<p>Mifune and Jersey13 implied otherwise. I’m not being combative, by the way, so please, no one take offense. I am just trying to reassure those whose SAT scores fell outside some statistical threshold that as an isolated statistic, it might make very little difference. In fact, my guess is that the score usually confirms what they see in the rest of the application, and that their decision would almost never be changed if they did not have an SAT score in front of them. Most people do not know how to properly interpret statistics, and can therefore think that if they get their score to be 40 points highers, their chances of admission increase by 5.8%. Inferring backwards (especially because this process is not driven by random probability, like the lottery) simply does not work.</p>
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The opposite holds true as well. Until such data is made available, the idea that changes in SAT score will have no effect on chances of admissions is at best conjecture.</p>
<p>However, Mifune and I are merely pointing out a correlation between higher scores and acceptance rates, which is irrefutable.</p>
<p>Fair enough, that is also true; all we can do is conjecture. I just don’t want people to over-think the effect their SAT score will have on their chances of admission. If it helps someone study, I don’t mind them imagining that this score will define their admission decisions, but once the tests are done, people should not fret about their score having been just too low. You shouldn’t worry over things you cannot know, and we just don’t know how scores affect decisions.</p>
<p>I would, by the way, absolutely love to see admission researchers experiment to find out whether higher scores change decisions. It would be an interesting challenge to design an experiment that controlled all the other variables, and just tested the weight put on SAT scores by admissions officers. Even better would be to find a statistically significant difference of scores that would actually make a difference (for example, I assume adding or subtracting 10 points from a students SAT scores would not change an adcom’s decision, but 400 points definitely would… where is the breaking point?).</p>
<p>I said this on another thread and it was about Yale, not Harvard, but the point is the same:</p>
<p>According to my school’s Naviance, a few hundred kids from my school applied to Yale over the last four years and dozens have been accepted, many more rejected (obviously). Of those accepted, two had SATs below 2300. One was a nationally-renown athletic recruit (score in the 2000s) and another was tremendously distinguished in an academic talent (score in the 2200s). Quite literally everyone else who got in had a 2300+. Interpret that as you will.</p>
<p>Guys…You are all WAY too obessesed with scores, even though you say you aren’t. Yes, I know that affirmative action helps to bring the “average” score down, and that you should always aim a little higher. For ADMITTED students (not applicants), the middle 50% for the big ivies is like 21something to 23 something.</p>
<p>Ok, look. If your thinking about affirmative action, then its important to consider that not all black/hispanic applicants have terrible scores and will bring the average SAT scores down. There are black candidates on here with 2200 + 2300: sure, its n ot a lot, but its enough to say something about the grossly inaccurate 1800 or so average (i know you don’t say itsw that low, just go with it) for minorities and how much it affects the average SAT score range. A “liberal” adjustment for minorities would probably add about 50-80 SAT points onto the average 50% ACCEPTANCE RATE for non-minorities. Assuming just randomnly that it is 2180 or lower for the bottom 25% of ADMITTED STUDENTS (not applicants), and that you add 80 points, you could still have a score of 2260 and be in the MIDDLE 50% percent of ADMITTED students. That’s not just competitive, that’s right on target!</p>
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It looks like you’ve really done your research. Tell me, how many assumptions does it take to get to the center of reality?</p>
<p>^ Sarcastic and a tootsie-pop commercial allusion, A+</p>
<p>Could I ask an affirmative action question please? Nobody seems to have the answer.</p>
<p>What exactly is it? Is there like a law that says it has to happen? Is there a mandate for it–and how would that mandate be enforced? Do all schools practice it?</p>
<p>I get that it involves giving priority to URMs, but the questions above are the vague ones for me.</p>
<p>would a score below 2300 severely decrease this hypothetical applicant’s chances
No</p>
<p>@MSauce:</p>
<p>There is no law mandating affirmative action.
Not all schools practice it; many, public institutions do not as a result of the Bakke decision (1978) and state legislative reforms. Generally speaking, affirmative action is a policy designed to redress past discrimination against women and minority groups through measures to improve their economic and educational opportunities. The efficacy of such a policy is rather questionable at best and a failure at worst.</p>
<p>And to answer the OP: No, a score below 2300 would not severely decrease the applicant’s chances. You would not be rejected solely because you had a 2290, and you would not be accepted just because you had a 2310.</p>
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<p>What about a low-to-mid 2200ish score?</p>
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Completely agree with this statement. And for those ardent race-based affirmative action supporters, I only suggest you brush up on the topics of “coolies” and the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. Now try and explain the rationale behind race-based affirmative action.</p>
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<p>Well, any score beyond 2250 is in the 99th percentile. My statement was meant to convey that there would not be a huge amount of differentiation amongst the top 1% of test takers. I’m not too sure how a sub-2250 score would impact your chances; I can only guess that given the brief profile you’ve provided, it wouldn’t help too much. However, I must state this once more: a score in the top 1-2% of test takers means that your SAT will not be the sole reason for whatever admissions decision you receive.</p>
<p>It looks like you’ve really done your research. Tell me, how many assumptions does it take to get to the center of reality? </p>
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<p>I didn’t say they weren’t assumptions. At least I’m actually thinking about the effect AA has rather than just spewing out even more ridiculous assumptions without any basis in reality.</p>