<p>Does SAT really outweigh all the hard work students have accumulated in high school? a student myself, I am struggling and facing the reality that I might not get accepted into a good university/college because of my horrible SAT score. </p>
<p>I excel fairly well in school and I'm afraid that my SAT will overshadow all the classes I worked hard for... I did not take any prep classes because I fairly believed that my intelligence is not measured by just one test. But clearly
I was wrong. Most of the colleges admit applicants with a decent SAT range. However mine is barely acceptable to any colleges I want to get into... Now I regret not taking prep classes for SAT even though I still wouldn't either. If I knew SAT weighed this heavy on admissions process, I would've done something about it but I have no other choice but to accept my SAT score..</p>
<p>I know SATs do depend on the colleges you apply to but generally most of the colleges have their deciding factor on the SATs. For example I am applying to NYU-Poly through NYU admissions knowing that I won't get in because I got a 1580 SATs, my GPA fall in NYU's range but my SATs do not. I feel like my SATs will definitely overshadow my GPA and my real abilities to perform and excel really well in the university. (My gpa is a 3.7)</p>
<p>Would colleges actually accept a person with decent SAT (say, 2000+) and low GPA over a person with low SAT and gpa? What is the real deciding factor? I really need some insight on this. Please Discuss, thank you.</p>
<p>From what I’ve heard from admissions reps/college counselors/those specializing in the admissions process, the GPA is weighed significantly higher than the SAT. The rationale is that four years of coursework is a better indicator of academic success than one four hour test. </p>
<p>That being said, many schools look at the SAT as a (very rough) “bar” for general academic qualifications. The variability of school-to-school GPA (caused by grade inflation/deflation, course difficulty, general competitive atmosphere, etc.) doesn’t appear in a standardized test. If you are not on range for a particular school’s SAT scores, that may significantly decrease your chances; it may indicate things such as grade inflation, easier courses, or a less rigorous academic program.</p>
<p>As for a real deciding factor, I’m not sure there is one. With many schools looking at students holistically, the process becomes a lot more than “who took more AP classes”, or “who got the 2400”. In your case, I would use that opportunity to truly explain who you are in your college essays and allow admissions to learn more about who you are as a person, rather than who you are in numbers.</p>
<p>Separate word of advice- study hard and take the SAT in December to submit to your Common App schools. You can still do it as a senior, and it’ll definitely help more than hurt.</p>
<p>@extremecouponing, thank you so much for giving advice rather than just state the obvious. I took the november SATs and I’m getting tired of seeing the same scores(I worked hard…). Hopefully I improved, but I still think my SATs will pull me down. I want admissions to see how I took my SAT as a failure to better myself as accepting that a number does not define me but the society bases intelligence on numbers…</p>
<p>@breindy
Hopefully you did well! That would be an interesting essay topic. I would just caution against berating that status quo /too/ much; keep in mind the admissions process is still heavily centered around numbers.</p>
<p>@extremecouponing I did not necessarily write about that but I wrote about how I failed to do an ollie on my skateboard and I learn a lot about life from it. Doees it sound too cliche? </p>
<p>@breindy
(This is a personal belief, obviously, but) cliche essays are cliche not because of the topic, but because of the execution. At the very least, that essay shows that you have interests that extend outside of academics, which is good.</p>
<p>@breindy i understand how you feel, but hopefully you did better on the SAT today, and as @extremecouponing said you can take it in december, i suggest taking the ACT if the SAT isnt your thing especially if youre good at science, which is generally easier to study for </p>
<p>@yanes27, I’m kind of tired of taking standardized tests, I have tried my best and trying to keep up with college apps and my senior workload… I wonder if colleges do see how much challenging courses I am taking as a senior to get admitted. Because if they don’t, I don’t even know why I am making myself work too hard when they won’t even accept me…</p>
<p>That’s what your transcript tells them and i personally think it plays a huge part in explaining you G.P.A., are you in IB or AP? Also i feel you ive taken like 20 standardized test through high school and its the worst but its worth the extra effort its clear you understand there weight and thus you should give it one more chance </p>
<p>But they wouldn’t be able to see senior year which I have loaded myself with challenging courses. I’ve only taken 1 AP as my school does not give them out to any. But im taking two this year.</p>
<p>If I were you, I would definitely take the SATs/ACTs again. If you’re tired of seeing the same scores, try taking the ACT. You never know, you could improve and your super-score would probably improve too. </p>
<p>Remember dude, this is senior year (Im a senior too btw), remember no regrets man. Put all of the hard work into these college apps, study like crazy for the SAT/ACT, only then can you see how far you can get. </p>
<p>It’s too late to do any ECs or stuff like that, so focus on the ESSAYS too!</p>
<p>@breindy a 3.7 GPA out of 4.0 (so unweighted) is a great GPA, don’t listen to the first commenter. Honestly your SAT is really low to apply to top schools, but there are so many amazing institutions in America that i’m confident even with those scores, you CAN find a good school for you</p>