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it's well above the average score.
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<p>The so called "average" score is incredible misleading. First of all, the score to which you are referring, 2230, is the average of currently enrolled students, not accepted students. Secondly, because of the many more applicants with, say, 2130's than 2330's, the 2130's paradoxically both will make up "half" of the class and have a very low chance of being accepted.</p>
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a 2290 is a good enough score for ANY ivy, stanford, mit, and caltech.
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<p>Why, then, does Harvard reject 50% of their perfect SAT scorer applicants? I understand your point, that there are clearly other factors that outweigh 50 SAT points, and so, to answer my own question, those 50% most likely had poor GPA's, essays, and/or recommendations. However, check out this data from Princeton's website:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.princeton.edu/admission/images/stats/applied.gif%5B/url%5D">http://www.princeton.edu/admission/images/stats/applied.gif</a></p>
<p>Let's assume that the proportions of people who obtain a given SAT score in relation to the total amount of test takers is the same among Princeton applicants. That was kind of convoluted. . . . What I mean is, for example, around 1/5 of people who score 2370+ score a 2400, 2390 or 2380, and 2/5 score 2370, therefore the average score of 2370+ scorers is around a 2382. (Those fractions aren't entirely correct, but bare with me.) Assume that the proportions of Princeton applicants work the same way.</p>
<p>So, a 2330 applicant (which is the aforementioned "average" of 2300-2400) has a 26% chance of acceptance. But, like you hinted at, there's no evidence whatsoever that the 74% were rejected because of their scores. What I'm saying is NOT that they were. I'm saying, as the Princeton data clearly shows, is that the higher your score, the better your chances (duh); and for a school like Princeton, like Stanford, you want the best chances you can get. </p>
<p>Your argument would make sense if I were saying to sacrifice grades and essays for 70 SAT points, but I'm not.</p>
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once you score above a 2250, it essentially doesn't matter to an admissions officer.
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<p>I see that a lot on CC, but never have I seen proof of this. To me, this is just rhetoric. I agree that a 2290 and a 2250 or a 2290 and a 2330 will be viewed, essentially, in the same way. But a 2250 and a 2400? The numbers are very much against you. Harvard and Princeton have very close acceptance rates, so let's "superimpose" the statistic I provided of Harvard's with the chart of Princeton's.</p>
<p>A 2400 gives an applicant a ~50% chance at HP, whereas a 2250 gives an applicant. . . (I kind of have to guess here. Somewhere between 11% [which is the rate for ~2160'ers] and 26% [the rate of ~2330'ers]. I'm going to fathom a guess at) 18%. (But anywhere in that range proves my point.) To assume that the both of these people are rejected based not on their SAT's (which we know for a fact the 2400'ers aren't), but their grades/LOR's/essays is to assume that twice, thrice the percent of 2400'ers have better essays, LOR's, and grades than 2250'ers. I don't believe that grades and essays are that proportional to SAT scores; yet I do believe that acceptance rates are.</p>
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they look at GPA, essays, and recommendations to differentiate well-qualified applications--not 50 SAT points.
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<p>This is where we agree. (Yay!) Yet, the SAT starts to play a part in that differentiation when the scores are 80 points apart, 120 points apart, 150 points apart, et cetera. </p>
<p>A 2290 stands a decent shot at HYPS, but there's no denying that a 2370 would stand a better chance. The issue here is not whether or not the OP should sacrifice his grades for the SAT, or his EC's for the SAT. He got a 720 on Writing and an 800 on Reading, therefore to boost his 720 to an 800 or something close should be quite easy for the OP. Someone so well read and with a foundation in the English language that he scores an 800 in CR should be able to score a 780-800 in Writing, no problem.</p>
