<p>If anyone has any comments/ experiences with this i would love to hear them. The other side (high gpa, low sat) gets a lot more attention.</p>
<p>my stats:
1490 or 2190
3.1 (3.6 senior year) uw
3.2 (3.9 senior) weighted</p>
<p>would you call miami (fl) and james madison (instate) safety schools for me? do I have a shot at top schools? anything you know is appreciated...</p>
<p>Depends on what you call top schools. I'd say those in-state schools are safety. I'd say you're screwed if you're wondering about ivy-league and comparable schools. You can always transfer though if you get your act together for your college work.</p>
<p>really? screwed at ivy caliber schools? (that is what i mean)</p>
<p>no amount of awesome recs and such can overcome that? where do people with really good SATs and ok GPAs go?</p>
<p>myccname, is there a good explanation for mediocre grades (compared to the SATs)? If so, have the GC explain it.</p>
<p>If you were just being lazy, maybe you could deal with that head on in your essay. </p>
<p>I believe there are many good schools where you stand a good chance. Apply to schools where your SAT puts you in the top 75% and there the admittance rate is about 50%+ and you should have good results.</p>
<p>With a 3.3-3.4 GPA from a competitive high school with upward trend and a 1480 SAT, I was accepted to a top-20 college, so certainly it's possible to go to a good college. But unless you have a major hook like nationally-recognized EC and you have a very violent family situation you can explain about that hurt your grades, you're not going to get into an ivy league school. I know it may hurt to read it, but honestly I wish someone had told me that my senior year so that I would have saved me some money on college apps and I would have applied to some more realistic schools so I had more options when acceptance/rejection letters came. If you don't like the school you wind up at though, you can always aim for an ivy as a junior-year transfer (will need 3.7ish college GPA).</p>
<p>I don't think I would call UMiami a safety, but I do think you would have a decent shot at admittance. My S is a freshman there and was admitted with a 3.4 uw and 1400 from a competitive public hs. How is your class rank? UMiami has 2/3 of kids in top 10%, although my S was not. Your GC should be able to give you info on stats of kids from your school admitted to instate schools like JMU. Good luck, my S loves the U.</p>
<p>thanks for the help.</p>
<p>there is no real explanation, i just didnt work hard till my jr year, which i will explain. My trend is roughly 2.8 freshman, 2.9 soph, 3.3 jr, 3.9 sr. all unweighted. even with good ecs, great recs, national merit semifinalist, 5s on APs, and a 2190 i really have almost no shot at a top ten-ish school? what about for LACs?</p>
<p>why is it that high SAT, low GPA is looked at so negatively compared to high GPA, low SAT?</p>
<p>
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why is it that high SAT, low GPA is looked at so negatively compared to high GPA, low SAT?
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</p>
<p>To be cliche: because one is a four hour long test while the other measures your performance over four years. The SAT measures how well you take tests, how well you study for them, etc. If you have a high SAT but low GPA it gives off the impression that you are perhaps a slacker. While the inverse would be that you are a poor standardized test taker. Which in terms of college admissions would be preferable?</p>
<p>I don't know if there is such a thing as a good "standardized test taker". I agree in part, but everyone takes the same SAT whereas a B from a really hard teacher at a very competive school is totally different than a B from an easy teacher at a different school.</p>
<p>Yes, but some people have quite a bit more prep than others, take it multiple times, etc. The conditions aren't exactly equal. And I won't even venture into the depths of possible bias.</p>
<p>Im interested in where you apply to etc, since we are almost mirror images to each other in terms of GPA except I am a junior boosting my 3.1ish GPA from Fresh/Soft. to around a 3.4ish this year, so far on my first try on SAT I got a 1350 (780 writing but no one looks at that).</p>
<p>^^next year most will use the writing I think, which seems like it'd be a good thing for you.</p>
<p>As to the original, you're at a SERIOUS disadvantage to any top 10 school, it's not insurmountable with kickass essays, some awesome EC's, and some national awards and ****, but the GPA is gonna kick your ass. </p>
<p>I'd say the top 10's are nearly out of the question, be looking more to top 25's as reaches. Certainly not the end of the world though, you can get a damn good education at any of those schools and if you work hard you could get into the top 10 grad schools that you would want.</p>
<p>thanks gatordan</p>
<p>im really considering everything at least kind of touchy if not a reach because of my lopsided stats. hopefully ill get in somewhere!</p>
<p>what about top LACs?</p>
<p>It depends what you consider a "top" LAC.</p>
<p>I suspect you'd have a pretty decent chance at a school like Conn College or Skidmore. I would say a place like this could be a match for you with the upward trend in grades. If you find one that is similarly ranked and also accepts 50%+ of applicants, it looks even better. Consider also women's schools if you are female-- Mt Holyoke, Bryn Mawr; or former women's colleges Goucher & Wells.</p>
<p>Look at Union, Syracuse for schools that might work. You'd also be in possible range at Bennington or Hampshire but they are quite alternative.</p>
<p>There are LACs & Univs out there that want to boost up their "average SAT" and your scores would be helpful so long as they are well above the current average SAT. Top 10 LACs mostly already have average SATs about 1400-1450.</p>
<p>Look at 10-20 top LACs. I got into a LAC that was ranked 15 at the time, 19 now. And I went to a VERY tough high school. I was a valedictorian in jr high, then went to a charter high school that kicked my ass. And guess what? Colleges really don't care. Oh well.<em>shrug</em> Like I said, if you actually think you can handle top-school level work, you can always aim for junior-level transfer in college. If you are like many students, you will find college work at a #20 college plenty to handle though. Good luck, and work harder in college.</p>
<p>Top 10 is the big time. I had a 3.8 unweighted/1510 SAT, 780+*3 IIs and I was waitlisted at 2 schools in 15-20 schools. I think the reason though is that I am a... what you call it... you know someone who is just like... oh yeah... bad person.</p>
<p>i am applying to a few top 10 LACs and one in the 10-20 range. they sound good. sreis, i dont quite get what youre going for there...</p>
<p>Point was that top 10 demands pretty close to perfection.</p>
<p>i had a 1450, high average, i got into 5 schools in the us news top 20, including michigan as a top 20 school, i got into 6. I wasn't rejected by any school past #9 on that list ,which shows you something, if you have the package deal, you aren't going to be rejected by many places. It isn't as random as you think, either you got the package or you don't. What makes you special compared to average joe. A 1510 is a start, but not the end or be all.</p>
<p>The original poster didn't have the whole package. Please stay focused.</p>