<p>My gpa is a 3.1-3.2 and my SAT is 600CR 630M and 550W. So my questions is this: Even if my SAT score went up like 200 points (doubt it will), could I honestly look at top tier schools instead of second tier regardless of my gpa? or is my SAT good enough to get me into colleges that will accept my gpa for what it is?</p>
<p>What schools are you looking at?</p>
<p>Occidental- mom, uncle, and aunt(for a year) all went there, Boston U, Northeastern, American U, SUNY- Stony Brook, Quinnipiac, and Syracuse</p>
<p>Dude...you're basically in the same boat as me, I have a 3.2 gpa uw and a 1810 sat. I'm hoping to retake and get like a 2000~ but gl on your search though</p>
<p>If you think you can do a cumulative 100+ points better, I would definitely recommend retaking.</p>
<p>Retake and you may also want to try taking the ACT. A higher score can only benefit you and it may be the difference between being admitted or rejected.</p>
<p>I did do ACT and did horribly because I didn't study (didn't even know how much time I had in each section lol). Thanks for the advice guys, I probably will retake the SAT</p>
<p>Depends what you mean by "top tier." There are tiers, and then there are tiers. Look at the 25th/75th percentile median SAT scores reported on US News. For the top 20 or so national universities, you're probably out of the range they're looking for---bottom quartile of SAT scores, and your GPA and ECs (the way you describe them) aren't going to do much to pull you up. I'd say you're probably out of the running for these. The next 40 or so (roughly #20 to #40 in the US News rankings) are probably reaches; you're likely in the bottom half in SAT scores, again not much help from GPA or ECs, but you have a chance. Pick a couple of these that seem like a good fit, and apply; as they used to say in thed ads for the NY lottery, "Hey, you never know." Below about #50 or so you start to get into "match" range; you're at or slightly above their median SAT, and they probably admit a lot of students with comparable GPAs. Again, pick a few of these that seem like a good fit. Below about #100 on the US News list, you start to get into "safeties"---schools where you're a likely admit because your 1230 combined Math + Verbal SAT is in the top quartile of their class and they're got a pretty high admit rate anyway, so it's likely someone with your credentials would get in. But your "match" schools will include some pretty good colleges; your "reach" schools could include some outstanding ones; and even your safeties will include some decent schools.</p>
<p>Now do the same thing for LACs. Here the top 30 or so are either out of your range or distant reaches. Roughly #30 through around #60 are probably reaches, #60 through roughly #100 are matches, and beyond that you start getting intyo safeties. Again, a lot of quality schools in the reach and match range, and even in the safeties. </p>
<p>But why not retake the SAT? If you could bump your total score up by 200 points, or even 100, it starts to put you in a different range for cutoffs on match schools. All it costs is a few bucks and a little investment of time in test prep and actually taking the test. There's no downside risk because schools will only use your best scores anyway, but there's potentially a big upside. I'd say you're not in such bad shape, as long as you don't have unrealistic hopes of getting into an Ivy.</p>
<p>Naw I'm not even considering ivies lol. You've given me a lot to think about for an extra reach school or two...</p>
<p>^ Do you know where you want to apply to?</p>
<p>Occidental, Lehigh, Boston U, Northeastern, American U, SUNY- Stony Brook, Quinnipiac, and Syracuse. List is still subject to change though</p>
<p>Out of those, I only applied to Northeastern, and you would need to improve your stats to be competitive there - you might get in, but not with an academic scholarship.</p>
<p>I don't really care about scholarships because I'm fortunate to afford most places (except GWU and NYU lol). I'll be applying EA to Northeastern and Stony Brook if that makes a difference.</p>
<p>^ I think you have a good chance to get into northeastern why apply ea there? I would apply ea to harder to reach schools (like NYU)...thats where I'm gonna apply ea heh</p>
<p>EA, for the most part, does not have a substantial affect on admission. I wouldn't recommend selectively applying to certain schools early if you're just trying to get an advantage. However, EA I feel is always a good idea for a prepared applicant.</p>
<p>voodoo_santa, I think you're mixing up EA with ED. EA is non binding and ED (NYU has) is binding. I would never do binding decision with Northeastern, no offense to NEU people lol. </p>
<p>arnoc, I'm mainly doing EA for Northeastern and Stony Brook because I'm pretty sure I can get into both, and I just want to find out sooner so admissions process will be less stressful.</p>
<p>That'd be the right reason to apply EA.</p>
<p>That, and because Stony Brook is excellent! :)</p>
<p>(But I'm admittedly biased.)</p>
<p>Chris</p>
<p>Chris, even though you're biased, Stony Brook is a wonderful school(I've been there about twice on school trips, live on LI). Gig, if you want to get into science, there are not that many schools better than it, and not to mention LI has plenty to do.</p>
<p>As for your SATs, I would say retake them. Especially if you think you can do better on writing(check your essay score, do you know you can do better?), then go for it. There is no reason not to take them a second time.</p>
<p>I wouldn't bother, honestly. SAT scores don't matter THAT much... they're certainly not going to really change your prospects in college admissions.</p>
<p>I would definitely recommend applying EA. I applied EA to 2 schools, and rolling to a 3rd. It really got the process started for me, and encouraged me to start writing essays, etc before the rush.</p>
<p>Eh, SATs might matter, especially if there are cutoffs for scholarship consideration or anything along those lines. I'm not saying that's Stony Brook's only criterion, but SATs do matter... at least a little bit.</p>
<p>Chris</p>