<p>As you're posting all your (wonderful) news-- I would love to hear what kinds of choices are available for kids who are MUCH better on one side of the academic scale than the other. My D is terrific at English/social science....anything verbal. But it takes all her effort to manage a B+ in math or science. SAT's came back today-- mid 700's CR and W...mid-500's math. Well, that's her, and she won't be studying math or science in college! But they bring her overall stats down, and I'm wondering how others have dealt with this, where your kids have gotten in and where they are happy and thriving. Thank you!</p>
<p>My daughter is very similar to yours. Has she tried the ACT? My daughter scored better overall on the ACT, with a math score of 28, which is equivalent to low 600’s. She was accepted to Towson, Pitt, Northeastern and Boston University (ED). She applied to communication schools or majors, which fit her strengths.</p>
<p>Hi Gwen! I’m a VERY lopsided D. I get As and A+s in social studies and English while getting B-s and C+s in Math/Science. My SAT scores were: 680 M, 690 W, and 770 CR. But I got into all three of the colleges I applied to: Tulane, UVM (honors college), and BRANDEIS (which is where I will be going next year).</p>
<p>Hi Gwen Fairfax,
(Thanks for your post on my thread!) My son is academically lopsided too. He’s actually pretty decent at math, but his math story is long & …irelevant at this point, yay! So I do think it put him out of the reach of certain schools that he would have liked and done well at. The experience has shown me that, while a college may hope to look at candidates “wholistically,” they probably look at quantifiables first, then they take the wholistic look. They have to have filtering methods, so it makes sense. His scores, other than math, are all pretty tops, and a lot of Bs ended up creeping in with the As! Some other aspects of his app were farly unique. It seems like his application couldn’t put him in the “Top 20 LACs” - probably due to the lopsidedness - but did put him in the “Top next-tier down LACs” …and we’re really happy with that, basically. I think he has some excellent choices. (He’s on a trip right now, so I’m not 100% sure how he feels!) Bard, Brandeis, Dickinson, St. Olaf.</p>
<p>Gwen: ditto the idea to go for the ACT: schools use the composite so it is easier to hide that math grade…the composite “smooths” the lopsided scores…</p>
<p>Thanks so much everyone-- I’m actually thinking that it might be better to let the difference show than to “smooth out” the scores. Much as smoothing out would hide her weakness it would also seem to diminish her strength. Maybe that’s crazy? </p>
<p>And shulie-- enjoy Brandeis!!! Such a great school!</p>
<p>My D is much weaker in math and science, and I would definitely say that her ACT scores were less glaringly lopsided than those she took in the SAT arena. Her math PSAT was in the 50s, as well as her SAT2, but she managed high 20s in M and S with her ACT, which put her over 30 for the composite (all of her verbal test scores were great).</p>
<p>I know many kids at great schools who are lopsided - colleges know that you will follow your passions and your strengths. But it is a shame for these kids when GPA and test scores are all lumped together. It does help to scout schools that really look hard, beyond the numbers.</p>
<p>My D did pretty well with her selective academic admits - acceptance to Bard, waitlist at Brandeis. These also were schools with extremely creative essay prompts - her forte. I think her lopsided stats couldn’t get her over the hump at the most selective schools (such as Vassar and Northwestern), at least not this year.</p>
<p>My D is also very weak in math. Highest math SAT 540 but Verbal SAT 720, SATII Literature 750, US History 710. I agree that trying the ACT is a good idea. Her ACT math while still just a 26 when averaged with the rest including a 35 on the English brought her composite score to 30. I think the lopsidedness of her scores did end up hurting her when it came to getting admitted to her top choices. In one day she got the news that she is waitlisted at Wake, Bucknell, BC and UVA. Not fun. Thankfully, one of her top picks did come through and she is looking forward to attending the University of Richmond next year.</p>
<p>D1 had good verbal scores (740), but her first math scores were in the 500s. With diligent prep, she got up to a 630 on her second try. She was admitted to Dickinson with those scores, and has been a happy political science major there since.</p>
<p>My lopsided D (730 reading, 660 math, 780 writing) got into Macalester College, Willamette University, and Chapman University. Big merit scholarships at Willamette and Chapman.</p>
<p>I took the ACT multiple times, but I remember on one of them my Math score was exactly double my Reading score (34 and 17) and I remember I had a 36 Math on another test and on that one I had a 20 Reading. I had all As in all my English classes, but I took only the minimal English requirements at my high school. I got into Michigan Engineering a couple of years ago, when I graduated high school.</p>
<p>This is going back awhile, but my d. was admitted to Barnard & Chicago about 5 years ago with a 580 math SAT, 23 ACT math subtest. (She chose to submit ACT’s rather than SAT, as her comprehensive ACT score was somewhat better than combined SAT – but a 23 ACT math is actually worse, percentile-wise, than a 580). </p>
<p>She has a very strong record in high school studying a foreign language, and excellent writing scores – and ended up doing extremely well academically at Barnard. </p>
<p>The colleges understand lopsided. As long as the academic strengths match the expressed interests and goals of the student, they will focus on the strengths in admissions. In other words, it’s not huge problem if a prospective English or humanities major is a little weak in math, but it could be a problem if a kid who thought she wanted to major in chemistry showed similar weaknesses. </p>
<p>But do also keep in mind that admission standards differ from one college to the next. The schools I mentioned that accepted my d – Barnard and Chicago --are known to place a high value on writing ability, so a good writing score together with a strong essay is probably a big boost there. But my d. was wait-listed at a school that should have been a “match” based on their admission stats, but apparently more formulaic in its approach to admissions. </p>
<p>Do encourage your daughter to consider the women’s colleges. I think that in general they tend to see more applicants who fit your d’s profile, and so more understanding… and my d certainly received an exceptional education at Barnard.</p>
<p>Gwen - Is this your D’s first attempt at the SAT, and did she prepare well? I know several lopsided students (verbal SAT between 700 and 800 with no preparation whatsoever, math score in 500’s or low 600’s with no preparation) who have been able to raise their Math SAT up to the mid to high 700’s with some sessions with a review book or a short SAT prep course. These have been “B” students in math, too. It might be worth a shot, if your daughter has any interest in giving it a try to more easily get the attention of a wider range of schools.</p>
<p>Yes, D’s best ACT prep advice was to focus on the sections where she was lowest, and mostly leave her high scoring areas alone. And she brought those subscores up significantly her last time, jumping 4 points on her composite.</p>
<p>Maybe someone won’t suddenly make a huge jump in math ability, but they can get a handle on the tricks of doing better on these (dumb) tests.</p>
<p>^now my D has taken both the SAT and ACT once without prep to see on which test she would do best. I didn’t see the breakdown of the ACT but her scores on the SAT sections were almost the same. How would one go about figuring out which test to prep for assuming she wants to concentrate on just one test? Should she sit with a tutor and take diagnostic tests? Or is this something we can do at home and then seek out a tutor? She took the ACT last summer and and the SAT this spring and reported that felt more comfortable with SAT but I dont know if it has anything to do with the fact that she took the PSAT.</p>
<p>Lilmom: If the scores are pretty close, I would let your daughter pick the test that she prefers to focus on. She can take practice tests on her own, and then work with a tutor to improve the weaker areas.</p>
<p>Thanks all for such great advice, and stories of great acceptances which are very cheering–congratulations! Yes, this was a first SAT…she just flatlines at the visual side of math (it literally nauseates her) so I hate to push her through a lot of prep. I think I will see how she feels about it in a few months, and she can prep and retake in October…or not.</p>