I see a lot of perfect scores getting rejected in individual threads, and I would like to know how admissions went for these people as a whole.
The admissions process is holistic for a large majority of schools. That being said acceptance and rejection is not based on a single factor such as standardized testing scores. Essays, extracurricular activities, and letters of recommendation, alongside other factors also play a part.
For example, say you get a perfect score on the SAT or ACT, but your letters of recommendation mention that you don’t really relate well with others. Why would a school want you, if you can’t work well with others? Or say you come off as a robot who only studies all day in your essays. What exactly would you be contributing to the school, your ability to study?
I don’t think you’ll find data that shows how admissions typically goes for those who have perfect standardized testing scores, since there are other factors involved. Although, the examples I posted above are extreme examples, schools know what kind of students they are looking for, and those perfect test takers possibly weren’t what they were looking for in that particular incoming class.
One of my kids was within sniffing distance of perfect scores. 2380 superscored SAT, and subject tests of 800 Lit and 800 Math II. Her ACT was 35, but she didn’t send it in. She got in everyplace she applied, including some top schools. She speculates that being a hair off perfect actually worked to her advantage. She presented as a very intellectual kid with a diverse and deep set of interests. I tend to agree with her – she came across as multi-dimensional and interesting, and colleges really want genuine intellectual interest, not just people who dot every i and cross every t. Now… if she had gotten that SAT to a 2400 or that ACT to a 36, she probably would have gotten in as well. But who knows?
Interesting! May I ask where she applied and currently attends?
Some people with even 2400s get rejected from top schools, but it should near guarantee admission to any school outside the top 30 as long as other stats are decent
She got in everyplace she applied. She attends Harvey Mudd now. Was also accepted to U of Chicago (with merit), Swarthmore, Carleton, Macalester (with merit), Kenyon (with merit), Mt. Holyoke (with merit), and Lawrence (with merit).
@intparent That’s wonderful, may I ask what she is studying?
She thought Physics when she enrolled, but then declared as Comp Sci earlier this year. But I noticed that she is still taking the classes she would need to keep the Physics option open, so not sure that is a done deal…
@intparent do you remember her EC’s?
I don’t want to rain on your parade, but did the girl with 2380 and 2 800 SATIIs apply to any Ivies or MIT/Caltech?
My D got a 36 ACT and got in everywhere she applied. This was in 2011. It’s funny, because she overlapped some of the same schools as intparent’s D: U of Chicago (with merit), Swarthmore, and Kenyon (with merit). Also Yale, Princeton, NYUAD, Northwestern.
Getting multiple 800s on SATs and SAT IIs won’t necessarily get you into Harvard. However, you should get accepted by most schools below that level. If you don’t have top grades to go with it, that will have an effect. Many of the people with top scores also have problems with ethnic quotas or are asking for financial aid.
Yeah schools don’t only look at standardized test scores. If someone got 2400 say and 36 act, they still might not get into an Ivy League like Harvard since it looks for other aspects of students like their extracurriculars and such