out of place.</p>
<ol>
<li>CC’s armchair psychologists love nothing better than to diagnose people with ADHD and processing disabilities based on their grades and test scores. It’s practically a rite of passage to get this treatment, so don’t take it too seriously.</li>
</ol>