<p>The title pretty much says it all. As the admissions rates keep dropping every year, it becomes harder and harder to gain admission to these elite schools. While you see people with even 2000 and 2100 scores getting in, they have hooks (because it's not all about the scores.) </p>
<p>The questions remains: Does an unhooked applicant, with solid ECs and a high GPA, but no real 'hook', able to make it to the higher ivies these days if he or she has an SAT score less than 2300?</p>
<p>I looked though some of the Yale/Princeton/Harvard decision threads, and it seems that few applicants get in even with ~2250 scores...</p>
<p>I am sure it’s possible, most of people that most on CC are the very qualified anyway. Clearly though, if you have scores of less than 2350 or so you need to balance it out with strong ECs or something extraordinary.</p>
<p>It is not the SAT scores that is keeping these kids out. You have to be interesting. There are plenty of kids that get into those high Ivies with less than 2250, but they all have that certain je ne sais quio.</p>
<p>Not all accepts below 2300, or even 2100, are hooked. SATs are important but certainly not that important. Every school has an average SAT score below 2300 and hooks are minorities.</p>
<p>With a “high GPA and solid ECs” you will need a strong essay, regardless of SAT score.</p>
<p>My son had perfect stats and was rejected my two Ivies (Princeton and Yale) and accepted by one (Brown). Brown, as well as Williams and Amherst, specifically commented on my son’s community service work rather than on his stats.</p>
<p>Honestly, you don’t need perfect stats to get into these schools and, if you do have them, it’s probably not enough just by itself. These schools just LOVE creative, out-of-the-box problem solving, especially when it comes to doing community service work.</p>
<p>Of course you need to have competitive stats, maybe 2150-2200, although that number is not set in stone. Beyond that, look around your community (however you define it), find an unmet need that no one is addressing and develop and implement a solution: the larger the scale of your success and the more people you involve to lead, the more impressive your results will be.</p>
<p>In my son’s case, he developed a really good idea, but didn’t have sufficient free time to get his project to critical mass. I suspect he might well have also gotten into Princeton and Yale if he had had the time to move his project further along.</p>
<p>Congrats on your son’s admission to Brown! It’s truly a wonderful school (as I am sure you know). To add on to what LoremIpsum has said, community service is probably more important than 100 points on the SAT. If community service is not your activity of choice there is always research or sports. However, you must find something that sets you apart form the numbers, even if you have great numbers.</p>
<p>One of my friends scored 2250 on his SATs and had very mediocre ECs, essays, and recommendations. He was rejected from almost every top school he applied to (every Ivie, Duke, Carnegie Mellon, Northwestern). However, he was accepted to Princeton. This just shows how much of a crapshoot the college admission process is and how anybody can get in anywhere.</p>
<p>The Ivies love leaders, activists, people with a demonstrated accomplishment in an area they’re passionate about. They’ve certainly been known to admit students like that whose SAT are sub 2300.</p>
<p>^An interesting point, and one I agree with. That standard, however, is fairly high; there’s no getting around that. Will a 2200 be the death of your application? Probably not, but your chances increase with your scores. </p>
<p>The way I think about SATs is not to argue whether there’s a magical threshold but to think about how I would respond to apps as an adcom. I would absolutely notice a difference between a 2200 and a 2400 (wouldn’t you?), and that difference would not be insignificant, but if the 2200 had truly compelling essays, recs, and superstar ECs, I might find myself rationalizing that 200 points “wasn’t really all that much anyway.” </p>
<p>So I think there’s a middle road between the threshold argument (2100, 2250–everyone on CC seems to have a different number) and the argument that high scores are the whole deal. They are enormously important; don’t forget that. But if your scores fall within the middle 50% of accepted students and your ECs are standout, you’d be foolish not to apply to top schools. (I, for one, am glad I stopped taking the SATs and Subject Tests when I did, even though I had some not insignificant room for improvement because I focused instead on my debate team, writing, and starting a French club at a local middle school.)</p>
<p>Thanks, Metrical! He’s visiting there right now, especially interested in attending their science/technology STEM presentation.</p>
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<p>I think Pancaked is right to a degree. One problem is that there are “admissions consultants” for those who have parents with bottomless pockets and those consultants look for ECs that have worked in the past and then progressively beat them to death until they become clich</p>
<p>While a 2300+ is certainly not a prerequisite for an unhooked applicant at the “higher” ivies (or any ivies/top schools, really), I really think that a 2300+ can help immensely. If you have a 2300+ and a high GPA, and simply “good” essays, recs, and EC’s, you’re almost guaranteed to get into a top 20 school at least. I feel that for unhooked applicants with lower SAT scores, it takes something stellar elsewhere in the application to stand out. You can’t really afford to send in a simply “good” application if you have below a 2300. And at the end of the day, most people are not going to have those compelling extracurriculars or beautifully written essays, so don’t count on it. So I think… if you have the ability to get a 2300+, even if it means lots of Blue Book practice and taking the SAT more than once, go for it. But if you have taken the SAT more than three times and still can’t reach that goal, it’s probably best to focus your energy elsewhere.</p>