<p>Just FYI to everyone out there fretting about these scores, It's not worth all the worrying and stress for sure. Unless you are looking at the top tier of schools i think you should relax. Focus on you GPA and class, rank, thats what I did. If you get above 1000 be proud, you're technically above average! Anywhere in the range of 1300 paired with a good GPA/rank will be perfect for most of the schools in the US. I got less then 1200 and was accepted and offered schloarships at several schools. I think they are important, but not nearly as important as a good GPA. I know many won't agree, feel free to post your views.</p>
<p>I don't like that GPAs can be inflated, and I also don't like that there's no way to tell whether a GPA is the result of natural ability or insanely hard work. A kid who's staying up until 2 in the morning every night, and crying because he/she's so stressed really isn't ready for a top tier school, and there's no way to tell the difference between that kid's 4.0 and another kid's 4.0 that was the result of a nice, relaxed high school experience. The second kid has the talent neccessary for a very rigorous school, whereas the first might not. Outside that, I'm not sure.</p>
<p>"I know many won't agree, feel free to post your views."
I HATE YOU. HOW DARE YOU UNDERMINE THE SAT!?!?! MY 1600 SHOWS HOW PERFECT I AM AND HOW INSUFFICIENT YOU ARE. SHUT UP</p>
<p>the sat is crap but its the only way that I will get into my dream college, since ma gpa isn't the best (damn kids who overload on easy classes and get higher gpa's than me, i hate them!)</p>
<p>its pretty bad (SAT), but id prefer that than the madness that would ensue when kids with heavily infated grades were allowed to run amock in admissions.</p>
<p>'If you get above 1000 be proud, you're technically above average!'</p>
<p>why would you want to have such low standards...i understand that most normal people have to prepare for tests like the SAT but if you prepare with the attitude that all you have to be is "above-average" then you're never gonna be any better...this is not to ridicule anyone...but there is little to be proud of in being above average when the average itself is low...</p>
<p>I'm sorry. I'm talking to the wrong crowd. I'm proud of my 1120 because i couldn't do better. i couldn't afford $1000 tutors. by all means i wish i got a higher score, you should be proud if you get 1600 by all means! I'm just saying that grades are really more important. If you have a 2.5-3.0 i don't think you have a place at an ivy no matter what your sat. 4 yrs schoolwork vs 1 3 hr test,hmmmm..., which is a better indicator of your work????</p>
<p>I find GPA and course selection to be a better indicator of a student's strengths and weaknesses than the SAT. The Sat is way too coachable for me. Many people complain of grade inflation but, you can't "buy" a 4.0 GPA like you can a 1600 on the SAT.</p>
<p>if you can buy a 1600, why can't u buy a 4.0 or even a 5.0? just go to a private school, pay them a load of that green stuff and you'll get a 5.0, it's been proven, by a friend of mine. went from 3.2-4.6 in 1 year at private school
plus, ppl who don't do well on the SATs call it crap (including me for sometime), but then, i learned to face the fact that i am not perfect, there are a lot of ppl better than I, but i try to look on the positive side that i am better than others and at the same time trying to motivate myself to do better. GPA is important, but so are the SATs.</p>
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[quote]
if you can buy a 1600, why can't u buy a 4.0 or even a 5.0? just go to a private school, pay them a load of that green stuff and you'll get a 5.0, it's been proven, by a friend of mine. went from 3.2-4.6 in 1 year at private school
plus, ppl who don't do well on the SATs call it crap (including me for sometime), but then, i learned to face the fact that i am not perfect, there are a lot of ppl better than I, but i try to look on the positive side that i am better than others and at the same time trying to motivate myself to do better. GPA is important, but so are the SATs.
