<p>I am starting this thread to hopefully teach new prospective students that if they want to get into thier dream school, you better have a 1500 - 1600 SAT score on READING /MATH. </p>
<p>DONT let the admission offices tell you any different. They dont care about rigor. GPA or EC.. They only care about SAT SCORES (or 35/36 ACT SCORE) </p>
<p>Dont waste your money applying to schools if you dont have these scores. The "holistic" crap you hear...is just that..CRAP. I will be more impressed with schools that actually understand and meet students then base their admission process on an SAT Score... just sad but true... I hope you will listen to this thread and save your money!</p>
<p>Don’t mean to be rude but this sounds like a really bitter person who got like a 1600 on his sat and wanted/expected to get into like Harvard Stanford or Williams</p>
<p>I hear your pain. Most of the top students when rejected from their dream school do feel that way. But the truth is that even very top 4.0/2400 is not guaranteed a space in these schools. A very wise college admission consultant once recounted a story where a top student with 4.0/2400 and 12 APs with 6 800 on SAT subject test, president of the class, winner of their regional debate contest, winner of regional science fair (the list went on and on), didn’t get accepted to the 6 and the only 6 ivys that he applied to. </p>
<p>Yes, Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, Yale, MIT, Columbia all rejected him. That kid and his family went insane when they kept getting those small letters. Anyway, they finally solicited the help of my friend who is a great college admission consultant. Instead of going to some JC, my friend advised him to take a gap year doing volunteering work. And in that year, he devoted his time and energy helping others. With that consultant’s help (on his overall college strategy, his apps, his recommendations, his statements and essays), he finally got accepted to 5 top ivys (with scholarships) and many other top schools the following year. </p>
<p>Moral of story: grades and scores may not be everything. Don’t assume that being that super student guarantees your acceptance to the top schools. If you don’t have high grades, well, your chance is probably even lower.</p>
<p>Superior recommendations 2 teachers Math/science and GC
outstanding resume
Essays - Great (reviewed)
550 hrs Community service including founder of non profit for disabled
EC list too long
student council president
GPA 4.0 w 3.85 nw
most rigor HS schedule
4 AP courses
4 College courses</p>
<p>Denied: Notre Dame, Villanova
Deferrerd: Boston College
Accepted: Still waiting on 3</p>
<p>allaboutSAT-
It might be something as simple as…</p>
<p>-Your application didn’t tell a coherent narrative about who you are and why colleges should admit you.
-You came off as a jack of all trades, master of none (too many ECs without a common theme).
-You come from a school seen as having weak academics.
-One of your recommendations contained a phrase which struck the committees as indicating a weakness (e.g., “hard worker”=dull, not so bright).
-Your essay struck the readers as fake, overworked, indicative of an entitled attitude, etc.)
-You didn’t show schools the love, i.e., you passed up opportunities to connect with the college through visits, information sessions or interviews.
-There were simply stronger applicants.</p>
<p>Good luck with your remaining three applications.</p>
<p>I am genuinely sorry for your disappointment and frustration.</p>
<p>But today you learned to jump to unsubstantiated conclusions. I hope high-school students who read this thread will come away from it understanding that standardized test scores *do *matter, but they are one of many things that matter. This is even more true at selective colleges and universities than it is at schools that aren’t quite so choosy.</p>
<p>@Sikorsky That was my post to begin with… If you are not a family member, minority or athlete, then you better be in the upper 25% of the college SAT range or dont waste your time applying. The truth is that SAT plays a much larger role then most colleges lead you to believe. Just want high school students to know… Spend their money and effort on “how to ace the SAT/ACT” its better spent money</p>
<p>My son was ranked first in his class with a perfect 36.0 ACT. He still got several rejections, and there are plenty others just like him. ACT/SAT scores don’t count for nearly as much as you seem to think.</p>
<p>You are ignoring that students that have the SATs but don’t have the GPA are also likely to be rejected. And no leadership in ECs is also a pretty big risk factor. There are other things besides the SAT that matter. But your chances are a whole lot better (read: miniscule + 1 vs. miniscule) if you have the whole package. Any gaps in those items and you slip down in the pool. My D has fantastic test scores, but her grades are just very good (not great), and no leadership in ECs (although some decent individual accomplishments). She did not apply to many top level schools, as we know what this means in terms of admissions.</p>
<p>Also, admissions officers are always trying to lure more people to apply. Then their college looks more prestigious when they reject most of them and accept a smaller percentage.</p>
<p>Its all about the money and not telling the truth… Just tell people… If you dont have XXX on your SAT then dont apply. But it is about colleges telling people they rejected so many people and the amount of application fees then can collect.</p>
<p>You are understandably disappointed, but it’s beginning to sound like sour grapes. Other people without money or high SATs are getting into good schools. Instead of assuming the system is corrupt, I would suggest you contact your regional rep. for the schools at which you’ve been rejected to find out where the weaknesses in your applications lay.</p>
<p>I didn’t read the whole discussion, but I know that my SAT score (1940) was higher than UCI’s average for accepted students, and I still didn’t get into UCI despite having a 3.8 weighed GPA. This shows that other things matter as well for college admissions.</p>