Low SAT Score and a High GPA

Applying to College
1

hey, i am new to college confidential and i am hoping that someone will be able to help me.

i am looking for realistic opinions and advice about my current problem.

i am a current senior in high school and i just took the new SAT for the third time. my highest score was an 1160. this most recent test-taking session my score dropped to a 1090. i am completely devastated and truly disappointed in myself. i studied every other day for the sat and took practice tests consistently and i did much better on the practice tests than my actual sat.

i honestly do not know what to do at this point because my dream college is Stanford University–one of the most prestigious colleges in United States. in addition, i have enormous pressure from my family. my father went to Northwestern University, my mom went to Cornell, and i have several aunts and uncles who have attended Duke. overall, my family is pushing me to attend selective and prestigious schools.

at least 4 of the colleges i am applying to are ivy-leagues.

the only thing that is in my favor at the moment is that i am in the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program at my high school. for those of you who are not familiar with IB–it is a rigorous college preparatory program. essentially, i am taking the hardest classes offered at my school and i am doing fairly well.

my unweighted gpa is a 3.8, while my weighted gpa is a 4.3.

i have never taken the act. i was always intimidated by its faced paced nature and its science section.

again, i do not know what to do.

college applications are due in january and, at the moment, the only thing that is beating me up and keeping me up all night is my SAT score. if i am being completely honest, i am hesitant to even apply to Stanford because of my SAT score.

thank you for reading, hopefully someone can help me.

2

You need to be realistic about your college list. Unless you are a recruited athlete, URM, or your parents are donating millions of dollars, your SAT score is going to be a problem at all reach schools.

Have you tried doing an ACT practice test? SAT II subject tests (which are required at some of the Ivies)?

My advice would be to look at test optional schools. There are a lot of good options now.

3

If you can schedule the ACT then you might want to try that. Applying to 4 Ivy’s and Stanford with an 1160, is not realistic and writing all those essays will just be taking time away from writing strong applications where you have a realistic shot of admittance.

4

I agree with other comments. You could try the ACT. However, applying to Stanford and 4 Ivy League schools with a 1160 SAT is a waste of 5 applications and the associated effort.

There are some very good schools that are test optional.

If the University of Chicago has a good program in your intended major, and if you can afford it, then you might want to apply there as your reach school. It is test optional. There was a USA Today article from this past June that claims that it is the first elite school to be test optional. However, there are multiple very strong LACs which are also test optional and which at least to me seem to be just as elite.

5

While you could take the Dec ACT, its honestly unlikely you will score dramatically better than on the SAT. You’ll need, as you know, 33+ to be in the ballpark for consideration, and the elites take precious few in the RD rounds. Look at more realistic , or test optional schools. Good luck.

6

I don’t think you have adequate time to prepare for the ACT AND still get good grades this semester AND prepare the strongest applications you can for RD submission. I agree with other posters suggesting you redo your college list and include some test optional schools. A couple of reaches are ok, but you need 3-5 matches and 1-3 safeties. If that is what you choose to do, perhaps start another thread, present your stats/profile and ask for target schools by reach/match/safety.

7

I’m sorry that your parents believe that what was true 30 years ago, still goes.

No kidding?
These schools are super competitive and EVEN IF your SAT scores were over 1500, you still would stand a chance of being rejected because there are too many, TOO MANY, too many, qualified applicants.

FWIW: My three children are legacies for Stanford. We received letters from Stanford for all three children indicating that, more or less, “just because you attended Stanford, does not mean your children will get in”. All three of my children had top SAT’s (1500+), GPA’s, sports (ranked in state), green causes, etc. Only my son was waitlisted, and he didn’t want to write another essay (Senior year activities) to beg to get in because he had already gotten into multiple highly ranked schools. We didn’t push him because it was his choice, not ours.

Get some safeties, and apply to schools in your area. Pressure from your parents will have to be their issues. Not yours. They need to deal with it. Find a school that will meet your needs, not theirs.

8

yeah, i agree with everyone. Honestly, try applying to some test optional schools. schools like UChigaco and Colby dropped the test requirement this year!! that way your high GPA will be a good represenation of you :slight_smile:

9

thank you all for all of the advice and comments. i really appreciate it.