Misconceptions about SAT/ACT

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I don't know about you, but I'm getting really, really angry when students think that SAT and ACT scores are a strong indicator of likelihood of getting into a college. Certainly higher scores are better than lower scores, but high scores ALONE will not get you into a top school. Again and again I've seen students who get a 750+ on every SAT they've ever taken getting turned down from Ivy Leagues and other high elites.</p>

<p>If SAT/ACT scores do help you in any way, they will most likely help you get money at match/safety schools. A number of my friends who had unusually high scores but didn't stand out of the applicant pool otherwise got small scholarships from schools like Oberlin and Mount Holyoke. Both students, despite their high scores and overall strong academic records (academic records that more or less fit in with the rest of the applicant pool), had been rejected from almost all of their top choices, and the scholarships from these schools were a bit of a break from the massive rejections.</p>

<p>For more evidence that good scores can't get you into a good school, I encourage students to look at the SAT midranges for the top 10 universities and liberal arts colleges. You'll see that the 25% mark, even at the uberelites like Princeton and Williams, take students who don't necessarily have what may be considered "good" SAT scores by CC standards, but they are still worthy of admissions in other ways that go beyond SAT/ACT.</p>

<p>Think about it this way-- top colleges are FLOODED with students who perform 30+ and 2100+-- these test scores say nothing about YOU and the kind of person you are, besides the fact that you're pretty likely capable of doing the coursework and that you're good at taking standardized tests. (Or, if you come from a high-income area, that you were able to afford test prep). These scores do not make you UNIQUE, or INTERESTING, or a BETTER PERSON. At the same time, lower scores don't necessarily mean that you aren't capable of doing well at that top school-- that's what the rest of your application is all about!</p>

<p>Anyway, rant over. My basic point: don't freak out if your test scores aren't sparkly. Take half the time you intend to study for that dreaded test and do something that you'll actually enjoy: ride a bike, volunteer, sleep, watch movies, write stories, play sports, sing songs, make movies. You don't go to college to take standardized tests, so it seems silly that so many students are making a big fuss about them.</p>

<p>(Full disclosure: I was accepted to my first choice, UChicago, with a 1300 SAT. And before you quip about how I probably am some sort of recruit, I am white, female, from an overrepresented area in the Northeast-- New York City suburbs much?-- I don't play any sports, I didn't cure cancer, I just did decently in school and I made sure I let the school know that I wanted to attend and that I love learning more than anything else. I really didn't find the process all that special).</p>

2

<p>Before someone has a clever rebuttle, I want to say thank you. Test scores can indicate success, but there isn't any connection but personality or your passions in life and a high score. I may be foolish, but I will prob. not take SAT II's because none of my current colleges requre them, I might not even take the SAT (ACT instead). Why sit in a room for 5 hours taking practice tests when you could be changing a life or (gasp!) learning something that won't be on an AP/IB test.</p>

<p>Too many students at my high school obsess about 2250+, they see it as their golden ticket to success. This may not be a popular stance, but I know for a fact that someone who goes to a small LAC or State University with mediocre scores, but a genuine passion for changing the world CAN make a larger impact on the earth than a "passion-less" lawyer/investment banker-type student w/ good scores who has been "polished for success." I would rather change the life of one person than have a perfect 2400. I don't want to be just a statistic or list of EC's, strive for more.</p>

3

<p>I agree that high scores don't guarantee admission and low scores don't guarantee denial. However, your scores are a big enough influence on the process that it's not unreasonable to care about your SAT score.</p>

4

<p>I think I love you.</p>

5

<p>:-)</p>

<p>JBruner, you could be right that they still play a role, though my GC in high school had an interesting thought experiment...</p>

<p>Imagine you're an admissions officer looking at an application file. First off, there's a lot in there you can't control that is still of interest, like what your parents do, what high school you're from, and whether you do or don't have legacy affiliation. I don't know if that comes first, per se, but it's read. Think about the time it takes to read through all of that. Then think about the time it takes to read your essays, your personal statements, your supplements, your teacher recs... that's a lot of time, a lot of reading. And of course your list of EC's and I'm sure an adcom can separate which ones are significant and which ones are not. (i.e. which ones you put on there just to pad the list and which ones are meaningful to you, not which ones are academic and which ones are not).</p>

<p>THEN think about the time it takes to read your transcript; to see all the classes you've taken, how much you have challenged yourself and how much you have succeeded with that challenge. It takes a while to analyze the trend and see the strengths and weaknesses. </p>

<p>And then, think about how much time it takes to read a list of five or six numbers that are standardized test scores.</p>

<p>Simply put, if time equals attention, SAT scores are very low on the list. If they are unremarkable (in the midrange of the school you apply to), I doubt they are going to get you in or keep you out. If they are very low for the school, it could factor in, but I doubt it would be the only thing keeping you from getting in. And if they are very high, congratulations, but it's not a determinant (here goes for knowing a really cool, smart kid who had a 2400 rejected from Harvard, Columbia, Yale, Princeton, Amherst, Swarthmore, Williams, and other uberelites, a 2390 rejected from similar schools, lots of 23-- or 22-- who didn't get where they wanted to go. Those schools didn't need their high scores).</p>

6

<p>unalove, you are officially my hero. proof by example people!!</p>

7

<p>I don't necessary think time spent reading=importance in admissions process. However, I also know a 2400 rejected from Harvard. </p>

<p>I still stand by my statement that SATs matter, but people do weight the SATs too heavily on these boards. Your SATs are not the number one indicator of where you can and can't go.</p>

8

<p>Ironically, U of Chicago uses the PSAT scores to send students brochure about the school but it also states in the brochure that U of Chicago doesn't care about SAT scores as much, at least that was my impression.</p>