<p>I'm new to the forum and I'd like to say hello. I'm going to be a senior this year and I've been contemplating some different colleges.</p>
<p>I attend a very competitive high school in Phoenix, Arizona, that has 2500 students. I'm a white male and I'm ranked second in my class out of roughly 800 students with a weighted GPA of 4.833 and an unweighted GPA of 4.0. I will graduate with 25 high school credits and by the time I graduate, I will have taken AP European history, AP Calculus AB & BC, AP US History, AP Statistics, AP English Language and Literature, AP Physics, AP Chemistry, AP Economics (don't know if it's Macro or Micro), and AP Government along with four years of honors Spanish. </p>
<p>I'm a member of National Honor Society, Calc Squad, Spanish Honor Society, a physics club, a chemistry club, a mentors program, and I'm a 4 year Varsity cross country and track runner. I do plenty of volunteer work also. </p>
<p>But I'm worried about my test scores because I don't know if they're that strong. I scored a 1930 on my SAT the first time and a 29 on my ACT the first time. I plan on retaking both this year in hopes of scoring higher. </p>
<p>What are my chances of getting into Ivy league schools and second tier schools? Also, would I be accepted into Vanderbilt, George Mason, USC, Syracuse, and Northwestern? Is there anything you guys can recommend that I do to score better or improve my overall chances of admission? Thanks everyone!</p>
<p>EDIT: I plan on entering the mechanical or architectural engineering field.</p>
<p>I think if you can raise your ACT to a 32+ or a 2100+ you would have a great chance at those schools including the ivies! I never took the ACT, but the first time I took the SAT I scored a 1940 (pretty good score by normal standards, but I knew that to stand a chance at the best schools I needed to raise it about 200 points). So after that, I took almost 50 full practice test and an extra 30 math sections (my weakest section) and the second time I took it I scored a 2150! My point is, just keep practicing and you can achieve a better score that would make you an even more competitive candidate!</p>
<p>I agree with xoxo14! You should definitely try the SAT again! Other than that,
NWU: Slight reach
USC: Slight reach
Vanderbilt: Reach
Georgetown: Reach
GMU: Match
Syracuse: Low match </p>
<p>You do need to bring up your scores. If those scores from first attempts were without much practice, you definitely have room to raise them, however, you would need to work very hard over the summer as you don’t have much time left. For engineering, you would need even higher scores. For those schools on the list, aim at 2200+/33+. Also, do you have any SAT2 scores, particularly Math2?
Other than your test scores, the rest seems fine. It seems your school may be too big that you did not get much help from your school counselor.</p>
<p>I was misinformed about Georgetown, and thanks for telling me. And yes, we have so many students at my school that the counselors spend little to no time with us, and to be honest, I didn’t even know subject tests existed up until about two months ago. </p>
<p>Any advice for how to study for the critical reading section of the SAT? That’s my weak link. </p>
<p>Your chances at the Ivy’s and Northwestern are kind of low. You need a much higher SAT score and something that really sets you apart from everyone else. But, your grades are brilliant and your class rank is amazing. Also, you’re going to need to take 2 subject tests for some of these schools.</p>
<p>As of now, unless I can achieve a much higher score on the SAT, I’ve eliminated Ivy’s, but I’m still going to try to work my way into Northwestern. Thanks for the response. I just need to study very hard to try to improve my scores.</p>
<p>I’m in a similar position. I am also planning on studying mechanical engineering and I scored a 2050 on the SAT and a 32 on the ACT my first time. My scores aren’t high enough for Notre Dame or Georgia Tech so I’ll need to bring them up by EA deadlines. My best advice would be to invest in The Princeton Review SAT and ACT study books. They contain practice problems as well as in-depth explanations of both the right and wrong answers. Good luck!</p>
<p>I know this may not be the place to post this, but do scores really matter that much? What I mean is, do scores significantly affect someone’s chances of getting into a school?</p>
<p>Hey Azxckid, scores are pretty important for highly selective schools. However, they are not the MOST important. Your transcript and essays will hold the most weight, but a SAT score of a 2100+ puts you in the running! If standardized tests are not your thing, but you don’t want to sacrifice a top notch education, you should look in to schools like Bowdoin who don’t require that scores be sent in.</p>