[/quote]
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<p>When I said "buy" I was referring to being able to take prep classes and online course and so on and so forth. Grade inflation sin't a problem at my school b/c people earn their grades here so I can't comment on grade inflation all that well. I go to a public school so I'm really ignorant of the inner workings of grade inflation at private schools. I never said the SAT is "crap" I just find GPA and course selection to be a better indicator of a student's strength and weaknesses and I scored rather well on it (1440). I still feel too much emphasis is placed on the SAT it's a test that has a sway with college admission which is to be honest to numbers driven for my liking but I digress.</p>
<p>regardless of whether or not the SATs are overrated, it's the main "tool" most schools use to gauge how much we've learned in the past four years...sad, but true :-</p>
<p>I go to a public school as well, so I don't think any one could get away with buying their grades. We do have grade inflation but only for gpa/class rank, it doesn't show up on your report card. All Honors/AP Course are multiplied by 1.075, which i think is fair since it is a lot more work than regular courses.</p>
<p>screw sats...screw gpas..actually screw me for being a procrastinating lazy beech..thats the bigggggggest thing thatll keep me out of college..me!..and honestly..if ur sat scores aren't matching ur grades or vice versa..ur being lazy somewhere..maybe with schoolwork or the sats itself..u can study for that beech reallllllly study hard..w/o wasting a million..and do well..w/e..i still hate it all..thank you, come again.</p>
<p>"screw sats...screw gpas..actually screw me for being a procrastinating lazy beech..thats the bigggggggest thing thatll keep me out of college..me!..and honestly..if ur sat scores aren't matching ur grades or vice versa..ur being lazy somewhere..maybe with schoolwork or the sats itself..u can study for that beech reallllllly study hard..w/o wasting a million..and do well..w/e..i still hate it all..thank you, come again."</p>
<p>WORD! I am exactly the same way! My GPA is junk (3.6 something got a F on a 9 weeks once) but i got a 219 on the PSAT and a 1410 on the SAT (not spectacular but prolly not the expected score for a A-B Student)</p>
<p>I don't disagree that it's difficult to determine the reasons for achieving 4.0s. But I'd like to add that in general, people are put into classes/schools with similar ability levels. Gifted and talented schools (usually entirely separate facilities) with 132+ documented standford-binet IQ admission requirements, etc. have the same spectrum of student characteristics (some work insanely hard, others underacheive big time). My point--- > don't always assume that an increase in 'giftedness', ability means a decrease in 'hard work' or hours spent working.</p>
<p>Well I got to a public school too, and yes buying grades isn't very hard. If your parents are good friends with a large abundance of the faculty, it won't be a problem getting a 4.0. Also, a $1000 tutor is NOT going to get you a 1600 like you think. If you are being serious about scoring a 1120, a tutor won't raise your score past 1250. Tutors are best suited for those scoring in the low 1400s that want to reach the high 1500s.</p>
<p>Also to add, no matter how overrated you think the SAT might be, if they got rid of it the whole system would become much more complicated. Schools will require you to go to their university and they'll administrate their OWN standerized test anyway, so this system is cheapest, fastest, and best for you.</p>
<p>Well, I got a 1410 on the SAT, with 3 days of prep. I am a sophomore, and had straight a's last year, and a b this year in french :(. I don't really care though. I work hard, but if it is pointless(like my french teacher said we aren't capable of A's, so she isn't giving em), fine. I think the SAT is simply a measure of testtaking ability. Just practicing from 10 real SAT's, that boosted my score by 120 pts. If I rejected from a college because I didn't work myself to death everynight, and cry over it, I probably wouldn't go there anyway.</p>
<p>Take a look at MIT. They just care that you did good in GPA, like 3.87 or above, and that you have real passion for your stuff.</p>
<p>Harvard on the other hand has simply devised a formula for getting in. If you notice, going to a great school does not ensure success. The people who do goto these schools and win nobel prizes would have done great things anyway.</p>
<p>Right now, I have a 5.25 GPA(reg = 4, honor = 5, ap = 6). I think GPA inflation is important, but only when colleges do it. For AP classes, your scores should be compared to, as it is an indicator of how hard your class was.</p>
<p>I rather take placement tests that are geared towards what I've been learned the past 4 years. I know I have to do these for colleges anyway for math, reading, science, and language. Yea I like how you assume that I am uncapable of scoring above 1250- this whole systems sucks! I know a friend who cheats on everything, has been caught, and has good grades as a result. He doesn't 1/2 as much homework and studying as I do. he got higher than me on sats- if any school wants a cheater over me its their loss. Oh well, i could care less now- i've already been accepted to my choice schools.</p>