<p>Hey guys,
I'm currently a junior at a prestigious boarding school and I do fairly well in school. I'm taking the hardest courses offered at my school and maintaining about a 3.7 GPA. I am involved in the school community and have garned many leadership positions. Furthermore, I have more than 300 hours of community service under my belt. I'm also interning at a hospital in Singapore over the summer and have volunteered regularly at my local hospital since my freshman year.</p>
<p>HOWEVER, my SAT II scores are not too hot. The first time I took the Math IIC, I got a 720. I retook it and got a 780. I'm okay with that, but my chemistry score was a 690 and considering I want to study Chemistry in college, I'm kind of concerned. Furthermore, I just took the French, Lit and Chem (retook) again this past Saturday.</p>
<p>What are my chances of getting into a place like UPenn ED? Will going to a well known boarding school help my chances, along with my stats?</p>
<p>I know I may be paranoid, but I need someone to assure me or get my worries up...</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>no u slacker work harder</p>
<p>your sat II scores are going to be a minor part of the overall college admissions package. Your GPA and class rank, SAT I scores, essays, teacher recommendations and ECs will have carry far more weight than one SAT II test score of less than 700.</p>
<p>if you attend a good boarding school then your guidance counselor will be the one that can best answer your questions regarding your chances -- ask your counselor what the scores were of students who were admitted to UPenn ED in the past from your school.</p>
<p>I think your school name/reputation as a tough competitive school will boost your chances to most Private Universities. SATII below 750 may be an issue at top schools but you can cover it with a strong grade at the school subject. Had you taken the AP Chemistry, if not take it and get a good grade and score on it that will cover your SAT II?</p>
<p>hsmomstef is correct in telling you that your counselor should be able to let you know what will be your chances at U Penn ED.
From my D's school 10% of senior class gets acceptances from U. Penn, but mean score for
SAT II Chem was 746 and SAT II Math 2C was 744 for the last year. Around 30 students had > 750 on SAT II Chem and around 60 students had > 750 on MATH SATII C.</p>
<p>school name doesn't matter.... cause every school takes the same AP test and SATs. so many kids from public schools around the nation are doing better than you in those test, so your entire point is obsolete. its better to see a person in a public school have success then someone in a private school....</p>
<p>School name and reputation does matter even among the public schools. If you look at UC categorisation of schools you will find the difference.
A 4.0 GPA at your public school might not be beat a 3.7 GPA at electricbaasheep private school.</p>
<p>At most private Universities admissions the rigor of the school curriculum wins over the SAT tests.</p>
<p>But that doesn't mean SAT tests have no importance but that scoring bad on these can be compensated with a rigor curriculumn.</p>
<p>not just rigor. u have to actually do well on APs... especially the exam.</p>
<p>chioma999 -- you are wrong. a school name does matter for several different reasons. well-known private schools are known entities to top schools (including the ivies). They know what to expect from these students and how well they are prepared for college level work.</p>
<p>also -- GPA and class rank are looked at in a different context. While ivies may only take the top 1 or 2 students from an unknown public school, private (and public schools that are well-known entities) may have success with sending the top 20% of their class to top universities.</p>
<p>you are correct that a "name" school isn't going to make up for low test scores, but a strong SAT I, good GPA and class rank from a name school will overcome a lower SAT II score -- something that probably won't happen from an unknown public.</p>
<p>It may not be "right" and your opinion that "its better to see a person in a public school have success then someone in a private school...." may be shared by many others -- but statistics show that a greater majority of kids from "named" private schools earn placements at top schools (as a percentage of many apply). doesn't mean it is fair -- it just works that way.</p>
<p>As far as scoring well on AP exams -- that is not a significant part of the college admissions package (you self-report the scores on the application -- which should tell you it isn't that big of a deal). AP scores are sometimes used as tie-breakers between two equal candidates, but other than that the weight they carry is negligible.</p>
<p>What is important is the rigor of your curriculum (this is where attending a "known" school comes into play), your GPA and class rank. Then SAT I or ACT scores followed by essays/teacher recs and ECs. The SAT II test scores follow in importance.</p>
<p>ACTUALLY YOU'RE WRONG.... anyone with a good sat, ecs, aps, ect.... can get into an ivy.. THE SCHOOL DOESN'T MAE THE STUDENT, THE STUDENTS MAKE THE SCHOOL.</p>
<p>chioma999: Certainly, everything help but at good private schools if you take AP classes you are bound to take AP exams and > 95% of them score 3 or more on AP exams. That shows the rigor of the curriculumn which is also strengthen by high mean on SATIIs.</p>
<p>that doesn't show the rigor.... sudents and public schools do well as well... so apparently there is rigor everywhere</p>
<p>chioma999:You are missing the point here.</p>
<p>There are tons of public high schools in USA and top universities reject tons of Valedictorians.</p>
<p>Do you think they reject Validictorians from the named private schools? </p>
<p>They reject tons of Valedictorians from the unknown public schools to take students in top 20% of the class from a known private schools.</p>
<p>chioma999: You don't seem to get things. If > 95% of those who take an AP class score 3 or more on the AP examination then what does it tell you. That the school AP class curriculum was not only very strong but the school prepared the students to score well on the exams too.</p>
<p>On the other hand if the unknown public school doesn't even force students to take the exams and only 10% of the class takes the exams then the school curriculumn is not rigoros and is a joke.</p>
<p>i'm not going to argue with your ignorance...</p>
<p>I am not wrong -- but I think we are talking about two different things.</p>
<p>yes -- there are excellent public schools out there and even some really poor public schools with excellent students. Good stats, hard work, good ECs, etc can get anyone into an ivy -- as you can see from the number of public schools kids that are accepted.</p>
<p>What I was stating (and Parent is saying the same thing, too) is that the "name" of a school does make a difference. This is because the top schools are familiar with the caliber of students that the known schools produce and are willing to accept more. This is shown statistically with the higher number of students that attend "top -named" schools that get into top schools. These "known" schools include public schools and private.</p>
<p>You are correct that the students make the school -- and this is proven by the well-known public and private schools who carefully chose their students.</p>
<p>You can probably best gague your chances by seeing where students at your school have ended up in the past. If Penn ED usually takes some from your school and you're at the top of the pack, I'd say you have a fair chance.</p>
<p>chioma999: I'm not sure who is ignorant here but it might be your point of view so be it.</p>
<p>if u want to know why more private school kids attend top schools ..it's cause they have parents willing to dish out even more money for their education as they are doing already... this forces top public school kids to go to other top schools which offer merit aid... Cal tech, Stanford, Duke, Chicago, John Hopkins, etc...</p>
<p>I dont have the stat readily available, but I believe that independent schools which make up about 11% of schools overall, make up about 30% of college enrollees. Many of the so called "name" schools are independent schools. Mant considerations are taken during the admission process, but all things taken equally, the student attending the school with a higher academic profile probably gets the nod.</p>
<p>I totally agree with ParentOfIvyHope because I experienced a similar thing myself this past year... a girl in the top 20% of her class with similar EC's and lower grades/academic involvement (no legacy, as well) got into one of the Ivies over me, the valedictorian of my class. The difference? She attended a VERY well-known private school while I attended one with not much of a reputation (an interviewer for a different college who was the admissions officer for my region asked me to describe my school to her because she'd never heard of it before). </p>
<p>So yes, your school's reputation can definitely be a bonus for you. If your school is known as a highly challenging place where it's difficult to do well and you've done well, you'll look much more impressive than someone from a completely unknown school to the admissions officer.</p>