<p>My grades are excellent (3.8 average, but since sophomore year I have maintained a 4.0 or higher), and I have some unique outside-of-school activities that I think will (hopefully) help me stand out a bit... My problem is my SAT scores. For the reasoning test, without any studying, I scored an 1890, with a dismal 520 in the math category. Worse, however, are my subject test scores. I achieved a mediocre 660 in Literature, but, here goes... I scored an embarrassing 470 (!) in Chemistry. I was totally shocked. I didn't study for the subject tests either, but I was (foolishly) pretty confident going into the testing center (despite having had a terrible day and a mere three hours of sleep). Still, when I opened the test book, I was really shocked... I had a straight A+ average in Chemistry, and even got a 100 on the final for Spring semester. Yet the questions on the test were unlike anything I had learned in my class. Unlike my class, which was largely mathematics, I suppose, this test was filled with very, very specific questions about each element.</p>
<p>Anyway, I'm dragging, but my question is this: I'll be a senior in a few weeks, and with SAT scores so pitiful, is there any reason for me to apply to a decent/good college? I'm terrified that my application will be laughed at and tossed aside.</p>
<p>Furthermore, I'm confused about which school to even apply to! I love the idea of NYU because I'm not particularly looking forward to "campus life" or anything like that. I really want to go to school because I love learning, and not because I'm keen on meeting tons of new people or living in a dorm (egads!). I am also in a very, very serious relationship, and my partner and I may be forced to pay with the very high cost of a college education because my parent's support of me (and us) is perpetually changing. Should I go to a community college first? Should I even bother? And if my grades are so great, and my school supposedly follows all of my state's standards, why were the SAT tests so challenging? Do my poor scores suggest that I'm not prepared mentally for college? I'm feeling a lot of pressure and confusion right now, and I could really use some objective advice... Be brutally honest. Thank you so very much!</p>
<p>Edit: When I say "good/decent" school, I'm not talking Ivy League like some users here... I'm more talking anything in the UC system, University of Oregon, etc...</p>