<p>I don’t think her school ranks. She is really embarrassed about the SATs, so she did not tell me exact scores, but I think it was in the neighborhood of about 850 out of 1600.</p>
<p>Just to put it out there, 25 years ago, I scored a 900/1600. I could not believe I did not break 1000 and was expecting a much higher score based on my grades. It was so upsetting, I cannot even tell you. My anxiety about testing, already sky high, went completely out of control. I could write great essays until the cows came home but multiple choice? No way.</p>
<p>Have her parents considered finding a counselor for her? Because anxiety about testing and/or that fear that can come after a bad experience is it’s own issue. Whether or not she takes the SATs again, she’s going to have to deal with testing. I wish I had tackled that issue head on when I was a teen rather than when I was nearly 30 and it was holding me back from completeing my degree. </p>
<p>In the meantime, she needs to find out if her school ranks and where she is. This is only my personal opinion, but I would think that a college where she is high on gpa, a match with class rank and writes a killer essay may still be possibility for her. Which is not to say that she does not need safties, but I wonder if the SAT alone really puts her completely out of the running? I honestly don’t know but I would hope it doesn’t.</p>
<p>Dean College
Curry College
Adelphi
Delaware Valley</p>
<p>These are four colleges where I know kids who have scored very poorly (one scored in the 300s on each section) are going. These kids do have LDs however.</p>
<p>ok, now I’m going to make you feel much better (I hope). Nearly 30 years ago, I scored also “horribly” as you put it, on my SAT’s. I was shocked because my GPA was a 3.86. I tried again but the score only bumped up a small amount. At that time, at my high school, no one that I knew of did any SAT prep. They just signed up for it and took it cold. I did not prep at all…either before the first test or between the first and second. </p>
<p>The good news? I was accepted to the three schools I applied to, which were UC Berkeley, UCSB and Santa Clara Univ. These colleges clearly valued my high GPA over my SAT scores.</p>
<p>Of course, nowadays, getting into the UC’s is hyper-competitive, at least UC Berkeley. But it goes to show you that there is hope. And, no, I don’t have any learning disabilities. The SAT and I were just not a good fit for each other.</p>
<p>Is it possible that she missed a circle, throwing the answers off? Maybe just retesting and only answering what she knows is correct or can eliminate answers to will make a decent improvement. And I was reading the Colleges That Change Lives book yesterday and I recall a few of those mentioning that they don’t use SATs and GPAs as hard cut offs. So maybe take a look at a few of those although many aren’t as urban as she might prefer. Also, quite a few the Tier 3 schools have sub 1000 SAT scores I think.</p>
<p>S2 scored 960/1600 SAT(taken only once) with a closer to 3.0 gpa. He was accepted to two directional state schools in the south and is now an happy soph. at one of them.</p>
<p>If she would be interested in coming south, check out Queen’s University of Charlotte, UNC Greensboro, Salem College (all female, Winston-Salem NC), Meredith College (all female,Raleigh NC). There are others but many are not in urban areas.</p>
<p>^^^ Don’t know anything about it, but to add to PackMom’s list - Columbia College is a woman’s college in Columbia, SC, which is a nice small city.</p>
<p>I looked up Marymount Manhattan on College Board since my D is applying there and the stats were easy to find. 40% of freshmen were in the 400 to 499 SAT range for math; 21% were in that range for reading. So if she is somewhere in that range she should certainly have a chance.</p>
<p>Can’t tell you much about MM other than it has a great musical theatre reputation, which is why it is on my D’s list.</p>
<p>I think that many of the schools listed here are high matches because of the SAT scores. Her gpa is very good, and that could make a difference. Grades usually count much more than SAT scores, but scores are important too when they must be submitted. She should also try to interview and visit. I think that can really help. </p>
<p>ReadyToRoll has a safer list of schools, but for someone with that gpa (don’t know the high school, or the classes she was enrolled in…important factors), I think she would be much better off looking at the test optional schools! She should definitely just take the ACT too. I don’t think she has anything to lose by just giving them a try.</p>
<p>About her classes, she took some honors and will even have 3 APs when she graduates (no idea about scores on the AP tests).</p>
<p>Echo the suggestion to try the ACT. She probably won’t ace it, but for some kids the SAT just doesn’t “click” and the ACT makes more sense. </p>
<p>Keep in mind that many “test-optional” schools are not completely test-optional - some will let you omit your test scores if you have a minimum gpa and/or class rank, AND if you do an interview. Others do not have those requirements.</p>
