<p>do certain universities put more weight on one factor than the other(s)? my dad gave me a pie chart that was in a newspaper (New York Times i think) about a year ago that 'broke up' the importance of different factors...SAT was about was given about 40% weight but have a feeling that's not very accurate these days...</p>
<p>any thoughts?</p>
<p>GPA is worth more. Then it depends on the college. For many, test scores are next in line.</p>
<p>even if the college knows the school is very competitive (hard classes, etc.)?</p>
<p>By GPA, I mean the following:</p>
<p>-Grades
-Rank (context/grade distribution if school does not rank)
-Rigor of classes</p>
<p>In other words, if you go to a school with zero grade inflation (number of people in my grade at my school with a 4.0: 0; but we're unusual), then that will DEFINITELY be taken into account at most privates.</p>
<p>I think the rigor of classes+high GPA is more important than test scores. But if you took a bunch of study halls and classes like "creative foods", then your 4.0 wouldn't really matter as much.</p>
<p>i don't think we rank...
and grade inflation?? [highest G.P.A. for us is a W 4.6 and we prolly have LOTS of those :(]</p>
<p>plus, i have the toughest rigor but pull mostly B's with a couple of A's (in core classes)</p>
<p>Grade inflation just makes your 4.0 less "Wow!" Grade deflation makes it look more so.</p>
<p>Will adcoms look at the 4.6 and be unimpressed? No. But they won't be astounded because so many students got it.</p>
<p>They'll also look at anything they can (AP scores, SAT scores, etc.) to see whether there is actually rampant inflation. If you got an A in the APUSH class and a 5 on the exam, you're fine. If you got a 2 or a 3, not so good.</p>
<p>i see what u mean about the AP correlation...</p>
<p>but what if the school you're looking at is unfamiliar with your high school (therefore, unfamiliar with the amount of genius-asian kids getting perfet G.P.A.s)?
what if you're (as in me) getting 'good' grades by other HS's standards but not by your own. (do they make these comparisons in the first place?) ughhh...:(</p>
<p>The school profile almost always includes the grade distribution. Hence they will see what the average grade is, how many people get As, etc.</p>
<p>my school has tons of grade inflation. I know many kids who had 99s and such in AP chem yet they had 2s and 3s on the exam.</p>
<p>Just GPA numbers in itself means very very little. This is because every single international and maybe even US schools have different standards... different kinds of teachers... and different expectations... the most important thing is to do well compared to your peers in a tough courseload or the toughest your school offers. I think Tokenadult quoted a Vandy adcom saying that GPA numbers are quite meaningless unless the colleges get a sense of how hard it is to achieve that GPA in that particular school. So like, if you do not have all As.. however you are taking challenging courseload and have a good top 10% rank or so... then you will be fine. Colleges can look past 4.0 GPAs.. Also, do well on your SATs which shows that you do have the knowledge/capabilities along with you GPA.</p>