<p>I was always under the impression that if you have a great GPA/grades but not-so-great (but certainly not "bad") SAT scores, if was better than great SATs and a mediocre GPA. I had heard that if your case is the former, most colleges would just assume that you have difficulty with standardized tests but that you are a smart student. However, someone in the Chances section just said that if you have the good GPA/bad SAT combo, colleges will assume that your school is not very rigorous. </p>
<p>I have the latter case, where my SATs are very good but my GPA (especially unweighted) is less than stellar because I take a very hard courseload at a very hard school. </p>
<p>So, for college admissions, is it better to have a great GPA and not as good SATs or a not as good GPA and great SATs? Obviously it's best to have both a wonderful GPA and SATs, but when that doesn't happen, which situation damns your chances more?</p>
<p>I'd say that it's better to have a high GPA/low SAT scores if the class is difficult. I mean, in many schools there's grade inflation, and many high school teachers are afraid of giving bad grades to students, out of fear that they won't get into the colleges they want to get into. So a 3.9 probably isn't as hard to get now as it used to be in the past. If you have a 4.0 GPA, for instance, how could you possibly do so poorly on a test that supposedly tests much easier material? That's the idea behind the idea that if you have a high GPA but bad test scores, there's probably a lot of grade inflation and you're not as knowledgeable about the basics as it seems. On the other hand, if you have a high SAT score but a low GPA, then people might think that you're bright, but don't work hard or put in much effort for some reason. But if it's a tough school, then a 3.7 is obviously better than a 3.7 at a school that's more lax when it comes to grades. I don't think your question is as easy as which is better: this or that? There are so many variables that muddy it up, but mostly it has to do with the type of school you go to.</p>
<p>well, if your GPA is low but you're ranked high, that's better.</p>
<p>honestly i hope colleges look at what specific AP classes on takes.</p>
<p>A lot of people at my school have bullcrap AP's like psychology and human geography to boost their GPA.</p>
<p>It depends on the school. Some value (weight) scores more highly, others grades. If you go to the common data set for the school you can see at the gross level which is more highly weighted.</p>
<p>I have a great GPA, but am planning to take my SATs this November. I am not good at English, but I am great with numbers. I know this weakness will effect my SAT scores. If I don't get a good score will it hurt my chance for getting into a selective school.</p>