Scenario: High GPA, extremely low SAT score.

<p>Ok, there are always people who just have different scores and different gpa. I rank 2 in my class, and my SAT score sucks (ok, maybe it’s not that horrible, but if I can’t break 700’s, it is just bad.). My friend who ranks 3 got a superscored of 2400, so there isn’t really a corelation of high gpa, low SAT score in my opinion. Of course, people who have good gpa tends to score higher, but there are always exceptions, and I am unfortunately belongs to that exception.</p>

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who wudda thunk ?</p>

<p>She needs to take a gap year and master the English language. Then, she will test a lot better, learn to write a decent essay, and have time to do some extracurricular activities. If she travels to a different country (i.e., her home country or something like that) to learn English better, she could use her journeys as inspiration to write a good college essay, a means to partake in extracurricular activities, and a big confidence-booster. Doing so also serves as an excuse to take a gap year (so it doesn’t seem like she took it just to have extra time; the same is the case in transferring–you must have a reason for wanting to transfer, and the why transfer essay is a very significant part of one’s transfer application, but, anyway, that is another story). The year would be well spent. I am surprised that taking a gap year hasn’t been mentioned as a viable option for the subject here; if she transfers, she may have to graduate a year late anyway.</p>

<p>I don’t want to be disrespectful, but that this hasn’t been mentioned already is an indication that the advice in this thread has, in general, been pretty poor. . . . unless there was something I missed.</p>

<p>Also, even with a 2400, she won’t get into any top college without any extracurriculars. A gap year is just ideal.</p>

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<p>The SAT prep books and courses won’t help her on the ACT. Since she is going to take the ACT, she needs an ACT prep course and some practice tests. The SAT and ACT are different kinds of tests.</p>

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<p>Amen! I couldn’t agree more. Don’t listen to Lemaire and the other naysayers who think a standardized test score means 0% chance of getting through college. </p>

<p>I scored only slightly higher than the OP’s kid and made it through Fordham (transferred into sophomore year) with a 3.5+. Again, you can’t measure MOTIVATION with a standardized test score.</p>

<p>Not always, no. But look around CC: motivated kids prepping for the standardized tests are all around. </p>

<p>I am curious, why are you holding up your experience as a general rule of thumb for OP to follow ? A little google searching would quickly show you that your success is unusual. It is also a bit odd that neither you or OP has mentioned major. If (and this is a big if) the friend’s scores are indicative of talent and not a correctable problem, then a high likelihood exists that some majors are not for her, while others may be within her reach if she is extremely hard working and chooses a school with low pass thresholds.</p>

<p>Did I read that the person in question is asian ? Knowing something about the pressure that asian kids are subjected to succeed in school, I have wondered more than once how average and below average kids fare. I can well imagine denial becoming a solution.</p>

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<p>Oh really? I bust my ass off to go from SAT 1430 to a 2100. Does it show my determination to succeed? Hell ya. It was the worst, most stressful times of my life.</p>

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<p>Again, the slow reading could be cultural or a learning disability. If it is cultural, she need to study English and get up to speed before going off to college. If it’s a learning disability, she will need to get examined, get coaching, and get extended time, all of which will help her perform closer to her true ability range.</p>

<p>I’m definitely recommending to take the ACT as well. I got an 1820 on my SAT and a 31 on my ACT. That’s a huge difference, just because I liked that they tested my actual ability rather than how well I can deduce which answer they want me to put.</p>

<p>“She’s intelligent, but she can’t seem to convey her thoughts into written language and also struggles with higher level vocabulary and sentence structure in literature.”</p>

<p>For a monolingual native English speaker, this would be a big, gigantic, flaming red flag for language-based learning disabilities. Since it appears that English is not her home language, it may instead be a big, gigantic, flaming red flag indicating that she needs to work with an experienced ESOL teacher to develop her Academic English skills. Only a good educational psychologist can sort this one out. She needs to be screened ASAP. Since she is very smart, and very hardworking, she has managed to fly under the wire, so to speak, up to this point. Whether the difficulty is identified as a learning disability or as something that can be “treated” by ESOL coursework (or by a combined program), she has only one more year of high school when she can get these services for free. Please be a good friend and help her work her way through the system. Her parents may not have the linguistic and/or cultural skills to help much with this right now. If you don’t know where to start, find an adult who can pick up the phone and call the school to ask about how to begin an IEP process. Surely one of your pals is in some kind of special ed status. Ask that kid’s mom or dad to give you a hand with this.</p>

