<p>This is going to look horrible, but I only got a 1600 on my SAT's. an 1100 with reading and math together. I have taken way over 20 honors courses, and 3 AP courses. My senior roster is very challenging just like it has been for the past 3 years before that. I have a 4.0 GPA unweighted and I am ranked 18th out of 265 in my high school with a 93.8 average overall. My first semester grades are all 92 and above. I am also involved in many EC's, Baseball for the past two years(fall and spring), rowing(2009-2011), parish altar server, devote myself to at least 60 hours of community service a year, I am the Vice President of Service of my school's National Honor Society, I am a senior member of my school's Jr. AOH, I am a part of my schools Big Brother organization, and I set up 2 of my school's blood drives.
The only chance I have is my GPA and EC's. Villanova is my top choice, and I just want to know if I should move on from this dream now. I have 7 acceptances already, I have backups so I am prepared for the worst, but is there any hope?</p>
<p>Your Achilles heel is obviously your test scores; you’re very qualified otherwise. Villanova doesn’t look too much at the writing score, so your focus should be on CR+M. I think if you practice and raise your score to at least 1250 you’ll have a much better shot.</p>
<p>If Villanova is truly your dream school, make sure you put that in your essay. You should also sign up to either take your SATs again or take the ACT. Your SAT scores are far below average for VU students. In fact, the only students at VU with that score may be the recruited athletes. Still, your class rank, etc., is good so it is worth pursuing.</p>
<p>One thing I can tell you, though, is that VU does look at the whole picture so you have a shot. My niece went to Villanova and was a very borderline admit. She was in the top 10% of her high school class, a varsity high school athlete, etc. but only scored an 1140 in her SATs. She was accepted as an engineering major (being a female, that may have been a hook) and ended up graduating near the top of her class. She doesn’t do well on standardized tests but is an extremely hard worker and excels in class. She now works for an engineering firm making very good money. </p>
<p>I gave you that example because SAT score may be a strong indicator of aptitude (although it can skewed by prep courses) but is not always a strong indicator of academic success. A high class rank is a better predictor in many cases and admissions officers are aware of it.</p>
<p>don’t say a school is your dream school on your essay bluntly. Colleges hate that and they think you are lying.</p>
<p>I’m pursuing a degree in psychology at VU, so I’m applying to the college of arts, is the arts pool as difficult as say nursing or engineering pool? </p>
<p>I have always struggled with standardized tests so it was to be expected. I would sign up again, but my family just doesn’t have the money for it. I have only struggled in two classes my whole life, pre calc, and calculus and that’s because I had a b+ and an A-. I never understood why I do bad on them, yet I can ace chapter tests and do reports like its my
profession. </p>
<p>My supplement essay was how I would fit in the Villanova community, I didn’t mention “dream school”. I had many complements on my essay from teachers so I hope it was good!</p>
<p>Thanks for the help and for putting some light on the ground! I appreciate it!</p>
<p>Arts is definitely the easiest school to get into so I think you have a decent chance. Obviously the test scores will hurt you, but they do look at the full candidate</p>