<p>Son has what I consider a good total SAT, 2030 in one sitting. Problem is that it is skewed to the verbal side: Math 640 Reading 670 Writing 720. He has no desire to go into engineering, medicine or the sciences, but does want to go to a strong/elite university either large or small. What colleges might actually look at his Writing score advantageously. He's into wiriting, music and possibly finance/business. He's looking at Amherst, Middlebury, Williams, UVA, UMich, UCLA, Berkeley, Johns Hopkins, Cornell, Georgetown, UNC to name a few. GPA is in range for most at 3.8 UW and 4.3 weighted. Does he really have a shot at any of those, and where could he best leverage his writing strength? TIA</p>
<p>very rigorous schedule.</p>
<p>It’s his essays and short answers that will sell him as an accomplished writer, not the SAT sub-section score. IMO</p>
<p>I don’t know about the other schools, but we visited Georgetown this fall with our D and at the info session, they specifically said that they do not consider the Writing Section of the SAT I.</p>
<p>Many schools do not consider the SAT in writing for admissions purposes. The will use the SAT in writing for placement purposes once a student has been admitted.</p>
<p>thx. I’m hearing you guys. I don’t think Cornell looks at the writing section either. But I am hearing that smaller LACs may look at it, that it also can be a deciding factor for an applicant who is otherwise borderline but has strong ECs and essays. Also, I am reading that more colleges are very disappointed w/the writing skills of both their applicant pool and graduates, and are now beginning to look at the CW section of the SAT more carefully, i.e. if it is supported by strong writing skills in the essays.</p>
<p>UDel has said they specifically consider the Writing section important.</p>
<p>Columbia said they care very much about writing.</p>
<p>I also think that as long as colleges are statistics conscious (that is, as long as US News and World Report keeps ranking), they will want the highest overall SATs possible. So the writing will at least be valued as it raises the score out of 2400.</p>
<p>My daughter also skews verbal (740 r, 700 w, 610 m) and has a similar gpa. I think your son may want to re-test for the schools you’re talking about. My daughter got rejected by schools that are lower tier than the ones you mention. Of course those schools look at way more than just test scores, but higher scores don’t hurt. At the time she was testing and applying, I hadn’t discovered cc yet and I thought her scores were good enough. In hindsight, I really wish I’d urged her to take the SAT again. </p>
<p>As for schools that value the SAT writing component, I think the college board site shows that info. If you look at the “How do I stack up?” link for any college, it tells you for each test component, plus gpa, rank, recommendations, etc. whether that school views it as “very important,” “important,” etc. Quite a few schools don’t consider the SAT writing at all.</p>
<p>All schools you listed are definite reaches with those SAT scores (assuming you’re not in-state for one of those state schools). Need to bring them up the scores to have a realistic chance.</p>
<p>Alas, the college board site doesn’t show how much the college values each section of the SAT, just the overall test. Wish there was a way to get a bit more info on this. And I agree that for colleges such as the ones you mention, pleaseadvise, it would be very important to study and retake the SAT.</p>
<p>funny thing is his sister, who is currently at UMich, got in w/ an SAT score of 1920, and also was accepted at UCLA, Bucknell, McGill. She had really strong ECs and essays. </p>
<p>My S was all-state 2nd team High Jump as a soph. last year in H.S. and has several varsity letters in track and cc. He is also an accomplished musician, w/first professionally produced CD out, though not yet signed to a record label. His his band will play at their first university concert in a couple weeks (earning low four digits for the gig, hey it’s a start). More than a hobby or garage band, they will also be playing at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park. So he has some of the intangibles and diversity colleges look for as well. A couple hundred applicants at those colleges have 2300 SATs. 4.0 GPAs, private prep school or foreign national background, but they are cookie-cutter types and often indistinguishable from one another. As for my daughter and the schools she got into, well she spent a summer studying in France (fluent), is a licensed sailor, and was co-captain of her soccer team that went to the state finals. Again, not the best stats, but a little different from the average applicant.</p>
<p>Also, we did not seek finanical aid, nor will we w/our son.</p>
<p>some schools are need blind when evaluating applicants, but I assume others know whether you will be seeking aid or not. Given the current economy and state budgets, some of the best high tier state schools may re-think requirements for OOS applicants that can “carry their own freight”. I’m thinking particularly of the UC system where UCLA and Cal typically only admit about 8-10% from OOS. That’s gotta change, and in a hurry, if they want to survive w/the same class size.</p>
<p>If you do not needed scholarships or financial aid… your search can be a lot broader, concentrating on fit more than finances. That’s great. If you are concerned that good fit schools require higher Math SAT, then summer study might help. The good thing about the math sections is that they lend themselves more to self-study. </p>
<p>You mention Cornell. I’ve heard good things about Ithaca College in same town.</p>
<p>really think applicants should not be put off by schools that appear to be a real reach. You only have to hit one of them. Yes, you want to be realistic, but my D didn’t even have a 2,000 SAT and at this same time in her application cycle a couple years ago. she was invited to apply by both Brandeis and Tulane (for fast track admission). She did not apply to Brandeis, but applied and was accepted to Tulane. The point is— not every good school only takes applicants w/SATs of 2,000 or higher. Some do really evaluate applicants “holistically” and if something on the application strikes a note w/them, it just might make a difference. Or as an Admissions Officer at an elite LAC told me: What you find many cases is that your child will get into maybe one school you never thought he/she would qualify for, but also will be rejected at 3 or 4 you were sure were “in-range”.</p>
<p>The thing about SATs is that it’s only one aspect of the picture. My prejudice tells me that he’s better off at a LAC, simply because they’re smaller and presumably, he’d get more personal attention. </p>
<p>*He’s looking at Amherst, Middlebury, Williams, UVA, UMich, UCLA, Berkeley, Johns Hopkins, Cornell, Georgetown, UNC to name a few. * Those are extremely competitive schools and I suspect he’ll need a higher score to get in. My son, with a 2280 and good ECs (theater, Eagle, yearbook editor) and great awards, was rejected from JHU and Georgetown last year.</p>
<p>thx. lima, my wife thinks he fits better at an LAC as well, but my S is leaning bigger–although I think he found UMich a bit overwhelming when he visited her there a year ago. Thinking of adding Oberlin to the mix as well as USC.</p>
<p>sorry, meant to say: when he visited his sister at UMich a year ago.</p>
<p>Tufts said that they look at it, but they still tend to think of SAT scores in terms of Math + CR since that’s what they are used to. Back before the writing section was introduced they required the SAT writing subject test and they tend to weight it about the same way. Now how important the subject tests are is always a bit of a mystery… </p>
<p>That said, scores over 700 will nearly always be helpful even if they don’t really consider it, they will see it, and it’s bound to color their evaluation to some extent.</p>