<p>Wow! I just spend an hour reading through "Latest Posts". It was a eye opener. </p>
<p>So many high scoring applicants were turned down for early admission by top schools. Some felt it was random, others rationalized the process was unfair... but what I took away is what I have thought all along... smart kids are a dime a dozen.</p>
<p>SAT/ACT are just threshold tests. Once you're over 2100 it makes little, if any, difference if you get a 2200, 2300, or even a 2400. </p>
<p>So don't place too much meaning in your standardized scores or GPA once you're over 3.5 (unweighted) if you've taken the most rigorous classes in a highly competitive school. </p>
<p>No it still matters, it's just getting high test scores and having a good gpa won't guarantee you admission into the top 10 colleges. Anywhere else it will be of great value obviously. </p>
<p>In my opinion a 2100 isn't really impressive. I'd say a 2200+ is when it makes less of a difference, and definitely a negligible difference once you hit 2300+. It also depends where you are applying.</p>
<p>No doubt some schools place greater weight on the numbers game but even in those cases there are obviously other "big picture" variables which come into play. </p>
<p>Proof?</p>
<p>Again, read the posts on ED. It will rock your world. It did mine.</p>
<p>
[quote]
SAT/ACT are just threshold tests. Once you're over 2100 it makes little, if any, difference if you get a 2200, 2300, or even a 2400.</p>
<p>So don't place too much meaning in your standardized scores or GPA once you're over 3.5 (unweighted) if you've taken the most rigorous classes in a highly competitive school.</p>
<p>What does matter?</p>
<p>It's the BIG picture, stupid!
[/quote]
</p>
<p>A 3.5 UW GPA and a 2100 SAT ARE VASTLY DIFFERENT from a 4.0 UW and a 2300 SAT. </p>
<p>There is statistical proof to back this up, just look at the Princeton link. a 3.5 GPA has a 4% chance of getting in, vs a 16% chance for 4.0. </p>
<p>A 2300+ gets in at a rate that is 3x that of a 2100. A 4.0 gets in at a rate that's 4x that of a 3.5.</p>
<p>It's not impossible to get in with 2100/3.5, but it's MUCH tougher. There are many many more applicants in that score range, and therefore your personal qualities do play a large part. But it's still much more difficult than having a 2300 and/or 4.0. At that range you already stand out more.</p>
<p>Also, I do not think that the ED posts are good indicators of admission trends for the entire year. Schools often let in lower-stat people/URMs/Athletes/artists to lock them in, so that they can focus on the higher scoring/grades students in the RD round. </p>
<p>Trying to say that a 2100, which is like the 98th percentile, is equal to a 2300 or 2400 (99+ percentile) is absurd.</p>
<p>Obviously, there is a statistical difference between the groups. But that is not the issue. The focus for all of us is how to get into the school of our dreams.</p>
<p>So many contenders in the 99+ have been rejected by their school of choice while lesser scoring applicants have been accepted. How do you explain this? </p>
<p>Based on what I have read, heard, and experienced it is far more complicated than percentiles. It has to do with creativity, curiosity, motivation, authenticity, goals... and values. Granted, these traits are more difficult to quantify but most top schools prize these attributes above all else -- even standardize tests.</p>
<p>So again I say--</p>
<p>2100 or 2400 it really makes no difference... it is the Gestalt that counts.</p>
<p>Yeah, people on here can say what they want, but after 2200 + it doesn't seem that colleges care very much about one's SAT scores. If top schools wanted to, they could easily fill their entire enrollment with 2300+ students. As we all know, top schools receive far too many applications from qualified students than they can accept. </p>
<p>I agree completely with your statement "smart kids are a dime a dozen." Years ago a high SAT score and solid gpa may have guaranteed a person admittance at top schools, but now that's not the case. So many people have high SAT scores now that it's not really a big deal. Now colleges are merely looking to admit a well rounded and diverse class, and if you fit into their demographic, you will probably get accepted whether you have a 2190 or a 2340. The role of SAT scores in the admission process has changed dramatically over the years. Now it seems that they only serve to warrant you "consideration" rather than acceptance.</p>
<p>I'm not saying that higher scores don't help, but one's chances only increase marginally at best and it may not even be worth the effort to retake in some cases.</p>
<p>But remember guys, the fact that so many highly qualified students are going to be unable to attend elite schools due to the high quantity of applicants means that you'll probably be in good company wherever you attend. Some people on here are hung up on prestige, and because more top students will be attending less reputable schools this year, those other schools are likely to begin to receive a better reputation.</p>
<p>Amen, brother! You're obviously able to think/see outside the box. (I bet you are headed for - or attend - an Ivy!)</p>
<p>Whether we get a 2100 or a 2400 the vast majority of us will not get into our 1st choice... or even 2nd choice, school.</p>
<p>The lesson to be learned from those that went before us is simple: Don't give up on your dream but if you're really smart you'll make sure you...
