<p>I have a friend who did not study for her SAT, ACT, SAT IIs, AP tests, etc. She wants to put that she did not study on those in her additional information section on the common app. I told her that she should not, but she wants to know what you all have to say.</p>
<p>*NOTE: She says she did not study because she wanted to show colleges a truer representation of her intelligence instead of falsely portraying her intelligence by getting really good scores as a result of hours of tutoring.</p>
<p>Saying that you did not prepare for something you should gave prepared for, does not impress anyone. She is also doing herself a disservice as far as merit scholarships go, as these are largely based on scores. It’s nice that she satisfied her own curiosity about her natural intelligence or whatever, but now she should challenge herself to improve her scores to the best of her ability. It could be worth a lot of money.</p>
<p>I guess she thinks that she does not deserve those kinds of scholarships if she could not achieve the score needed naturally. But it is not like she tanked the tests, she just did not get a perfect score you know? She actually did quite well without studying, so who knows, maybe she will get a scholarship after all! I do not know. Thanks for your inputs, guys.</p>
<p>I think she is just freaking out a little. She is applying to ivies and does not have that perfect SAT score and what not, so I think she just does not feel good enough to get in with the score she got “naturally” and is looking for ways to make herself look smarter out of some kind of desperation. I told her that she should just let it go. It is not like her scores are out of range or anything. </p>
<p>Basically, the scores she got without studying are scores other people would study hours and hours for, so she is in good shape there. I guess her initial logic was “why study if I can do just fine without putting hours of time in?” But now I think she realizes that there are so many other people with better scores because they studied, and that she feels like she has no chance. I can’t really comfort her, though, because it is not like anyone who is not an admissions counselor can accurately chance someone for an ivy league school. You just never know. But like I said before, her scores are not bad by any means, they are just not at super genius level. Her GPA, however, is at super genius level. So that makes it even tougher to definitely count her out of the ivies…</p>
<p>That would be beyond dumb. It says, “I know these scores are super important in the college admissions process, but I could not be bothered to find extra time to study for these tests. Please accept me anyway over students who DID find time to study (or are more naturally talented than I am).” This might be the dumbest idea I have ever heard for the additional info section. She may not get in with the scores she has, but “I didn’t study” isn’t going to cut it. Honestly, I don’t think the colleges care too much whether the scores were achieved with studying/elbow grease or “natural intelligence”. They want to see the end result. What if she can’t be bothered to study for important test in college, or LSATs, or GREs when the time comes? If I were the colleges, I would not take a chance on that and would not accept her if she puts that comment in.</p>
<p>@ intparent: I totally agree with you; I was just trying to figure out her logic. If the end result is good, it doesn’t matter if she studied it not. </p>
<p>I think she gets hung up on the fact that the SAT is not a true reflection on anyone’s intelligence necessarily. It’s just one test that you may or may not be good at taking. And people that can afford to take it more times will do better. And if you take it in October it might be easier than the January version that others are taking. But that is just the way it is. Everybody already knows the system is not and cannot be designed in a way that will make the college admissions process 100% fair. It just can’t happen, and I think she struggles with that.</p>
<p>Honestly, if I were an admissions counselor and I saw that on an application, I wouldn’t be impressed, it would be a HUGE negative. Yes it’s great that she’s naturally “highly” intelligent but a lack of drive to study and better yourself as there is always room for improvement. It is not an admirable quality. It’s someone not living up to their potential and I’ve got 2,000 other applicants who’ve actually worked to get where they are.</p>
<p>I think the roots of her not studying idea were more of a modesty thing than a laziness thing, but I can see where you all are coming from. Like I think she did not want to pretend she was smarter than she is, not that she had better things to do.</p>
<p>I guess it is like some people’s philosophy on makeup (not mine)… Why are you pretending you are prettier than you are, so that someone will like you? Seriously, I have heard several people say this …</p>
<p>Anyway, it is very clear to me (as it was from the start) that she should not be putting this on her application. I will relay this information to her immediately.</p>
<p>Before your friend goes to college and invests in her education someone seriously needs to sit down and explain to her that studying and preparing for things such as exams is not an unfair advantage. It is what most productive adults do and you’re actually selling yourself short by not maximizing your learning potential.</p>
<p>Don’t worry she knows that all too well - that is why her GPA is so high. (How else would it get that way?)</p>
<p>She used to be one of those people who would do nothing but homework and study all the time, which was not healthy at all. She has tried the opposite extreme (unfortunately during a time where maximizing your potential is needed most) and is searching for the middle ground to get her mental health straightened out. But yeah, she knows; she is just afraid of becoming her old self again.</p>
<p>Ask her this: “Have you studied at all for tests you’ve taken throughout high school? If so, why would you not study for the most important test in your days in school?”</p>
<p>I was being nice when I said “somewhat naive and almost dumb”</p>
<p>I guess she did not consider the SAT to be the most important test ever. Yes, it is crucial that one needs to take it to go somewhere, but as long as you do take it you will get to go somewhere for postsecondary education. You do not need a 2400 to go to a decent college, and I think that was her attitude until she found many people who scored higher than her. And like I said, she did well on it anyway, just not super genius level. And yes, she has studied for other tests in high school. </p>
<p>It’s not that she does not care enough to want to do well on the SAT; she did well without studying. I think she just thought that studying/memorizing how to take the SAT was not an unfair advantage, but that by doing so she would give colleges the notion that she is smarter than she is. But then again, not studying does not show a true representation of her intelligence, either. I think she would rather be accepted with her “natural” scores. I think her logic is if a school needs you to have a 2310 ish and you can’t get that score on your own, then maybe that school would be too hard for you. Just a guess, but I don’t know.</p>
<p>I would take a 2310 without prep kid over 2400 prep very hard kid if the lower score kid has other better qualifications. But the problem is colleges don’t know how to verify that the kid did not study.</p>
<p>I don’t think she should write that either, it sounds ridiculous and could be misinterpreted as pompous, but it also adds little value. If you are going to add additional information, make it about something important or interesting.</p>
<p>But she shouldn’t be castigated for not studying. Not everyone needs to do that. Any many people don’t improve more than a very small amount. I know my daughter just did a few practice tests for prep. She is a good test taker and had other things to do in her busy schedule. She got high scores but not the highest. She felt the scores reflected her ability just fine and had no interest in retaking it. So the question to your friend is if she feels the scores reflect positively enough on her. If so, then fine. If not then retake.</p>
<p>The rest of her logic just isn’t sound. The school won’t be too hard for you cause you prepped or any of that nonsense.</p>