<p>@Ghostt: That’s an exceedingly superficial (and inaccurate) way to look at testing.</p>
<p>@treehugga: A high GPA is very important for showing colleges you can handle your coursework, but high test scores are important for validating a high test score. If you only have one, however, you’re not likely to get into an extremely selective school.</p>
<p>A low GPA/high test score can also show a person that is either lazy, distracted or inconsistent. A person with great potential is not always seen a a positive, unless the GPA shows significant improvement over time. A school likes to see that a person has the emotional maturity to buckle down and do the work, even if it is not interesting. A person that can’t be bothered to do the homework or pay attention in class is not likely to have developed the study skills necssary to handle the increased workload.</p>
<p>so basically, take hard classes and get good grades.</p>
<p>I have some evidence that some kids just don’t do well taking the SATs – my son. He took an SAT prep class offered at his school by a local college, and took a practice SAT at the end of taking the class. He raised his score by over 300 points higher than his PSAT scores. The practice test was run just like the real test, except that the test givers started telling the kids they had 15 min, 10 min, then 5 min left. </p>
<p>He took the real SAT a week later. His scores were back to the same total he got for the PSAT! His math and writing scores went up, but his CR score went down. The only difference he noticed was that at the real test, they were only told when they had 5 minutes left. (And he didn’t bring a watch.)</p>
<p>I could see if his writing score was a lot different from the practice test, since scoring the essay is more subjective, but math and CR scores are objectively measured. </p>
<p>Anyway, he does have a good GPA (about 3.9 - 4) and he scored high advanced on our state standardized tests (MCAS), which are untimed. I wonder if colleges would consider the fact that he did better on his practice test and MCAS, when he wasn’t feeling anxious about the scores being so important?</p>
<p>i just took the act and i think i did reasonably well (34-35). coupled with a 3.7 unweighted (albeit hardest courseload possible) gpa (3.9 without freshman year) and strong ECs (leasdership), essays, and recs, what kinda schools should i be looking at?</p>
<p>High school transcript is the most important part of the application. However, the transcript encompasses course rigor, GPA, and rank. </p>
<p>The high school GPA by itself is not always informative. Unless the student attended a top high school with which admissions is intimately familiar, it will be hard to tell what the GPA means. A student who earns a 4.0 at an average high school could be anywhere from slightly above average to super brilliant. Even still, GPA standards at top colleges are very high. Ivies generally admit students with UW gpa’s in the 3.8-4.0 range.</p>
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<p>what’s the answer o-o</p>
<p>Look at it in extremes. Do you think colleges want to see an applicant with >3.0 GPA and a 2200 on the SAT, or an applicant with <3.9 GPA with an 1850? And let’s say both applicants took rigorous classes.</p>
<p>The SAT doesn’t test you in areas such as calculus, just basic algebra and geometry. I think colleges would rather take an applicant with an A in AP Calculus and a math SAT score of 650-740, than one with a 750+ on the SAT but has a B- in AP Calculus.</p>
<p>The answer would be 5. x = 1, and y = 2. Use the equation given, and you will have “1+2(2)=5”</p>
<p>How could someone who got an A in calculus have trouble with basic algebra and geometry?</p>
<p>an A in AP Calc combined with a 650 Math SAT just shows that the calc class was a total joke</p>
<p>WoodrowWilsonJR, how do you define “intimately familiar”? At my school, on naviance it said that from 2008-2010 122 students from my school were accepted at U of Michigan, which has about 330 students in each graduating class. My school is highly ranked on Us News (not sure how accurate it is), so do you think that U of M would be “intimately familiar” with my school, because I have a 3.6 GPA which is slightly lower, but would have been higher if I went to an “average” high school.</p>
<p>Hey, 650-740 is still a good score.</p>
<p>If Michigan takes 50 kids a year from your high school, then I would say that they are intimately familiar with it. This gives them tons of data so that they can compare GPA’s from your school. They can also track the progress of students from your high school(i.e. maybe a 3.9 from your high school has historically translated into a 3.5 at Michigan).</p>
<p>In 2001 the president of the UC system proposed eliminating the SAT as a requirement for applicants. Facing the loss of millions in revenue, the College Board set out to crunch the numbers and provide proof that the “new” SAT was an accurate predictor of first year college GPA. Their data (link below) shows a linear correlation between SAT score range and first year college GPA. I suspect that a correlation also exists for high school GPA and college GPA, but clearly SAT performance is an accurate predictor of college performance. </p>
<p>[Validity</a> of the SAT for Predicting FYGPA-2007 SAT Validity Sample](<a href=“http://professionals.collegeboard.com/data-reports-research/cb/validitySAT07-FYGPA]Validity”>http://professionals.collegeboard.com/data-reports-research/cb/validitySAT07-FYGPA)</p>