FALL IN LOVE WITH YOUR SAFETY SCHOOL!</p>
<p>Now that's a pessimistic way of looking at things. Just because it is difficult achieving a 2400 doesn't mean that you should not try. Also, the fact that 2400s are not guaranteed acceptance means that you have a chance even with a lower score, so it doesn't make sense to not hope for your first choice.</p>
<p>I'm only trying to refute your point that a higher score makes NO difference. That's the point I'm arguing. Of course SAT scores aren't everything - that's why people with lower scores get in (URMs, athletes, highly EC talented people). But Princeton's data clearly indicates that a higher score = a higher chance of getting in.</p>
<p>I don't think anyone is arguing that a high SAT score is essential. But to say there is NO difference between a 2100 and a 2300+ is, again, absurd.</p>
<p>Sorry. I don't mean to come off as pessimistic - just realistic. </p>
<p>I don't think anyone (myself included) has a real fix on the inner workings of the admission process. I'm just trying my best to make sense of the whole thing and this is my take on it.</p>
<p>Most of us have worked really hard to get were we are. But for the top-tier universities, 90% of the applicants won't make the cut. That's why trying to understand the system - and cope with it - is in all our best interests.</p>
<p>I just came across this amazingly brilliant student's posting - 2400 SAT I, 800 on all SAT II's, awards, honors, service, perfect GPA, perfect ec's, etc., etc., etc.</p>
<p>Applied for early admission.</p>
<pre><code> Rejected.
</code></pre>
<p>Her comment:
"My experience just goes to show that SATs are not the be all or the end all. Perfect scores mean NOTHING. You need to have an active, energetic personality. After all, robots can get perfect scores every time, but it's the human side that matters."</p>
<pre><code> ...And that ends this thread for me.
</code></pre>
<p>You've made your point. SAT's aren't everything, and we all realize that. When some of us shoot for the 2400 we know it's not a guarantee. If you're happy with your 2100, great. It personally makes me feel better to aim higher than that.</p>
<p>2100hopes, you again and again refuse to see the point that so many others here are making.</p>
<p>No one here is saying that with a 2400, you are guaranteed admission at the top schools. You need to have your entire holistic package in order. Get a 2400, rob a bank -- end up in prison, not college. </p>
<p>If you, as an admissions counselor, looked at two kids with comparable 'everythingelses' and SAT scores of 2100 and 2300 respectively, which kid would you let in? </p>
<p>A lot of people like that end up applying to the ivies, who need to make a lot of such decisions. 2300 simply offers you that slightly higher chance at being accepted. It isn't negligibly slight, either -- as cited by statistics before.</p>
<p>Your example of that student who didn't get in -- there are exceptions. You might say that an exception ensures that the rule is false, but you're missing the point that there isn't a CONCRETE rule -- just a general, largely followed one. If that rejected candidate had 2100 as the SAT score, she would have probably been cut off from the process much, much earlier.</p>