<p>heh... I've noticed that people with high SATs and lower than usual GPAs usually have a better chance at getting admitted into colleges.</p>
<p>So, will it be better to have a
2000 SAT score and an 85 average
OR
1500 SAT score and 95 average</p>
<p>to me, the 2000 SAT score application looks way better...</p>
<p>It depends.
If you have a 95 average but only 1500 on your SATs, that’s a significant enough difference that one would assume that your classes were easy.</p>
<p>The low test score high GPA situation can be remedied more easily than the opposite, in that you can study for the test (or its competitor – SAT vs. ACT) and try again for a higher score more easily than you can raise a low GPA.</p>
<p>A few schools do look at test score more highly than GPA and/or class rank (e.g. Lehigh), but the usual conventional wisdom is that most look at GPA and/or class rank more heavily, or at least equally, to test scores.</p>
<p>As is often the case, ucbalum knows what he’s talking about.</p>
<p>BeccaN… oh my god… thank you!!! I’ve never thought of that!!! 
golly! so glad you commented… that just raised my awareness to have a correlative Gpa and SAT, so officers won’t assume that my course difficulty was easy since I got an around average SAT score.</p>
<p>THANK YOU ONCE AGAIN. bless you.</p>
<p>I mean sorry I simplified it a lot, ucbalumnus is right in that most colleges weigh the GPA more than the SATs as one test isn’t going to outweigh 4 years of work.
Also, some people are “bad testers” and might work really hard for their 4.0 and still not get amazingly high SAT scores.
However, despite the test’s many flaws, it is still way of equalizing the system a bit - if you have only a 1600 SAT and straight As, your school is probably quite easy.
Basically, the only way lower (relatively) GPA will be excused is if your school is considered really rigorous.
But glad I could help!</p>
<p>If you didn’t take challenging courses or don’t have a reason for your average with very high test scores, it will look as if you are lazy in school IMO.</p>
<p>thanks BeccaN!!! glad you commented. </p>
<p>BUT the SAT measures scholastic aptitude… how smart you naturally are. SAT tests how good you can draw conclusions based on fresh material you’ve never seen. But as for school, you can study for tests and the material that will be on one of your typical tests given by your teachers.</p>
<p>
@MathTeamExtraPro: Nope. It doesn’t.</p>
<p>And even if that were what the SAT is and what it measures, it wouldn’t matter very much. How smart you are has less to do with getting through college successfully than whether you do the work.</p>
<p>A lot of life is just a matter of showing up, roughly on time and dressed appropriately. A lot of college is just showing up with the work done acceptably. (Clearly, most colleges give students a pass on the “dressed appropriately” part.) </p>
<p>This makes sense, if you think about it. Many of us have had a teacher or two who were, in all honestly, dumb as a box of rocks. But those those teachers were college graduates–maybe even had an M.Ed. They got those degrees by performing the tasks that they were asked to do, even when the tasks were tedious and labor-intensive. </p>
<p>And, really, that’s what most bosses want in the workplace, too: on time, dressed appropriately, with the work done acceptably well. Whether you’re smart or not.</p>
<p>“Smart” is a great adjunct to “reliable,” “hard-working” and “determined.” “Smart” by itself isn’t worth very darn much.</p>
<p>The SAT really just measures how good of a test taker you are. Yes there is a correlation between SAT and GPA, but that is more along the lines that if you read a lot/are good at math you are probably going to get at least a decent SAT and be maintaining a good GPA. With few exceptions the GPA combined with class rank is much more important then ones SAT/ACT score (assuming there is not a huge gap between the two).</p>
<p>Think of it this way. Ones GPA reflects their work ethic and intelligence on a day to day basis. The SAT/ACT tell the college how you did on one Saturday morning. I would consider the person with a 95 a stronger applicant, they could apply to selective test optional schools and be a strong applicant.</p>
<p>My opinion-SAT is used to validate GPA. Without a good GPA, I doubt if the application is considered much beyond a quick holistic review.</p>
