How Important Are...

Colleges and Universities A-Z Yale University
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<p>Ok I know Yale is an extremely competitive college with a really competitive pool but I want to know how important are your SAT& ACT scores...</p>

<p>I am a minority, first generation, 5th in my class (out of 1,000 students!) but unfortunately when it comes to exams that one can not study for (in other words exams based on skills) I do not receive good scores. Do you think I still have a chance of getting into Yale?</p>

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<p>Do you mean SAT/ACT tests? I can’t speak for the ACT, but the SAT is absolutely prepable.</p>

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<p>what i meant was that you cannot know the material before hand (SAT versus a SAT II or an AP exam- which I do really well on)</p>

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<p>True, in general it’s not a knowledge based test, but you can definitely improve scores by: practicing with old exams, learning strategies, learning short cuts, studying vocab, etc.</p>

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<p>I’m no expert, but my understanding is that one must be in the range to be competitive. You’ve got nice hooks that can compensate for lower scores. But the question is: how low?</p>

<p>A score on the lower side (like a 2100-2200) would make a student like you competitive.
A score like an 1800 is going to need improvement, though.</p>

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<p>Have you tried taking the ACT or SAT or are you just anticipating a bad score?</p>

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<p>If you have broken the 2000 mark, you’ll be okay. 2100+ you’re golden. Below a 2000, it’ll be difficuly, but you’ll need to make sure that the rest of your application is near spotless.</p>

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<p>^IMO that’s a bit optimistic unless the student has overcome adversity, attends an underserved HS, is low SES, etc.</p>

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<p>If you get 2250+ then you can consider yourself in a good position when it comes to these schools. Even then you can’t assume anything.</p>

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<p>Thank you all for your insight, I took the SAT in June and got a 1850 :frowning: after practicing& taking over 5 practice exams, I am taking the ACT this coming Saturday and I hope my score will reflect my grades more…</p>

<p>I attend a public hs (in a major city, the school isn’t necessarily underserved but the budget cuts are effecting APs and other activities) and our family income is low</p>

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<p>You will probably do better on the ACT, so it is likely you’ll do better on that one. Good luck!</p>

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<p>thank you drbigboyjoe9505!</p>

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<p>Just realized my post made very little sense/was super redundant. Don’t know what I was thinking… :confused: FAIL</p>

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<p>^It’s nice to know that some Yale admits are human.</p>

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<p>The advice above is basically right, as long as by “minority,” you mean under-represented minority (African-American, Hispanic, Native American).</p>