<p>Are there are good universities or LACs (Usnews top 50) that put a lot of emphasis on SATs or not much emphasis on GPA?</p>
<p>I have good SATs(2170, retaking) and a poor GPA(Average grade is about a 88 for freshmen, sophomore, and junior year). My rank is also very poor(Top 30 percent at large public HS)</p>
<p>does anyone have any suggestions?</p>
<p>unless there are mitigating circumstances (had to work full time to support a family, etc), then no. </p>
<p>EVERY adcom will say that the number one criteria in the app process is your HS transcript: grades and strength of schedule. High grades can counter low SAT scores, but not the other way around.</p>
<p>btw: an 88 maybe low on cc, but it seems strong to me (A-/B+, correct?)</p>
<p>State schools look at numbers a lot more than well-known unis.</p>
<p>I disagree bluebayou. I think adcoms consider SAT's much more than they like to admit. If you go to a very competitive high school with strict grading eg exeter, andover, st. paul's, an extremely high SAT can remind adcoms of the difficulty of the high school, even though they already know of these schools. Many of my friends, including me, have grades much lower than SAT's scores would indicate because of the difficulty of our school. SAT scores help to even things out. Also, I think that in athletic recruiting the SAT becomes more important as it is a quantifiable stat that is the same for everyone.</p>
<p>"SAT's are less important than you think, but more important than the adcoms will admit"</p>
<p>or something like that, lol</p>
<p>well there are mitigating circumstances but i was looking for any school i should specifically look at due to my strange stats. I thought a B+ average would be decent but people on CC have said that my state school(Rutgers) would not be a safety for me despite my SAT score, which worries me.</p>
<p>lol, Rutgers is definitely a safety. Don't worry.</p>
<p>Many schools that are concerned with increasing their USNews rankings will take kids with high SAT scores to pull up the class average. Granted, these schools are generally not too high on the ranking yet, but still good institutions concerned with their image.</p>
<p>You can probably get into the Honors Program at PItt with some money.</p>
<p>I think that although not perfect, that GPA is not actually as bad as you think it is.</p>
<p>You have a good GPA, don't stress too much over it. I have respect for people who attend high schools where they give a number for your GPA, instead of the traditional GPA out of 4.0. If your high doesn't publish rank in college admissions, then I doubt it will be much of a factor (unless every kid with a higher GPA applied to all the scores you are).</p>
<p>meate:</p>
<p>I was commenting on the state of most of the 35,000 high schools in the country. Top preps schools like Andover, Exeter, and top publics like TJ and Stuy, are exceptions, where the top colleges will go deep into their app pool. </p>
<p>BUT, the OP mentioned that s/he was in a "large public school" -- and did not differentiate to a TJ or New Trier, so I assumed regular, competitive HS. Since there are literally 35,000 VAls, and 35,000 Sals, not to mention at least 70,000 football captains and drum majors.....you do the math. </p>
<p>ALL adcoms are gonna look at 4 years worth of work first, and four hour worth of work second. Students at the top HS's you mention receive big bonus points on the four years worth of work component since their strength of schedule is extreme. Also, the OP inquired about top 50 schools....ALL Unis which focus on transcripts, first. Of course, #50 LAC would be a LOT more flexible.</p>
<p>blah:</p>
<p>the publics (if you are in-state) and private unis in the 35-50 ranking will definitely give your app a fair review. Ditto the LACs in a similar range. Your gpa is not "poor" by any stretch, so definitely consider them. Show some interest, particularly the LACs; send them a letter, visit if you can. Try to find a school that is a real good fit for you (academics, community service, social), and it will shine thru on your essay.</p>
<p>The publics are more numbers-driven, but the LACs are looking more for fit.</p>
<p><em>I disagree bluebayou. I think adcoms consider SAT's much more than they like to admit. If you go to a very competitive high school with strict grading eg exeter, andover, st. paul's, an extremely high SAT can remind adcoms of the difficulty of the high school, even though they already know of these schools. Many of my friends, including me, have grades much lower than SAT's scores would indicate because of the difficulty of our school. SAT scores help to even things out. Also, I think that in athletic recruiting the SAT becomes more important as it is a quantifiable stat that is the same for everyone.</em></p>
<p>I agree 110%. SAT scores are the standard tool for determining the strength of the curriculum. Honors and AP don't really mean anything if you have a 4.0 GPA and a 1750 SAT. All that shows is that it's easy to get into "hard" classes and get good grades. Compare that to someone at a difficult high school with a 2100 and 3.6 with sprinkled honors and AP - this shows that the high school is preparing students for college.</p>