<p>aw… thanks guys… I’ve always been a not so bright test taker… all of you guys just gave me a pat on the back to take it easy xD… thanks!!</p>
<p>well… if the SAT doesn’t measure “scholastic aptitude” than what else does it test you on? How good of a test taker you are? If that’s the case, then the SAT should be given little or no attention to by admission officers… I don’t really… accept your arguement here @Artsygirl.</p>
<p>I agree with Artsygirl that the SAT doesn’t necessarily measure scholastic aptitude. I think it’s more a measurement of your test-taking ability and in some cases, if your parents have the $$$ to pay for SAT prep courses which I think is a huge disadvantage for kids who can’t afford it. Yes, you can buy an SAT study book and that does help to some degree but? It just seems to me like there are too many variables. </p>
<p>I guess in the end, I question what tests such as the SAT or the ACT really are measuring. More and more schools - including some really good, top level LACS - are going test-optional I think for good reason.</p>
<p>And I agree with folks above who said that high test scores and low GPAs to me would scream of “lazy”.</p>
<p>@MathTeamExtraPro Yes, to a basic extent it measures intelligence. If you can’t do Algebra 1 you defiantly won’t do well on the math section, if you have terrible grammar you won’t do so great on writing, but beyond the basics it truly does test how good of a test taker you are. My score jumped almost 200 points in just over a month. Not because I learned material that I previously had not known but because I had taken an SAT class through my school that did nothing but teach testing strategies.</p>
<p>The SAT score of an individual student may not give colleges much information, but the SAT profile of that student’s school does. It provides context. An individual student might or might not be good at taking tests, but the student body as a whole will have both types of students. If the school average is higher, it is likely to have a more rigorous program (or perhaps encourage only the top students to take the SAT - but if that is the case, the colleges will also see that on the profile).</p>
<p>I doubt they are going to compare the two students. Instead they are likely to first look at those with the higher GPA, and see how their scores correlate to the school average. If they have a 1500, and the school average is low, that may indicate a less rigorous program. If they have a 1500, and the school average is high, it may indicate the student is a poor test taker. Even so both GPA and test scores are only parts of the whole picture.</p>
<p>Last year, my kid’s experience was the opposite.</p>
<p>He had a 2300 SAT, but only a 3.7 unweighted gpa.</p>
<p>He got waitlisted at a million schools.</p>
<p>In my opinion, the sat SHOULD count for more, because of grade inflation, but I don’t think it does.</p>
<p>GPA is more important.</p>
<p>For those with high SAT scores but mediocre gpa’s, I suggest applying to school in Great Britain, where they go mainly by standardized test scores.</p>
<p>2300 seems too round. mind telling us the scores for each section? @floridadad55 </p>
<p>ARTSYGIRL. yeah. you don’t have a point there, but I feel like there is some secret admissions officers aren’t telling us. If all those factors discussed seem so unimportant, why does create such an emphasis on one’s college application?</p>
<p>that’s a nice question to ask them. i’ll be glad to know if you can tell me.</p>
<p>Obviously both GPA and test scores are important. </p>
<p>GPA will be taken into account the rigor the classes at your school. But with 30,000 high schools in the US and just about as many ways to calculate a GPA what is an admission counselor to do? A 4.0 at school A is not the same as a 4.0 at school B. That is where the standardized test scores come into play. It attempts to put everyone on a level playing field as much as possible.</p>
<p>I agree that high test scores and low GPA normally comes across as lazy. A high GPA with a low test score comes across as taking easy classes and not being challenged.</p>
<p>From what I’ve heard from an admission counselor is they compare everyone within a high school against each other based upon GPA and rank. If you make the cut from your high school then you go into the pool to be compared against all students with more emphasis on standardized test scores.</p>
<p>So in the end both GPA and test scores are important and used in different contexts.</p>