<p>I was wondering which is better in the world of college admissions: Having a high GPA/Class Rank with low test scores or having a low GPA/Class Rank but with high test scores.</p>
<p>This one has been done to death. Neither works at top colleges. At colleges that will except just one being high, GPA/rank wins hands down.</p>
<p>I beg to differ...</p>
<p>gpa/rank does not win...</p>
<p>if you have low sats with a high gpa, it will lead colleges to believe that there is grade inflation or something of that sort in your schools.</p>
<p>if you really got good grades in hard classes, your SAT's should reflect that.</p>
<p>SAT is sort like a device that colleges used to determine the validity of your grades - along with AP's, sat ii, etc..</p>
<p>Ummmm, any adcoms in the house? There are a ton of kids who get SAT scores that are surprising for their high school performance. They are widely known as underachievers. If many of these people got into top colleges, the school's stats would be way lower. </p>
<p>The average top school already has half the class filled with recruited athletes, urms, legacies and the rich, almost everyone else needs to have above average stats. Period.</p>
<p>it depends on the rank of the school. if you check out the trends the following seems understandable.</p>
<p>Lower teir schools: (northeastern, state universities excluding UNC, UC, and VA) take kids with 3.1 GPAs and 1400 SAT scores over kids with 3.9 GPAs and 1100 SAT scores. Don't beleive me? Check last year's stats on the appropriate thread. </p>
<p>Higher tier schools: (harvard, yale, UC Berk) have already proven themselves and don't need to rely on higher SAT scores to boost their ranking. they are private and can afford to take "risks" on students. so someone with a hook or unuual talent and a 4.0 but 1200 might get in over a 3.4 / 1600.</p>
<p>but of course, for every 4.0 / 1200 they accept, there's a 3.9/1600 to average out the scores to a 1450+, as SUZE has mentioned.</p>
<p>"While there is no hard and fast rule, it is safe to say that performance is relatively more important than testing. A very strong performance in a demanding college preparatory program may compensate for standardized test scores, but it is unlikely that high test scores will persuade the Admissions Committee to disregard an undistiguished secondary-school report."</p>
<p>--Yale's Viewbook</p>
<p>How is a 3.7 GPA/2100 viewed, if the applicant has interesting/unusual EC's (but not super star) and legacy?</p>
<p>Also, how do schools look at a student who gets all A's in AP classes, but a B and C in math related regular classes for one semester? (math and chem.)</p>
<p>I have a friend of the family in admissions at a small, private college. He says they look more at work ethic, thus gpa, than the SAT. Many educators realize the SAT does not test much knowledge gained in school and is not a reliable indicator of success in college.<br>
The student's work ethic is a much more reliable indicator of how they will respond to the challenges of the next level of education.</p>
<p>High GPA+Low SAT makes you look like an overachieving grade grabber.
(They think you really don't got it, and you are just trying too hard)</p>
<p>Low GPA+High SAT makes you look like a lazy person who slacked off in school, a person who does not choose to really apply oneself.</p>
<p>So which would you prefer?</p>
<p>Super intense brown nosing grade grabber who's not that smart
or a clever kid who just doesn't apply oneself.</p>
<p>Top colleges prefer High GPA+High SAT combinations of course, and if you
dont have that-you're out of the picture.</p>
<p>But I think LowGPA+High SAT could be better.
Some schools give out 4.00s really easily.
and some prep schools, really prestigious ones, are just really tough.
So I think you "could" get in with a Low GPA if your SATs and other things
are decent.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I have a friend of the family in admissions at a small, private college. He says they look more at work ethic, thus gpa, than the SAT. Many educators realize the SAT does not test much knowledge gained in school and is not a reliable indicator of success in college.
The student's work ethic is a much more reliable indicator of how they will respond to the challenges of the next level of education.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>that's what they tell you, but the decision results don't lie. but then again, it all depends on the individual college.</p>
<p>I disagree with ppl who say that those with low GPA are just lazy. I have a very low GPA because of my unfortunate junior year. Despite my high performance in other years, it caused my cumulative GPA sink.</p>
<p>I think freshmen grades should not be counted in all schools. It is a significant maturing period in many kid's lives, they are still ignorant to the "whole picture". They do not yet have the motivation or the clear head. </p>
<p>This is evident in all of those posts where you see high-schoolers complaining that they messed up in ninth grade etc...</p>
<p>I agree with Jason...or is that only b/c my 10-12 rank is 41 spots higher than my 9-12? lol</p>
<p>its funny sometimes to see how people post the they're from "REALLY COMPETITIVE" highschools and they are valedictorian while none of their SAT I or II scores break 700. In my school on the other hand, everyone in the top ten percent has over a 2300 on the SAT I with 770+ SAT IIs. I view the SATs as a balancing factor dealing with the difficulty of the school. A 3.2 at my school could easily be a 3.8 at another.</p>
<p>...I think that some places don't count freshman year grades...sort of hurts be b/c that's the only year i had all As!</p>
<p>Anyway, I've read for multiple colleges that low SAT scores can be compensated with high GPAs, but low GPAs can't be compensated with high SATs...the reason? Because students can prep for the SAT for just a few hours and get high scores while maintaining a high GPA takes time and dedication. </p>
<p>Personally, I thought that this was obvious, but I could be wrong...that's why I was wondering why this thread has gotten so long...</p>
<p>^^ good point. </p>
<p>i think it's important to note that every applicant is viewed in CONTEXT. hence school profiles, parent's education...</p>