<p>This is very generalized, I am guessing, but what would be a bigger factor in acceptance? High School Grade Point Average or your SAT Score.</p>
<p>Many say that grades and difficulty of courses taken are more important than test score. However, test score is still very important. Exception: there are some colleges that do not even require test scores; Wake Forest appears to be the highest ranked college that does not.</p>
<p>Grades/rank are most important in general. Top schools will want both high rank and scores. There are many good schools that are score choice.</p>
<p>Transcript > SAT > GPA</p>
<p>In the book “A is for Admission”, the former assistant director of Admissions at Dartmouth cited that SAT’s count for 2/3rds of grade and class rank counts for 1/3 of grade. This is what is used to build the academic index. She cited that GPA’s were too diluted and you couldn’t compare a GPA between regions of the country.</p>
<p>Certain colleges have chosen to deemphasize it because they want to discourage students who are wealthy enough to pay full tuition who might have average SAT grades.</p>
<p>In my humble opinion, it seems logical to assume that the SAT score would be looked at before the GPA, but only to determine if the applicant posesses a certain level of mastery in the reading, writing, and mathematics disciplines required for admission into the desired institution. However, the GPA would be a better indicator of the two from that point on in order to determine whether or not the applicant is qualified in the respect that he is a hardworking student. </p>
<p>For instance, between two aplicants from the same school ( to assume the same level of grade inflation/deflation):</p>
<p>1) SAT 2200, GPA 3.5
2) SAT 2120, GPA 4.0</p>
<p>The latter set of achievements would most likely be more attractive. Institutions, especially of the selective kind, desire students that, beyond a certain level of intelligence, put their oppurtunities at the institution in question to good use.</p>