<p>So NYU has been one of my top choices for a very long time, but after getting my SAT scores back recently it seems like much more of a reach... I will be applying to Stern as my first choice major and my second will be Spanish, B.A.</p>
<p>I am white, and I go to a TOP public high school in Seattle</p>
<p>Anywho...
GPA: 3.94 unweighted...with a few AP and honors
Rank: Top 10% i think like 30/430</p>
<p>Senior schedule:
AP Spanish 5 (will get an A)
AP Calculus (will get B or B+)
AP Statistics (will get most likely A or B+)
U.S. Citizenship (will get A)
Leadership (will get A)
Senior Connections/English 12 (will get A)</p>
<p>SAT: 1870 (Math: 630, CR: 550, Writing: 690)
SATII: Math IIC: 590 (taking again in december), Spanish: 670</p>
<p>I'm just not a standardized test-taking person!!! Will they consider that at all??</p>
<p>-Senior Class President
-involved with ASB since 7th grade
-Cross Country Captain
-Varsity Cross Country Letterman for four years
-Varsity Track & Field Letterman for three years
-Environmental Club President (this year)
-Environmental Club Treasurer (last year)
-Team Development Chair (Relay for Life)
-VERY involved in Relay for Life
-volunteer for YWCA
-National Honor Society (lame i know)
-Homecoming Royalty (haha its random but maybe they'll know i'm social?)</p>
<p>-my recs will be amazing
-my essays will be very good
-i'm applying Regular Decision</p>
<p>Cvjn, it seems like another class related to leadership principles. The biggest problem I see is with the math scores. You'll really need to pull those up in order to be competitive...if I recall correctly, the IIC percentiles are skewed to the left.</p>
<p>yeah US Cit is the senior government requirement at my school... and yeah, i am retaking the SATII Math IIC test this december and i will get into the 600s... and when you say skewed left, does that mean more people get higher scores? i was confused</p>
<p>Yes, I probably should have said that the scores were skewed left (not the percentages), which explains why even an 800 is about a 90%. My apologies.</p>
<p>okay, thanks everyone your opinion means a lot...</p>
<p>rant time:</p>
<p>one thing this website has taught me is that i was wrong. i thought that colleges look at your transcript and your test scores equally or even held your transcript in higher regard... what this site has taught me is that i was wrong, and that test scores are what makes you as an applicant.. GPA almost seems irrelevent. when i see people with very high test scores and an unweighted GPA of 3.5 (i think this is a very low grade point average personally) get into stern, while my hard work almost seems like nothing. my 10-11 GPA is a 4.0 unweighted, and you know why?? cuz i worked my A S S off!! i didn't sleep, i was dedicated to school, yet i still managed to balance all other aspects of being a high school student... SAT is not a cumulative measurement of what you've learned in high school, it measures how well a student can sit in a room and take a 5 hour test. so when i see someone with a 3.5 GPA offered admission to a school like NYU i think that they are a good test-taker but they are not very dedicated to working to their full potential. why would a college want someone like this?! wouldn't they want someone who applies themself and sets goals only to achieve them??</p>
<p>sorry, please forgive me... i just hate the SAT, and the fact that i'm being screwed because of it.. and how all my work seems to not mean that much anymore, all that time i could have been doing what those 3.5 students were doing while i was studying.</p>
<p>wow. please don't judge me. i am a nice person haha</p>
<p>Why does the SAT screw you. It's taken nationwide. We all compete at multiple levels, local school, state and nationwide. The SAT is one way schools can measure kids from all over with under the same condition. It's not the be all end all, just another tool. Relax, you'll probably do fine.</p>
<p>"sorry, please forgive me... i just hate the SAT, and the fact that i'm being screwed because of it.. and how all my work seems to not mean that much anymore, all that time i could have been doing what those 3.5 students were doing while i was studying."</p>
<p>the SAT tests your reasoning and logic. everyone has it. you can bring this reasoning to the paper by....thinking. think about the passage, think about why the answer to that CR passage is what it is. why isnt it the other answer choice? talk to yourself while you think, it helps. the critical reading section tests your true reasoning skills, and that's why its more important than math.</p>
<p>not everyone is good on the SAT, but those who are are the ones who "applied" their logic. you have to do the same if you want a good SAT score.</p>
<p>No, critical reading section does not test your true reasoning skills. It's a measure of one's English vocabulary and English reading comprehension skills. For example. an Indian kid who has only been studying English for 3 years gets 800 on math but gets 600 on reading.......are you saying he's stupid? No, i believe he used his "reasoning skills" to the maximum potential, based on his knowledge of the English language.</p>
