<p>Poor test taker, only if others at her school with similar grades are doing much better on the SAT. Otherwise I agree, we tend to forget here on CC that anything above 1800 is a very good test score in the real world.</p>
<p>"College admissions can not rely on course level and grade alone as it can be misleading." (post #32)</p>
<p>Yes, but decreased reliance on the SATs seems to be a trend as more schools, most recently Smith College, go SAT optional. This is b/c the scores are predictive of first-year college grades, at most, and b/c of the scores' correlation with income. </p>
<p>But, as long as colleges report SAT scores )CDS) and SAT scores are used in the ranking systems, strong scores never hurt - - even w/ SAT optional schools. In fact, I wonder whether some schools og optional for the sole purpose of posting even HIGHER SAT scores (when a school goes optional, only students w/ really strong scores submit the scores, so the median SAT score tends to rise).</p>
<p>I think the Yale admissions response (post #21) says it all.</p>
<p>EMM1 - agreed; the SAT is a flawed instrument, but so are most tests. And, life is full of standardized tests - - GRE, LSAT, GMAT, MCAT, bar exam, med boards, etc. - - all of which are imperfect.</p>
<p>MommaJ - responding to your original question. My D is in the same situation. (SAT w/o prep = 2120, PSAT = 213 which is definitely Commended and borderline NMSF in our state, and GPA = 3.7) I was shocked when a friend (Admissions dir at a selective LAC) advised that she NOT retake the SAT in case it further widened the discepancy between her SAT and GPA. </p>
<p>I'm still thinking she will retake in the fall anyway, in spite of my friend's advice. I find it hard to believe that a better SAT score is a bad thing. </p>
<p>My bigger concern is her class rank. With a GPA of 3.7 she is roughly 50/180 - not even in the top 25%! The stats for most schools she is looking at (SLACs) show the vast majority of students in at least the top 25%. How worried should I be?</p>
<p>College Board sends all SAT scores - when asked to send scores - to colleges. </p>
<p>My d took the SAT II Bio E at the end of her freshman year. She did not have the scores sent to any colleges. She also did not have the hs code. She wasn't trying to hide a score; she just didn't understand the logistics yet. (Hey, she was a freshman.) Anyway, the score was not on her transcript as of Jan. junior year and needed to be added. I assume that it is now since she has taken two SATs and College Board reports it all. Scores sent to colleges do show the SAT II Bio score.</p>
<p>"Standardized tests measure what they test--the ability to take standardized tests, which is correlated to the characteristics of successful people, but by no means one to one. They do not test organizational ability, thoroughness and tenacity, which within broad limits is vastly more important than test taking ability in almost every facet of life."</p>
<p>Just to clarify my point, I absolutely agree with you on all points that the SAT is an imperfect measurement. Something as simple as going to bed at 9 pm vs. 1 am the night before the exam can skew the result dramatically. That being said, there is no other constant in all applications.</p>
<p>And no, scores are not sent to the HS unless the school code is entered. If your child is considering a fall test date to boost scores and he has already taken SAT II's, then I would say why not go in and have some fun (!) with it. We did this with one child and were amazed at how much the scores went up. IMHO, it was because he knew that no one would see them if they were bad so went in with absolutely no pressure. Then, if child does great, contact CB and report to both school and colleges.</p>
<p>Unlike PSAT scores, SAT scores ar NOT reported to the high school. </p>
<p>Picking and choosing which set of SAT scores to send to a college is, however, difficult. The College Board will forward all scores (ie: current and prior tests) to colleges. So if you take the SAT in March and June, the schools you designate to receive your June score will also receive the March score. But schools to which the student sent his/her March scores will not automatically receive the June scores. So, if a student wanted to hedge his/her bets, s/he would send out the March scores, take the June exam and only report the June scores if they were stronger than the March scores.</p>
<p>They are sent to the highschool if you fill in the code which most kids do since the directions tell you to do so. Until this year, all of the high schools got my kids SAT results. Son put in wrong code this year so high school got nada.</p>
<p>nyc, That method would be useful only if the student knew all the schools he/she was applying to before June of junior year, because any added after that time would receive all the scores. Hats off to any kid who is that well prepared, but my daughter and most of her peers are still quite at sea about where to apply at this point in the process.</p>
<p>With regards to class rankings--we live in a small city, and our high school is a very mixed bag. A large number are not college bound, another large number are cc bound. The school does rankings on the basis of weighted grades, so my daughter's GPA easily puts her in the top 10% of her class (remember, it is B++ level unweighted.) In a select private school, I'm sure she'd fall out of the top 25%. Bottom line, I'm sure GPA's and rankings are not viewed absolutely; the nature of the school is taken into account.</p>
<p>MommaJ, the method is equally useful if one sits for the test in fall of senior year and again in early winter. </p>
<p>"In a select private school, I'm sure she'd fall out of the top 25%."</p>
<p>That's why even non-selctive private schools don't rank. At any school where most students are college bound, ranking helps only the kids at the top - - and puts the middle and bottom kids at a real disadvantag.</p>
<p>I have this problem to a lesser degree: 3.5 GPA, maybe 3.6 by the end of the year. 2230 SAT.</p>
<p>Maybe I am a slacker in school (a lot of procrastination going on), or maybe I just take harder courses (a lot of tough electives).</p>
<p>But still, the high SAT score certainly can't hurt.</p>
<p>(z) you are right.......and neither can a high GPA. Hopefully its all about being a solid student taking a challenging courseload....but having been down this road more than once, I scratch my head in disbelief at some college acceptances and denials. I'd love to be a fly on the wall.........</p>
<p>nyc: "That's why even non-selctive private schools don't rank. At any school where most students are college bound, ranking helps only the kids at the top - - and puts the middle and bottom kids at a real disadvantag."</p>
<p>Except some selective private schools do rank. Three children in three different selective private schools: oldest d - school ranked; s - school quit ranking mid-way through his junior year :); youngest d - school ranks and it's going to hurt.</p>
<p>
[quote]
My daughter's SAT's are great; her GPA is less impressive. My feeling is that this says "underachiever" to an admissions officer.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Try "not inclined to work hard on a sustained basis" instead of "underachiever". Low GPA hurts A LOT more than low SATs at most schools. Have some experience here. D was 2200 on SATs but barely top 10% GPA-wise at school. She got into many good schools, but not into the few we thought were a reach for her.</p>
<p>Personally, all these 3.5, etc. gpas don't sound 'low' at all to me!! </p>
<p>So, on the SAT score-sending issue.....if, say, a student took the March SAT & did okay but not fantastic (say, 2110) and then planned to take it this fall in senior year...would be better not do designate HS code & just contact collegeboard to have it sent individually, later, only if it was better? Sorry if I'm not 'getting' this as quick as I should!</p>
<p>This is our case...I think son might improve because his ACT score was multiple % points higher & he'll have been doing some heavy-duty math for a few months before the fall test (was out of the 'math groove').</p>
<p>Thanks....</p>
<p>
[quote]
Personally, all these 3.5, etc. gpas don't sound 'low' at all to me!!
[/quote]
Since grading standards vary widely, GPA by itself is meaningless, class range is the more relevant metric. Nevertheless, a 3.5 GPA is on the low end of what would be acceptable to a "first-tier" school. No, "first tier" does not mean HYP to me, NYU, BU etc are in that category. To get a sense for that number, browse the stats thread on the relevant board.</p>
<p>BTW, you cannot report specific SAT scores to schools, it is an all-or-nothing affair, this includes SATIIs.</p>