<p>Everyone on CC needs to stop worrying about standardized tests; they are only one part of thee whole application. Many colleges have already emphasized that tests are not something the consider as important as others factors. No, I am not arguing that GPA or essays are more important, but that test scores are only one small part of an application that is supposed to showcase who the applicant is. Test scores are important, yes, but once you hit a certain mark, it really comes down to other things. Ivies, Top LACs, and other elite colleges all have high score marks that represent what they are looking for, but they also showcase that numbers are exactly that, numbers. So, please remember that test scores are not everything;tthey are only part of it.</p>
<p>Test scores are roughly 33% of the application if not more. What is there not to worry about? It’s big enough of a deal that it can kill your application. There’s many people who have practically 0 ECs that go on to great schools. The same goes for crappy personal statements. </p>
<p>The only people with low SATs or ACTs that go on to good schools have some type of “hook”, one most often uncontrollable and brought about at birth.</p>
<p>where do you get this 33% from, please inform me, for I have never seen this before. It is not to worry about when people ask irrelevant questions such as “should I retake a 2310” or " is a 34 ACT good enough for Ivies"; also I strongly disagree that tests scores are 33 percent of the application. I would instead say 25 percent, because yes test scores can kill your application, but so can a bad GPA or essay.</p>
<p>^I just divided GPA, SAT, and ECs/personal statements into 3 equal sections. That’s why I said “roughly”. Every college admissions panel is different, though, so there’s no point in pinning an actual number. (There are universities out there that ascertain 0% value to test scores, after all; though the only competitive college practicing this is Bowdoin.)</p>
<p>It’s just that most universities rank the importance as
-GPA
-Test Scores
-ECs and Personal Statement</p>
<p>For example, Duke has six categories of admissions they look at and weight roughly the same (according to the Dean of Admissions). </p>
<p>-Academic Rigor
-Academic Performance
-Recommendations
-Testing
-EC’s/ Personal Qualities
-Essays</p>
<p>I would say tests are about 20% of your admissions chances at TOP universities. Other universities weigh them heavier, and value EC’s less.</p>
<p>It seems they look at testing as “Ok you are in the range we are looking for, good, what else can you offer?”. It could be a deal breaker if you and another person had the same stats except they had a better test score, but there are other more important things.</p>
<p>Look at CDSs, at all selective schools admissions rates go way up as scores do. This is a myth that appears here regularly that has ZERO basis in fact. The data is readily available.</p>
<p>Don’t kid yourself. I attend an Ivy and spent at least one day at three other colleges that started before my school, including two other Ivies. Every single school published an article in their school newspaper bragging about the Class of 14’s SAT score. Test scores are of critical importance to the best schools, so don’t make the mistake of thinking that just because a school evaluates five criteria that all five are equally important. Test scores and class rank are much more important than everything else. The only kid who gets in a great school with an average or below SAT score is an amazing athlete or legacy of someone extremely rich or famous. Not even URMs are allowed in with bad scores.</p>
<p>The significance of your GPA and high school course load can vary greatly depending on how competitive and rigorous your school is, many applicants get other people to write their personal statements for them, or at least get lots of help, and the EC’s you put on your application are easy to BS and hard to verify. Therefore, the fairest, most accurate measure of a student’s readiness for college is standardized testing, so of course colleges put a great amount of weight on the SAT and ACT.</p>
<p>I’m not quite sure why people so frequently interpret the “test scores aren’t everything” speil from adcoms to mean “test scores don’t matter.” Just because test scores aren’t enough to make an admissions decision doesn’t mean they are looking for less than good test scores. Adcoms are looking for more than good test scores; that is, test scores plus additional qualities.</p>
<p>^A great post by mifune debunking the threshold argument. Yes, there is a difference between a 2300 and higher scores, and yes, you should care about your test scores.</p>
<p>Colleges like statistics, because they’re a lot more objective than EC involvement and personal essays. Unless you’ve cured cancer and wrote an essay worthy of being published in the New Yorker, good extracurriculars sadly won’t boost a 3.5 GPA and SAT scores into the 2000s or 2100s.</p>
<p>I’m the chairperson for our school’s Pupil Support Dept. & can tell you the number one reason why we have students in the top 10 in their class not get into a school of their choice is becasue their SAT scores aren’t high enough. No it’s not everything but it is the most common thing that excludes students.</p>
<p>Yea, like I said, I think its just there is a line you have to cross and then it is up to the rest of your app. There is no point (IMO) to retaking the SAT two more times to raise a 2350 to a 2370.</p>
<p>You can get a sense of how important each factor is at a given college by looking at the information in their Common Data Set. And yes, at the most competitive schools I don’t believe there is much point in retaking the tests if you are already above a certain threshold because the other factors will become more of an issue.</p>
<p>I find it hard to believe an essay has near the weight of SATs, GPA, Class Rank, or even ECs. An essay can be done in an hour or 2, add on top of that who actually wrote the essay or reviewed and updated the essay… If you’ve got got your AP English lit teacher giving you lots of pointers for corrections what does the essay actually measure?</p>
<p>I think the essay’s #1 goal is to weed out applications from those lazy candidates who just want to put in the numbers/address/etc and move on to the next school app. Look at how many here on CC would be more receptive to applying to a school if no essay is required. I think a poor essay can hurt you but a good essay is adequate.</p>
<p>Regarding a “test scores don’t matter that much at Ivies” comment. This is somewhat misleading, Ivies EXPECT you to have an amazing test score to match your application.</p>
<p>Maybe I’m missing the point here, but…
For a ultra selective university that uses a holistic applications process, they may start by looking at stats (gpa, rank, scores) as a filter. It’s more a matter of checking off boxes to say yes, they could succeed here. Now they want to know who you are, what you’ve done, and what others think of you. As the selection process goes on, a dynamic student body is formed. So the essay is not more important than the scores. The scores get you in the door, the essay, LOR, & ECs are what get you admitted. There will be thousands of students who have your scores, GPA, etc. It’s just your ticket to be considered. If you have nothing else to offer, choose a school that does a stats based admission. There are some excellent school that do.</p>