<p>I want to know how much SAT scores really count in the admission process. </p>
<p>In "On Writing The College Essay" book, the author says that admissions use SAT scores as a tool for measuring relative academic achievements of various socioeconomic groups, and so it's not a very influential factor in deciding accepting/denying an applicant. In addition, the author said that the scores are measured against the expectations for particular socioeconomic groups, and the standard is not the same for all socioeconomic groups. How true is that? </p>
<p>At most colleges SAT scores are important; not as important as grades but still a major factor. The exception is that there are a minority of colleges that no longer require test scores for admission. A second exception is that some state colleges will admit you regardless of test scores if your high school class rank is at certain level such as top 9% or top 10% </p>
<p>Many (but not all) colleges do give favorable factor consideration to certain minorities – African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Native Americans – and thus they may be admitted if they have somewhat lower grades and test scores than typical admittees to the college but you should not assume that creates some huge advantage. Socioeconomic status may also considered but with same caveat.</p>
<p>There are actually a number of state colleges that have minimum test score requirements for admission (either a minimum number or a variable minimum that depends on GPA).</p>
<p>It really depends on the school, but don’t let anyone tell you that at the more selective colleges, SAT scores don’t matter…they do. If your scores are below their published 25th percentile & you don’t have a hook (minority, recruited athlete, legacy, etc.) your chances of admission are slim.</p>
<p>^^ not necessarily for the most selective schools, but how about if one of the 3 parts of the SAT are below 25% but the other two are at or above 75%?</p>
<p>Many schools release their data and criteria on the web – Google the <name of=“” college=“”> with the term “Common Data Set”. The top schools generally list SAT/ACT as VERY IMPORTANT (the same category as GPA). Since different high schools have different grading standards (and frankly there is a difference in overall quality of education/preparedness) standardized tests are one of the few ways to compare students across high schools. </name></p>
<p>tellch00.</p>
<p>Common wisdom (fwiw) is that the accepted students who are in the bottom 25% on one SAT Part are generally considerably better elsewhere, so your example would be a classic case where a candidate is considered for admittance (depending on how far below the 25% level, of course).</p>