<p>english comprehension skills are just small part of it...the questions that follow test your reasoning. now, this holds true for people who actually know advanced english and are oriented with the english language.</p>
<p>Well De La Noche, my GPA is low only because I slacked off freshman year, due to some personal issues and immaturity, which I'll explain on my application.</p>
<p>I see where you're coming from, but I'm just as frustrated getting screwed out of a good GPA because of choices I made three years ago. I worked really hard to try to bring it up, taking all honors classes, taking AP classes, and making straight A's, not sleeping, getting sick all the time from stress, but it's still not enough to bring my GPA up to NYU standards.</p>
<p>So, just because someone's GPA isn't that great doesn't mean they aren't dedicated or don't deserve to get in. Granted, I could have been more dedicated freshman year, and it probably is fair that I'm being forced to take responsibility for the stupid crap I did when I was 14. But still, I'm smart. I work hard. My test scores are high. and I am a good writer. </p>
<p>If NYU could just see that "upward trend" on my transcript, and realize how much potential I have based on SAT scores and my essay...</p>
<p>I mean, come on! The world loves those "I was a troubled child, but worked really hard to turn my life around and so all my dreams came true!" stories. Basically, what I'm saying is, yeah, you're right, SAT is a ridiculous thing to place so much emphasis on, but it's still fair for colleges to consider things other than GPA, including SAT scores. It's 5 AM. I'm rambling. Sorry.</p>
<p>malleryn, I am in the exact same position you are. In my sophomore year, I took zero AP and honors' courses and I finished with a 3.0 GPA -- I didn't try at all. Then my junior year I took many APs and honors' classes and finished with a 3.9 GPA. This year, as a senior, I have continued taking all AP, honors', and college courses and had a 3.9 GPA first quarter. Yet my high school cumulative GPA is just 3.5 -- well below NYU's average.</p>
<p>I really hope NYU takes note of these upward trends. I have good test scores to go along with my recent grades, so it certainly shows the potential I have. I, like you, feel cheated about the bad choices I made in the past that certainly doesn't reflect my ability now.</p>
<p>Just for comparison, what are your stats, malleryn? And how did you point out to NYU your low GPA (e.g., additional letter, supplemental question)?</p>
<p>SAT is a way the admissions office can directly compare one student to another. There are probably more students w/ high GPAs & lower SATs then high SATs and low GPAs(and since the SAT is taken jr/sr year, there is often an upward trend w/ students like this). If your high school really is top notch, as you said, what colleges have students with your ranking been accepted to over the years? If they have been accepted to NYU and schools of it's caliber, then you have a good shot.</p>
<p>I don't feel you have shot at Stern, b/c they are very numbers oriented and have math whizes. You have a chance at the Spanish BA, but would probably be deferred to GSP if accepted.</p>
<p>My GPA is almost exactly the same as yours... 3.59.</p>
<p>My SAT scores are CR: 750 M: 610 and 700 on the writing.</p>
<p>In my essay, I kind of described my little rebelion in 9th grade, and compared it to a character from my favorite book. (I did the "describe your favorite literary work, painting, play, etc. and how it's affected your life" or something like that topic.) It was kind of self-mocking and really well written.</p>
<p>Also, I think I'm going to check the "if you feel any part of your application doesn't accurately reflect your abilities" (i think it says something like that) box, and try to use my writing abilities to again, explain why my GPA is so low.
Or maybe that would just be redundant.</p>
<p>Blah, I'm not particularily hopeful about getting in at all, but I'm trying really hard anyway. I think I'm going to apply to the English Major or something, at CAS and hope I can atleast get GSP'd. (I want to be a writer.)</p>
<p>Sorry to take over this girl's thread with a side conversation. </p>
<p>Anyway, good luck. If you have good SATs and can write a good essay, and have good recs, and extra curriculars, I'm sure you have a chance. That's what I tell myself anyways...@_@</p>
<p>my school calculates GPA only unweighted so a 4.0 is the highest possible GPA, my first semester senior gpa will probably be a 3.9, even though i've gotten a 4.0 the past two years (soph and junior year), AP calculus is a biatch..</p>
<p>furthermore, NYU came to my school, i was basically told that the transcript is more important than the standardized test scores... thoughts?</p>