<p>lol (no offense)</p>

<p>I agree with happymom1 that this seems to be a language-based difficulty. Perhaps she can ask for more time based on difficulties with the english language? (is she a non-native speaker? - I believe that non-native speakers might also be allowed extra time.) Also, whistleblower1 seems to be a ■■■■■, albeit a ■■■■■ with many posts, or someone with extremely faulty (and irrelevant) logic.</p>

<p>So don’t feed it. ;)</p>

<p>Also, OP, do you have the name of the high school’s she’s currently going to? It might help.</p>

<p>I am not sure what ‘language based’ difficultly means, but the student is US born, raised, and schooled; not only are the verbal scores low, she has poor math test scores also. A math/verbal discordance is not jumping out here. She may simply be a weak student. They do exist, just like strong students.</p>

<p>I think that her GPA isn’t a true or realistic representation of the type of student/person she is. Did she copy a lot of her homework and did she cheat on tests? Either thats how she got a 3.7, or her school is terrible, no offense intended. I got a 3.15, yet have a 29 ACT and 1950 SAT. Then again, our school is first in state academically. </p>

<p>There is still time though. She should take the ACT and do ACT test prep during the remaining part of the summer. Take the first ACT offered her senior year (probably sept?). Hopefully she does good, otherwise, you won’t really get anywhere with a 1100/2400.<br>
Also what I don’t understand is how you can have such poor language skills yet get a 3.7. That makes me realize how flawed America’s education system is. I got a damn 3.15 and nearly doubled her SAT score. It’s just unfair, because I didn’t even get into the U-Minnesota because of my GPA- GPA of which is a load of BS in the first place.</p>

<p>scubsteve1119 -</p>

<p>Real teachers in real classrooms deal with students who pull 3.7 in class and wipe out on standardized tests every single day of the week. Unfortunately, the classroom teacher often only sees the hardworking, intelligent, diligent student who is busting his/her you-know-what to get that 3.7. After elementary school, the teacher probably doesn’t have an inkling that the student struggles with standardized tests. The guidance counselor and the parents are the ones who are supposed to pick up on this discrepancy and take action. Since the parents are immigrants, it is quite possible that they have no idea that there is a discrepancy. And while the guidance counselors should be mortified that they haven’t caught it, chances are that they are over worked.</p>

<p>Whenever the GPA and standardized tests don’t correspond reasonably well (i.e. whenever one is significantly higher than the other), it is time to take a look at possible learning issues in the student.</p>

<p>“She’s intelligent, but she can’t seem to convey her thoughts into written language and also struggles with higher level vocabulary and sentence structure in literature.”</p>

<p>Can she convey thoughts that would indicate high intelligence in spoken language but for some reason can not do it in written language? The vocabulary and sentence structure used in literature is not really very different from the vocabulary and sentence structure used by highly intelligent people when they are conversing as well as writing.</p>

<p>Success in college is impossible without being able to convey intelligent thoughts in written language and being comfortable with higher level vocabulary and complex sentence structure. Every college textbook I have ever seen was written with fairly complex sentence structure and contained vocabulary that would probably be considered higher level.</p>

<p>1100 and 3.7GPA?</p>

<p>She didn’t create the delusion - her school did.</p>

<p>It might be informative to know what the GPA is of say the 25th percentile at this girls HS. It would be a hint just how much grade inflation there is.</p>

<p>Alternatively, has she taken any AP tests ? An ‘A’ in the class and a one on the AP test would be telling.</p>

<p>I dont understand how she got a 3.7 GPA and a 1100/2400 SAT score.</p>

<p>You get around 640 points just for putting down your name… Has this girl ever taken a test at her school?</p>

<p>I dont care if you are a non english speaker, if you can pull off a 3.7 in school, there is no excuse to have an 1100. Fully 1/3 of the test is just numbers.</p>