I did a google search, went on college websites, but they all give conflicting arguments. The SAT is standardized and compares students nationally, but GPA only ranks you in your school. However, the SAT is a one sitting 4 hour test, while GPA = 4 years of multiple classes, plus your transcript with grades and class rigor is sent. What do colleges weigh more? Or is it just different for every college. My GPA is around 3.7 and I worked moderately hard for that, but my SAT is only 1690, 1720 superscored. I also rank 66/280, top 25% but not bad at all. I want to apply to GMU, UVA, VCU, CNU, and VT, (i’m in sate) but none of their websites tell me which they look at over the other. I don’t want to apply to a college that I have no shot at getting into. Unless it’s a dream school. Anyone have some insight?
No school will give out how they might weigh different parts of an application. Some are test optional and are willing to not take standardized testing into account. But non test-optional schools give weight to both measures. And not that it is not just your GPA that is typically considered when reviewing your HS career, it is also the rigor of the classes in which you achieved that GPA.
@happy1 I had 4 AP’s and 4 honors for fresh, soph, and junior. Taking 2 AP’s this year + 3 honors.
bump…
It’s different. Google Common Data Set and the college name, look at section C.
Common Data Sets can be helpful, but often you will just find that both scores and grades (and rigor of the program) are important. You can’t really quantify this. Many schools will want some sort of threshold test score barring special hooks before they’ll consider you application. GPAs are more variable since they also have to be considered in context. An A from a well known science magnet or private school won’t be judged the same as one from a school where they give out A’s like candy.
If your high school subscribes to Naviance, seeing the score and grade distributions for YOUR high school will give you a much better idea of what is good enough for the various colleges. Keep in mind with Naviance that some data may be old. Many colleges have gotten more selective.
Since you’re in-state – the best source of info will be your own HS guid counselor. He/She will be able to tell you if previous students w/similar grades/test mixture have been successful at getting admitted UVA or others. Make an appointment ASAP