<p>Is it safe to say that private schools are more about your GPA and less about your test scores? That is not saying they don't care about SATs/ACTs but public scores weight them more?</p>
<p>bump (10char)</p>
<p>I would like to know the answer to this as well (sorry for not contributing to your thread OP), specifically pertaining to liberal arts school.</p>
<p>Private schools are more able to look at your entire application and forgive weak scores/GPAs.</p>
<p>Public schools are more likely to admit you based solely on your GPA and SAT score.</p>
<p>But a weak profile will hold you back at either type of institution.</p>
<p>what exactly would you define as "weak," or is it subjective according to school?</p>
<p>so smaller schools evaluate your app holistically? if my ACT scores are pretty well above their average but my GPA is below their average, could they look beyond my poor GPA?</p>
<p>ps sorry for hijacking the OP's thread. I've just been wondering this.</p>
<p>I think what ses was getting at was that publics are more numbers driven while privates (especially lac's) can spend more time looking at the applicant as a whole.</p>
<p>A "weak" applicant could be subjective, but in general, if 2 applicants have the same gpa/sat, the one with the "better" ec's would nudge out the other.</p>
<p>do colleges ever actually weigh 2 applications against one another or is that just a hypothetical? excuse my naivete, this is all just very confusing.</p>
<p>Well, no one except adcoms know for sure. But since most "top" colleges are looking for a well-rounded or diverse student body, it could happen.</p>