Test Scores - Your thoughts

<p>It seems to me as though Princeton views test scores as more of a "nod of the head" rather than as the end-all method of deciding who's in and who's out. From all of the admissions literature I've read, it seems to me as if they are trying to offer admission to the most interesting people, people who can bring a unique background to the campus, and those who will truly take advantage of the opportunities Princeton has to offer. When it comes to the academic side of the application, they have made it quite clear that your secondary-school record, and the rigor thereof, is what truly distinguishes those who have a commitment to furthering their education. I feel as if many people could study for the SAT and get a score that falls in Princeton's range, and so they must find another way to divide candidates, given the fact that whether you get a 770, 780, 790, or 800 could vary according to the mood you were in on test day, the other people in the room making noise, what you ate for breakfast, or how much homework you were thinking about. When you get down to the last 30 points in each section, it is mostly luck.</p>

<p>I am not, however, trying to discount those who do extremely well on these tests...because this is indeed a plus on your side. I just think that we get too caught up in the SAT scores being the deciding factor because, to put in bluntly, they are the only quantitative, "non-subjective" device we have to distinguish ourselves from each other, and "predict" an outcome.</p>

<p>Overall, I believe that Princeton (apart from many other Ivys) looks at the applicant's character, experiences, dedication to ECs, and academic record.</p>

<p>On a side note, the interview is worth absolutely nothing according to my alumni interviewer. He said, "If you bothered to try and impress me today, or prepare for our meeting, you've wasted your time." He said that it was at the absolute bottom of the list of things they consider, if in fact they consider it at all. It was more of a chance for me to ask any questions I had about Princeton in order to gain a better understanding of the University and what it would be like to be a student there.</p>

<p>Please let me know if you think I am completely off-base, or if you agree.</p>

<p>Who cares what we think...all of us, you and me and everyone else, can only guess.
One thing that I know for sure though:
"Overall, I believe that Princeton (apart from many other Ivys) looks at the applicant's character, experiences, dedication to ECs, and academic record."</p>

<p>I know for a fact that Princeton looks at academic record first and foremost.</p>

<p>I also agree that 30 pts either way don't matter much. But I also know through the statistics released by Pton that people with perfect scores have a much higher admit rate than the rest of the applicants.</p>

<p>ucfilm007-- I agree.
Test scores are just the threshold everyone has to pass in order for the other things to be considered.</p>

<p>I disagree with the last 30 points being luck. The last 30 points are what separates the good from the great - these are the last questions of each section, and in my opinion, a 2300 and 2350 are much more different than a 2000 and a 2100. It is easy to go from 2000 to 2100, but the jump from 2300 to 2350 is difficult as the hard questions have to be answered as well.</p>

<p>whoamg - i would agree with your statement that the 30 points seperate the good from the great, if in fact you are speaking of the good and great at test-taking. I believe that the actual merit of any person's math, reading, or writing skill is only sufficiently rated by the SAT to within 50 points, with the rest being their test-taking ability.</p>

<p>--just to let you know, i am not whining about not being a good test-taker and not being able to get 30 extra points...the situation is actually quite contrary. I just think that even those of us who are able to do well on the SAT should be able to realize that this is not what makes us "good" or "great". No test can truly measure a person's intellectual capacity, or capacity for "greatness" for that matter.</p>

<p>Princeton does look at character and personality a lot more than most schools. Which is definitely good. We're not just a bunch of grades and statistics anymore.</p>

<p>I think you're right...my princeton review thingy says that for good, Ivy schools, 60% is grades, 30% is test scores, and the rest is EC and stuff.
By the way, this thread has definitely gave me a confidence boost. Thanks a lot for that!</p>

<p>30% test scores is ridiculous! I'm sure they have a much lesser weightage than that...</p>

<p>lol i thnk thats about right. some college session thing i attended 2 yrs ago said this: 65% grades, 25% scores, 10% EC's personality</p>

<p>How much do teacher recs matter? I know that one of my recs is really good - I was beaming when I read it (teacher showed it to me).</p>

<p>imo- teacher recos matter more than standardized test scores for schools like pton... a 700+ in each section is so ubiquitous here that its down to the essays and recos to distinguish applicants..</p>

<p>Let me introduce u to a term that not many people know and that ALL IVY LEAGUES USE IN ORDER TO ACCEPT OR REJECT U (70% significance).
It is called academic index and it is AI=(sum of sat1)/2=(sum od sat2)/3 plus a number that comes from ur ranking (maximum is 80). All scors are cut to the second number (so 790 becomes 79 and 650 becomes 65). </p>

<p>Reference is "A is for Admission", written by an ivy league admissions officer.....</p>

<p>I think that once you pass, say, the 2200 mark, your scores don't matter that much.</p>

<p>lol debateaddict are u saying that adcom officers actually take the time to calculate every applicant's AI?</p>

<p>pk, it sounds silly, but i think it is done by computer. think about it, it takes the highest 3 or whatever and calculates it. i doubt they have time to cal 20000 AIs</p>

<p>as much as it sounds possible, i choose not to believe what debateaddict is saying......</p>

<p>or (fred) they just assess the student's candidacy holistically and don't calculate anything at all</p>

<p>equally probable....</p>

<p>yup it is probable actually....</p>

<p>teacher recs, essays, etc. are all more important once you have the test scores. if you don't have the grades then you don't really stand a chance. lots of people have the grades and extra stuff.</p>