How much does Stanford care about SATs?

<p>I'm applying SCEA to Stanford this fall. My parents (we are Indian, (not native American)), especially my mom, has this obsession with SAT score. She thinks that getting a 2400 will greatly increase your chances at getting into these top notch classes. She thinks I'm going to get rejected from everywhere with my 2220 right now (2240 with superscore). I am aiming for a 2300+, but my mom makes it sound like if you dont have > 2300, you won't get accepted. If I try and tell her that Stanford rejects a lot of 2400s, then she will say "then what chance do you have." I hate the stupid Asian typical parents. My mom says that I think I know more than her, but actually, she knows more than me. Bull ****. She did graduate studies in America, where scores like MCAT and GRE are much more important than SAT/ACT for undergraduate. Can someone give me some advice on how to deal with this situation? It is really frustrating / annoying.</p>

<p>1.Don't fight with your parents. They want the best for you, and they are worried-- it is only natural.
2. Encourage your mom to make a CC account and ask for advice on parents forum. Hearing these things from adult strangers who've been through this process with their own children will be more helpful and more reassuring than hearing them from you.</p>

<p>Alright nngmm, I'll try step two.</p>

<p>Also, now, my mom just said some guy she knows who has an MBA (how is that relevant to this?) who moved here from India has done research or something and if you have a 2400SAT and good recommendations, you can get into Stanford. Is this the biggest ******** ever? And he's doing all this so he can get his kids into these kinds of schools. I'd really like to meet him and find out about 5 years down the road if his kids got in with just a 2400 and good recs.</p>

<p>From my experience having run the college admission gauntlet this past year and got into Stanford, I believe 2250-2390 SAT is basically viewed the same by Stanford. The magical # 2400 is an extra eye catcher, but even then the benefit of it is not worth the trouble associated with obsessing about getting it. Basically, your scores are fine for getting into Stanford; I had a 2210 superscored and got in (btw, I basically got my foot in the door with a high gpa and sat score, then sealed the deal with impressive ec's; no other catches besides those ((i.e. no urm, athlete, etc.)).</p>

<p>If your scores are "in the range", it's the rest of your application that will determine if you do or do not get in. The reason that "2400s" are accepted at higher rate is not the score itself-- those are often students that have very strong credentials all around. Scores and recommendations alone will not get you in at any of the top schools.</p>

<p>2240 should be good enough, but you do need good SAT IIs as well. You could also try taking ACT if you like spending your Saturdays at the testing centers ;)...</p>

<p>Have her call the Office of Undergraduated Admission. There are admissions counselors on call all day from 8AM-5PM I believe.
(650)723-2091</p>

<p>Also, 25-30% of students each year usually have < 700 on math, and another 25-30% have < 700 on verbal. There are stats available for the past few years. The average SAT in the past I've seen listed as around 1460 or so with the old scoring. 1500 is roughly equal to a 2240. There are plenty of stats that show that you mom is just wrong.</p>

<p>haha she is right. Having a 2400 will greatly increase your chances compared to a 2200. However, she is wrong in saying you have to get 2300+ to be accepted to top colleges. My parents are the same. They say stuff like "ok cory, as long as you get 2300+, it'll be fine." As if anything below that is terrible. But luckily they give me a lot of freedom. I just go for 2300+ because it looks like a good benchmark for me.</p>

<p>Just ignore your parents and do you best on the next test (if you're retaking). If you get a good score, fine. If not, who cares, it won't affect you that much. You alreayd have a great score. My dad says if i dont get a 2300+ i have to retake, but anything over 2250 and i'm done...f that</p>

<p>Just do the best you can, like everyone else has said. But I wouldn't worry too much- I took the SAT once, got a 2250, and got in RD. I did do REALLY well on the ACT, though, and on the SAT IIs.</p>

<p>your scores are good. i've seen people with 1900s-200s get in.
FASTWEB: 2005-2006 STANFORD:
Test Score Distribution:
SAT Math:
700-800 74%<br>
600-699 23%<br>
500-599 3%<br>
Below 500 0%<br>
SAT Verbal:
700-800 67%<br>
600-699 27%<br>
500-599 5%<br>
Below 500 1% </p>

<p>ACT Composite Scores:
30-36: 71%<br>
24-29: 27%<br>
18-23: 2%<br>
Below 18: 0%</p>

<p>I MEANT 2000s</p>

<p>My (Asian) parent are the exact same way. Thus they were dissapointed hwen I got a 2050 on my first try. I'm just hoping to jump into the range for math and reading (above 700) so that my app will be considered. SAT's arn't everything. You do have to reach a certain threshhold. Nevertheless, my cousin (here goes to "I knew someone" stories") Got 240 PSAT (National Merit Winner) and a 2400 again on the SAT and got rejected from Stanford ED, and UPenn RD. His GPA was your typical over 4.0 public school GPA. Obviously the 2400 alone couldn't carry him to Stanford....</p>

<p>SAT does not matter at all if you dont have any good ECs and recomm
SAT has lower priority than ECs and recommendations...</p>

<p>i am an example myself :)</p>

<p>They won't toss out an application if someone has low SAT scores. Now if you have a 2.0, a 800 (out of 2400), and no ECs, <em>then</em> they might toss out your application... There are some students who just don't take standardized tests well, so it would be incredibly foolish to make a big fuss over the difference between a 2400 and a 2240. If you consider that the SAT exams only claim to be accurate within 30 points for each section, a 770 on one section could just as well have been a 800 if you took another version of the exam or took the same version another day. There is NOT a significant advantage of having a 2400 over a 2240. There is a significant advantage in writing great essays. It may be more helpful to spend time on the essays instead of taking the SATs again...</p>

<p>Most parents from countries with test-based college admission systems think this way. That's not exactly how things work in America. Encourage your parents to join the Parents Forum on College Confidential, where they can see threads like one I started recently </p>

<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=349391%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=349391&lt;/a> </p>

<p>that discuss this issue in depth.</p>

<p>my parents are kind of the same (they think getting a 2400 automatically gets you wherever you want), just because they hear of these people who get 2400s and go to Princeton (always happens at my school). I have a 2330 superscored SAT, but since my math score was so low (it actually went down from the first time, and this was my second time), i'll take it again. (800 CR, 780 W w/ 11 on essay, and 690, ewww, on Math this time, with a 750 first time). i think your score is fine for Stanford, especially if your grades and ecs are good. you're indian tho, so it may be harder for you...i'm african american, gotta love aa.</p>

<p>retaking 2330 is a waste of time</p>

<p>Well rest assured, it is possible to get in to Stanford without a 2400, I had a 2200 and got int early. And also know, a 2400 isn't everything. I know someone who had a 2400 and was rejected early from Stanford. So it wouldn't hurt to appease your parents; however, your SAT score will not make or break you.</p>

<p>As has been said elsewhere, you want to have a score on the SAT that is in the top-1% of scoreres nationwide (ideally). That translates to a 2200 or better based on the college board's tables. All scores above 2200 are considered equally. Retaking anything above a 2300 is a waste of time, even to try to get that magical 2400 (a friend of mine kept getting single questions off on the math section and ended up retaking 6 times trying to get a 2400. She never did).</p>

<p>There is one thing that is valuable about a 2400: tutoring. If you want to tutor students in the SAT I subject tests, it helps to have a perfect score.</p>