<p>Completely avoiding the issue of which I think is more indicative of intelligence, it all matters based on which college you’re talking about. That being said, course rigor itself may be more important than either factor to a certain extent.</p>
<p>I have heard that low gpa + high test score = student will be viewed as underachiever</p>
<p>I don’t think many people on here actually have any verifiable information. </p>
<p>GPA and test scores matter, but it is a falsehood to say that the OP’s performance on the SAT some shows a weak school. The real measure of an individuals curriculum should be AP tests.</p>
<p>I did similar to the OP on the SAT (2070), did legit on the ACT (34), and had an okay GPA (3.89), but I still did well in college admissions. And Jersey, if individuals who score that lowly have a weak high school curriculum why did I get 5s on almost every AP I took.</p>
<p>^ I agree with Dbate. AP tests and SAT II subject tests are both more reliable indicators as to how much one has really learned in class, as opposed to the SAT I Reasoning (which, as its name suggests, measures your ability to think through problems rather than show what you’ve learned).</p>
<p>Based off my personal experience, I would have to tell you that the SAT is weighed more heavily than GPA. How much more? That’s impossible to answer. Just don’t expect a 2.5 GPA to be buoyed by a stellar SAT score- it just doesn’t work that way. But if your GPA is hovering around a 3.5 and you have a high SAT score, adcoms will be most likely to admit you over someone with a slightly higher GPA and a lower SAT score, ceteris paribus.</p>
<p>fledgling asked where I got those statistics –</p>
<p>those statistics, for example those in the category of Top 20 Uno, are simply shorthand for "equal parts GPA, Course Rigor, SATs, ECs + Letter of Rec, Essay. In the case of the Public Flagship, “mostly GPA, influence by course rigor, some attention to SAT but not determinative, and a quick read of the essay.”</p>
<p>So, then, where did I get my qualitative assessment? I have been through the admission process myself (successfully) at both HYPSM and Public Flagship, spoken with adcoms, read adcom blogs (most notably that of MIT), read books written by adcoms, but most importantly, been following admissions threads on this Board for about 3 years now.</p>
<p>3.45 and a 29 ACT w/12
got me into the same institutions as some people in the top 5% of our class. It also got me the same amount of merit aid as the kid with a 29 and a 4.2 GPA, my extracurriculars were also better, and my essays were good. It is a hollistic process, of that you can be sure.</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>Yes, sometimes. Privates seem to be more holistic than state schools for admissions and for merit. Merit can depend mostly on pure stats, altho some scholarships do look at ECs and URM status.</p>
<p>Is that your weighted GPA? What schools gave you great merit.</p>
<p>fledgling… I just remembered there are published articles about Public Flagship admissions criteria. For example, the University of California, San Diego, has a written formula of points assigned to GPA, SAT (3 sections plus two SATIIs), family background, hardship, ECs, etc. The University of Michigan, I read here a few days ago, for years and years had a point system that assigned 10x as many admissions points to GPA in comparison to SAT, so that a 2400 SAT scprer with a 3.6 GPA showed fewer admissions points than a 3.8 GPA student with a 1600 SAT.</p>
<p>^ Oh, I see. Very interesting…</p>
<p>Ok, I’m gonna own this thread once and for all.</p>
<p>Low GPA (2.0ish) + High SAT(2000-2400) is worse than High GPA (4.0) and Low SAT (1600ish).
Medium GPA (3.5-3.7) + High SAT (2000-2400) is better than High GPA (4.0) and Low SAT (1800-1900).
High GPA (3.8+) + High SAT (2000-2400) beats all.</p>
<p>Ok?
So instead of whining about why one is weighted more than the other, how about growing a pair of balls and scoring high on both?</p>
<p>ours does not match- she got a 32 ACT and has a 3.4-so she tests really well I guess</p>
<p>for those of you who are saying sat is better, you guys are insane. yes, i realize im using personal, experience, but with everyone i’ve met, GPA ALWAYS TRUMPS SAT SCORE. ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS. with the UCs at least. ALWAYS.</p>
<p>Gpa is more important.</p>
<p>Gpa is complete high school record</p>
<p>More important than a standardized test</p>