<p>Are the SAT's really that important? I mean if you get at least above 2000 but have good grades at school and good extracurricular will a 2000-2100 really stop you?</p>
<p>Depending on the college you want to apply to, a 2000-2100 is actually decent. However, if you want to aim for Ivies/misc. Elite Schools, a 2200+ would be needed to stay competitive. It all depends on the school.</p>
<p>My son got a 2300.</p>
<p>Yet he did not get into a lot of top schools. He got waitlisted at a lot of them.</p>
<p>So I would say that the SAT is not as important as one might think.</p>
<p>Grades and ECs are probably more important.</p>
<p>That being said, if you are trying to get into a Harvard, then all three are needed.</p>
<p>@floridadad55, is 2300+ good enough for Harvard from SAT standpoint? Or should it be 2400?</p>
<p>Do not focus too much on sats. sure, schools like harvard want good scores, but they also focus on other factors. Do well on the sat and keep good grades and ec’s you are passionate about.</p>
<p>Check the common data sets of the schools you are interested in. Most schools probably do not list SAT/ACT scores as the very important factor in admission (C7). If your scores fall into the middle 50% range or above, you are fine. Better focus your efforts on the other factors of admission. If you GPA is not so great, high SAT scores may help your chances for admission at certain schools, but definitely not at the schools like the HYPSM.</p>
<p>Numbersense, no, of course you don’t need a 2400. Harvard’s average SAT score is actually around 2250. And considering only about 200-300 people each YEAR get a 2400, it wouldn’t work at all if you needed that high of a score to get in. The top colleges’ freshman classes all have about 1500 students. Say we’re looking at Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, and MIT (HYPSM): that’s 7500 students right there. Maybe 2000 of them (maximum) are athletic recruits. The people scoring 2400 on the SATs would still only make up 300 of the 4500 remaining spots. No, you do not need a 2400! Given that you’re thinking about attending a college like Harvard, though, you should’ve been able to figure that out yourself :/</p>