<p>High scores do not provide much of a boost without a story to tell. Based on the acceptance threads, most of the high score/low gpa kids who got in to highly selective schools did things like interview/visit multiple times (this works at small LACs), apply ED, demonstrate a real “passion” for something. My son (2220 SAT/ 800’s subject tests) has an overall gpa below 3.6 mostly due to freshman year. He has a strong upward trend and took the most challenging courses every year. Based on acceptances from our school, it is clear he would have been much better off taking just one or two AP/honors courses each year in order to boost his gpa, but at what cost? He had some great teachers who challenged him, and I think he will do well at UCSB.</p>
<p>A web site we found very useful was ‘my chances/parchment’ (google for web address). Go to the feature called scattergram after you search the name of the school and see where your data point lies relative to others. Their chance percentages are not very reliable, but the scattergrams give you an idea of the acceptance pattern for the school. You can click on each data point and see where that individual applied and the results.</p>