<p>Premier schools will most likely view the mismatch between GPA and test scores as a sign of an underachiever who does not work to the best of his abilities unless the low GPA is due to laxity in earlier high school career (bad frosh year but good later, particularly in junior year). Lots of good EC’s can balance this out, however. If you are not in the top 10% of your class you are damaged goods for most Ivy’s and other very competitive schools but you still have a chance.</p>