<p>I believe that any score over around 2250 can be viewed equivalently. This past October, I took the SAT I, and I achieved a pretty decent score, with 50 points off on writing overall. The fact that I did not get a perfect on writing was not a surprise, because after the test, I realized I had misread two questions in the section, and had, as a result, put down the wrong answers for them. It turns out that my essay was not so great either, so I received a 9 on it. My MC subscore was 76, and with the 9 on the essay, that came out to 750.
However, if I had not made those two little reading mistakes, then I would have had an 800 on the section. Those two mistakes were the different between a 750 and a 800 on the section.
That experience with the writing section is only a personal example. I have heard that the math curve is even worse. Many people who are excellent at math may sometimes get a few wrong, possibly due to stress, anxiety, and simple brain farts. They will end up looking at possibly a 740 or 730, when that score truly does not represent their mathematical ability.
I believe the SAT should be looked at only with "a glance" as the OP believes. For the most competitive colleges, a 2250 total should definitely not be viewed different from say, a 2350 or a 2400. Those extra 50 points in each section are, in my opinion, insignificant, relative to the rest of an applicant's application.</p>
<p>could not agree with you more</p>
<p>Why the hell are grades so important???:mad: Apparently it's ok not to miss 100 points on each section of the SAT, but getting a string of B's automatically makes you an infeasible candidate??? Test scores are much better indicators of academic promise than grades are in my opinion since each school's grading system is different and sometimes a difference between an A- and a B+ rests on a student's grade-grubbing ability. Besides, getting a 4.0 means that you didn't take the most rigorous courseload offered at your school since otherwise you probably would have gotten a couple of B+'s on the way, at least in your weakest subject areas.</p>
<p>I hate how people think that every smart kid supposedly has a 4.0 GPA or should. There's so much forgiveness on this website and in American society as a whole for kids who have good grades but less than stellar test scores. They're labeled as "bad test takers" and what not while students who have great test scores but a less than perfect GPA are called "lazy" and unmotivated. I guess getting a couple of B's while taking 11 AP classes and 2 college math classes makes me "lazy" and "unprepared" to handle an Ivy League college curriculum. What a joke.</p>
<p>Here is the final answer:
SATs count less than you might think but more than you want them to.
Adapt this to your own personal situations.</p>
<p>e<em>a</em>d- you are making it sound as if it is not feasible for a student to get a 4.0 while taking the strongest courseload possible...not true.</p>
<p>second, test scores represent less than a month of preperation (or none in my case), whereas grades represent several years worth of commitment.</p>
<p>What you have been able to accomplish in a few hours of a dismal April morning in a bungalow is not to overturn what you have done for the past three years of your high school career.</p>
<p>lastly, i think they view your courseload and your GPA in a certain balance. If, as you have said, you have taken an extremely hard courseload, then sure, not having a 4.0 is not the end of your app, not even close for that matter. But i certainly think that you should believe that any part of your educational history can somehow be completely acquitted due to a standardized test score.</p>
<p>I think that Princeton views test scores in the same way that a polar bear views a coca cola.</p>
<p>yeah i hate to say it evil_asian, but people can do 8+ APs and have a 4.0 unweighted... </p>
<p>grades > standardized tests. period.</p>
<p>Recently, I attended a special meal with two of the admissions officers who answered questions and basically said how they went about doing things. A few things:</p>
<p>Yes, there is an academic index, but it's not the same one on this site. First, they go through the apps real fast and evaluate scores on a 1-4 scale (I'm pretty sure it's 1-4, anyway). They are not that strict about grades, especially if you have a personality. Definitely exhibit a lot of personality in your essays.</p>
<p>They talked about the whole package, the spark, the essence of a person from their ENTIRE application. THEY WANT INTERESTING PEOPLE. They emphasized this like whoa. What the applicant can offer is one of the most important things they look for. They'll look @ essays and extra currics and say "well I can TOTALLY see this person joining this thing" and make a case for that person. </p>
<p>Your application has to make sense within itself. If you say you want to major in Slavic Languages and Literatures because that's atypical but all your extracurrics are math related, then they'll question your motivation/passion for what you actually enjoy. </p>
<p>They never read just part of an app and immediately turn it away. They make sure to read the whole thing and evaluate it as a whole thing. My SAT II scores sucked, but I guess my "whole package" made up for it.</p>
<p>Obviously you have to be academically qualified, and I don't really know the threshold for that. I only took 3 APs in HS (and more were offered) and obviously did crap on my SAT IIs. </p>
<p>It's probably already obvious to everyone that passion and dedication are important aspects, but they're probably way more important than you think.</p>
<p>lol i do tons of ap's as well and somehow managed to keep a 4.000. its possible :)</p>
<p>besides, colleges need to know that you can perform well in your classes, as it is the strongest indicator of how you will perform in a college classroom environment.</p>
<p>i am not sure. They probably do it by pc or sth. But it's a term that all Ivies use, redoubtably. I have given a reference. Try reading the book, it's very helpful altogether. Plus it gives u a great visual of ur shots.</p>
<p>i was referring to the AI calculation</p>
<p>I don't think they do it by computer.
I was going to say that the UC's use an algorithm, but I remember an instance of a top student who didn't get in because of a single essay discrepancy (got in after appealing though). I think they just read the apps really quickly and if it's your lucky day, you're in.</p>
<p>peachykween, how did u get to have a meal with 2 princeton adcoms??????</p>
<p>I read A is for Admissions and asked a Harvard adcom about this a week ago.</p>
<p>Apparently that used to be the way they do it but a lot of school had discontinued it. Most of them use simply a 1-5 or a 1-4 system at the adcom's discretion to view grades.</p>
<p>In A is for Admission, Hernandez quotes Fred Hargadon, director of admissions at Princeton, as saying there is a rating system from 1 to 5 with 1 being the highest, as well as the following</p>
<p>1 = 5 or 6 test scores over 700, a 4.0 GPA, and at least 20 solid academic classes
2-5 = lower stats</p>
<p>approx. 10% applicants are academic 1s
approx. 55% applicants are academic 2s or 3s</p>
<p>definitely in the 2s or maybe 3s LMAO! oh well...</p>
<p>
[quote]
"5 or 6 test scores over 700"
[/quote]
</p>
<p>so u mean, the 3 sections of SAT I Reasoning + 3 Subject tests, right?</p>
<p>hey imma 1 for once!!!</p>
<p>YES!!! im a 1 as well. woohoo!</p>
<p>yea yea......lol.</p>