<p>If she would consider larger schools, many publics have numbers driven admissions formulas and her good gpa will compensate for weak test scores. She would qualify for admission to the University of Memphis and Memphis might be an interesting city for her to explore.</p>
<p>Schools that take the ACT will not even need to see her SAT scores. So you could argue to her that those scores could be completely history if she does the ACT. You might consider a one-on-one tutor – just to help her get the knack of the process/managing anxiety, etc.</p>
<p>Another vote for the ACT’s. My kid also scored horribly on SAT’s in the 900-950 range. Did much better on ACT’s with not too much preparation other than the Real ACT test book and a practice test or two. It is a different type of test than the SAT’s much more straight forward and a much better fit for my kid.<br>
Her ACT score was an equivalent of 130 points higher than the SAT’s. Good luck.</p>
<p>My D is not going to have great test scores. They won’t be “horrendous” but might be worrisome. What is nagging at me is that what if “they” are right, and SAT and ACT scores really are an accurate predictor for succcess in college? Depending on the class, it is sometimes quite possible in HS to do poorly on the tests but get an A in the class…if there are enough homework grades, projects, etc. If in college there are only the tests…</p>
<p>missy- I always felt my kid was an extremely conscientious and good student. But I would categorize her as an average kid who would attend a 4 year college. B+ student in HS-ACT of 23 ( about 1050 SAT equivalent M&R). No honors or AP classes.
we generally looked at 4 year SUNY’s and other OOS publics like Towson-George Mason-Temple etc.
my kid is now in her senior year at SUNY Cortland and has been on Dean’s list for 4 out of 6 semesters. She is doing absolutely fine.<br>
Do I think she could have been as successful at U of Rochester, or Carnegie Mellon? No.</p>
<p>But if you look at appropriate schools, your kid should do just fine. And I think that how they do in a classroom environment is a better way to judge their success in college than the SAT/ACT score.</p>
<p>I will go to my grave believing that SAT scores only measure how well you can take SAT tests. My D is much brighter than I am and has better grades than I did, but I took the SATs cold (and I mean cold to the point that I never even looked at the format before that morning when I looked over someone’s shoulder on the subway who was doing some last minute prep) and I did really well. D studied and got very mediocre scores (she did better on the ACTs taking them cold). It’s a talent all its own and has nothing to do with success in life.</p>
<p>Missy…I don’t think even grades can tell anyone how successful a person will be in their career of choice. I have a friend whose son has Asperger’s…he is a brilliant student with good grades and test scores but has trouble interacting with people. Obviously certain (more solitary) careers will work for him and others won’t. OTOH, I’ve know people who did poorly in high school due to lack of maturity who went onto have stellar careers. </p>
<p>It’s often difficult to tell who will have the unique combination of intellect, work ethic, and interpersonal skills that will make them as successful as they would like to be. Some kids have all of these qualities in high school, but many don’t. You just have to make the best choices you can with them and hope it works out.</p>
<p>ReadytoRoll, I agree! </p>
<p>On a personal note, I went to college with a guy who had a horrible GPA (lots of Cs and Ds) from high school and was involved with drugs. His parents had a lot of money, and I really do not know if they made a donation, had connections, etc., but he was admitted to a college that the average Joe would NOT have gotten into with his grades straight from hs. Perhaps he was even a drug rehab (he did not tell me this, but he did seem to have used a lot of street drugs in high school). Anyway, he buckled down right away in college. He had a much higher gpa than I did, grasped concepts that I struggled with, put in his study time, and went on to medical school. He is a successful doctor today. He beat the odds, IMO. I would have put bet that he would have flunked out within a year judging from high school performance. I do think this is situation is highly unusual, but I guess it happens. BTW, he did not “party” in college. I think he got the itch to party out of his system earlier than most students, by having his “fun” in high school. By the time college came along, he was unusually focused from day 1.</p>
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<p>I totally believe that when it comes to career success…I’m just hung up on the getting through college part. As a matter of fact, my D’s brother has Asperger’s. Her test scores will be hundreds of points lower than his. I have pictured future employers evaluating the two of them. Him - read Dante for fun at the age of 15. Her - drill team officer - knows how to lead and work with a team. Most employers would hire Her. </p>
<p>I know she has the social smarts to do a lot of things. I’m just worried about the book smarts that are a prerequisite.</p>