Lowest score for unhooked ivy applicant

<p>I know that unhooked ivy applicants should all be aiming for as close to a perfect score as possible, but I was wondering what people think the lowest cr/math/writing scores could be for an unhooked applicant to still get in? In other words, in your opinion, how low can scores be so they're still in "ivy-range" and don't significantly impact your chances?</p>

<p>How amazing are their other credentials?</p>

<p>I was able to get into Yale applying RD with a 2080 superscore. 680 writing, 680 math, 720 critical reading</p>

<p>Anything in the middle 50% is fine. You can get in if they like you enough and you don’t need a “hook” to be liked.</p>

<p>@redroses…assuming their GPA and ECs are solid, they’re essays are outstanding, but they lack a hook. What is the lowest range of CR and M you can be in…and still be considered competitive?</p>

<p>@ bluecoast, that’s awesome that you got into Yale. What do you think was the factor about yourself or your application that helped you get into such a selective school despite somewhat lower test scores? Are you also unhooked?</p>

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<p>You probably want to shoot for at least the middle 50% since the bottom 25% generally has a lot of recruited athletes and hooked applicants</p>

<p>You’re doing this backwards. Why don’t you leave your stats and everything and we’ll tell you if we think you can get in? </p>

<p>There are too many other factors to consider, so it’s very hard to assert that one score is the absolute lowest you can go.</p>

<p>@billbongboy9828…yeah I guess you’re right, here are my stats:
GPA: 95 uw SATI: cr/m/w: 710/770/800 SATII: mathii/bio/us: 760/730/730
(taking ACT and more SAT IIs in fall)
APs: Bio, US, Lang, Euro-5 Micro, Macro-4
EC’s: 1)Varsity tennis team captain 2) DECA Regional President 3) Model UN Chair/Officer
4) Mock Trial Captain 5) Sitar (Indian instrument) and Saxophone (Jazz and Wind Ensemble) for 6 yrs each (6) Intern and US Senator Chuck Schumer’s office
Awards: Projected NMF (229); DECA International Finalist;3x State Winner; Model UN Outstanding Delegate; National Spanish Exam Silver Medalist; Williams College Book Award; District Business Incentive Award
Extra notes: I’m an Indian NY Resident, and my HS doesn’t rank (although I think they only give book awards to kids in the top 10% of the class) </p>

<p>As an unhooked applicant, what are my chances based on my stats?
The top-reach schools on my list include: HYPS (obvious reaches but I’ll try), Upenn-Wharton (ED), Cornell-AEM, UChicago (EA), Dartmouth, Columbia, NYU-Stern</p>

<p>2280 is good enough for any school</p>

<p>really? Even with a 710 cr? I’ve heard that’s like 25th percentile @ the ivys…</p>

<p>^use the collegeboard and do some research. Your SAT score is fine for the ivies and other top colleges. Good Luck :)</p>

<p>I’m going to disagree with the above posters. 710 CR is low and CR tends to be the more important score for top notch schools. I say retake.</p>

<p>However, if you’re not consistently hitting 750+ on practice tests or if you need to take SAT II’s or the ACT instead, don’t retake because its not worth it. </p>

<p>Good Luck.</p>

<p>:( I keep getting conflicting answers about whether my SAT scores are good enough or not…but I think my CR is a bit low considering the fact that I’m unhooked. I don’t feel comfortable taking the SAT a third time so I’m just going to hope for a 35/36 ACT and hopefully ACT my other SAT IIs! Hopefully that will work out! :)</p>

<p>why dont you look at the percentiles for the schools?</p>

<p>@runi-I may be wrong, but I think it’d be better for you to do the SAT and ACT as opposed to SAT IIs and ACT.</p>

<p>@porkperson…I have looked at all the percentiles for these schools, but people on these forums have posted that score ranges are lowered slightly by hooked applicants (athletes, legacies, URMs,etc.), so unhooked applicants must be in the 75th percentile range…but I don’t know what the truth is exactly.</p>

<p>Why do people keep saying things are low without actually looking up numbers? You don’t need to retake with a 710 CR. Here are the middle 50% ranges as per CollegeBoard:</p>

<p>Harvard: 690-780
Yale: 710-800
Princeton: 690-790
Stanford: 660-760
Penn: 660-750
Cornell: 630-730
Chicago: 690-780
Dartmouth: 660-770
Columbia: 680-770
NYU: 610-710</p>

<p>The only school at which you are remotely close to “low” is Yale. In the others, you are solidly within the middle 50% of applicants. If you feel like you could get over a 750 and you want to it could be good to retake but you don’t HAVE to because as it stands, you are the average applicant everywhere (and at Cornell and NYU, you are near the top).</p>

<p>AS for that wisdom…averages are averages. Yes they may be balanced on the low end by hooked applicants, but they are also balanced on the high end by the superstar 2300+ people. A 710 is the 96th percentile - you scored higher than 96% of college-bound seniors. It’s sufficient.</p>

<p>25th percentile, even for HYP, in CR is usually around 670-690 (as low as 630 for Cornell). 710 would put you around the 40-50th percentile for HYP and up around 70th percentile for Cornell.</p>

<p>I still don’t think additional SATII’s are worth your time, regardless of whether or not you choose to retake the SAT.</p>

<p>I think the median is about 1500 and it’s hard to get in anywhere below the median unhooked. So more points would certainly help but you are definitely in the running.</p>