<p>I know this is the age old debate.........as to what schools truly look at and which they deem more important, I know the answer is both but its well known that certain schools are known to favor the SAT over GPA while others favor the GPA over SAT. So lets say you could only have ONE of these being very high, which would you choose? I am just curious as to the mind set of most of you seniors out there. ( I fully realize that many of you have been blessed to have both of the above but this is a pure hypothetical situation) :)</p>
<p>I’d go for the high GPA, but making sure I had a school info sheet about how the grading system at that school works in front of me so I could deem the difference between an A at one school and B at another.</p>
<p>Well, I have no choice. =/ Super low SAT and high GPA. I have a 4.68 weighted and a 4.0 unweighted. Yet I have an 1850 (630W, 620V, 600M) for the SAT. Totally not Stanford material.</p>
<p>GPA without a question…Rigor of curriculum and how you handle it…that being said, I think it is very difficult for adcoms to determine grade inflation (and deflation) in any particular school, even using their own methods of weighting…Standardized tests do not create as big a problem…still, would rather have a high GPA></p>
<p>Remember folks, a good SAT score can’t make up for a cruddy GPA.</p>
<p>a high gpa shows you did well in 4 years of highschool. a high SAT shows you got lucky/did well on one test. i’d rather have the high gpa and mess up my SATs then the other way around…
although, if my school was really hard and i had a low gpa and a high SAT score…it would show that i was still good at sth…because otherwise i wouldn’t have gotten the high SAT score…hmmm
hard choice</p>
<p>Well, no, some people are just really good test takers. This guy I know had like a 2300, but has a super low GPA because he’s incredibly lazy. So a good SAT just means you know how to beat the test. A low GPA will make them assume you weren’t trying or the classes were very difficult.</p>
<p>An SAT score of 2180 or better puts you in the 99th percentile.
An SAT score of 2290 or better puts you in the 99+ percentile.
<a href=“College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools”>College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools;
<p>There are scads of 4.0 GPAs.</p>
<p>To me, SAT answers the question, “How smart are you?”
GPA answers the question, “How hard do you work?”
A bad answer to either question can doom your application.</p>
<p>SAT definitely</p>
<p>Don’t worry Nickel, I’m in the same boat you are =/
When you say “SAT” do you mean the SAT I or all of your tests overall?</p>
<p>standrews, good point. According to Lopez’s new book, the former dean of admissions to Dartmouth, she said though schools won’t admit it, a very high SAT is often a benchmark of a kids potential to succeed in college.</p>
<p>SAT, because it shows that you are clearly capable despite your somewhat low GPA, which even so may be the result of an academically rigorous high school.</p>
<p>i would choose the high sat score without a doubt</p>
<p>I’d rather have a high SAT, because lots of ppl have high GPA’s, while very few have high SATs. Having a high SAT makes you stand apart more from the crowd of A-students (high as in 2300+). I’d rather have a 3.6 and 2400 than a 4.0 and 1800. To an adcom that would show that you simply aren’t a good SAT’er which is what “most” (NOT ALL) top students are.</p>
<p>This IS the age old debate. Most colleges prefer the high gpa if you can only have one of the two. </p>
<p>I agree some people are good test takers but there’s much more to it than that. In the case of the 2300 lazy kid, I doubt if he prepped for the SAT(if he’s lazy)…that’s a kid who has excellent verbal skills (often an avid reader outside of class), understands mathematical reasoning, and can write well. He can do that far better than the val with 1900 who took an extensive (an expensive) prep course. I find the higher SAT kid, compared to the obsessive-grind-perfectionist, to be far more interesting (I guess because I have one in my family :)).</p>
<p>Just to provide a running tally, so far we have:</p>
<p>7 FOR SAT</p>
<p>5 FOR GPA</p>
<p>GPA, some colleges don’t even look at the SAT, and there;s always the ACT</p>
<p>I Vote Act!!! All The Way!</p>
<p>Even though my GPA is prob a tad higher than my ACT</p>
<p>I would say SAT, considering the fact I have over a 4.0 but I’m doubting where I have a chance due to my mediocre SATs…ughhhh</p>
<p>8 Sat
5 Gpa
1 Act</p>