<p>Son took SAT twice and highest score in each area was 650 writing/670 math but only 550 reading. My understanding is that this will not be good enough even though he is top 10% of class. (He attends a public specialized high school in NYC) Do you agree???</p>
<p>He took the ACT on Saturday. If he scored a 27 or higher will he have a good chance of getting in or is even a higher ACT score required? </p>
<p>Any insight is appreciated.</p>
<p>I've heard that it is quite common for McGill to reject students simply for less than standard test scores. </p>
<p>How did he feel about the ACT? I got 700M/600CR/640W on the SAT as best ever (taking again in OCT), which isn't bad, but isn't spectacular either, but on the ACT I did considerably better, got a 32 composite, but it was dragged down by my less than stellar reading and english scores.</p>
<p>The two tests are very very different, and it just depends on the student. Some people are equally good at both, some are drastically better at one that the other, it just depends.</p>
<p>But from what I've heard, McGill is very strict about scores, since that is all they use for admissions. I have already applied and I did nothing but list all my tests and scores, classes, and send in transcripts. Thats it.</p>
<p>Here are the minimum admission standards for US high school students for September 2008: Admissions</a> standards for previous years</p>
<p>If the courses he's taken/taking are quite rigorous i.e. many APs, and he's done well in all of them, his chances definitely go up, but I am not familiar with how much they weigh SAT scores vs. your high school transcript. Don't forget McGill requires SAT IIs!</p>
<p>All the best!</p>
<p>you know it says that those are the minimum scores, but i have a friend who got into mcgill last year with a 1650 SAT and a 24 in ACT... and GPA of 3.4 so everyone's got a chance.</p>
<p>I'm a third year student at McGill. My brother was a student at McGill 4 years before me (he left just before I entered). My SAT scores were... 670 CR/ 650 M / 700 W. My brother's SAT scores were 610 CR/570 M (there was no Writing section back then).</p>
<p>So it's definitely possible to get into McGill without having a great SAT. But of course, a very good GPA is necessary to do that. My brother also attended a high school in New York (Cardozo High School) and ranked in the top 10% there.</p>
<p>So, your son has a chance to get admitted, but there are definitely no guarantees. I think if he could manage to get his CR up to 600 that would be a huge boost to his chances.</p>
<p>The most effective way to boost your CR score is not vocabulary (which has been de-emphasized from the old test), but learning to read faster and assess the important points that the reading passages are trying to convey. Buy a couple of big fat SAT books with 8 tests each and make sure your son does all of them. Repetition is the key to success.</p>