College App Question: SAT scores vs. GPA

[ohioguy218]

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To give you an idea of what the standards are... at UIUC, the average GPA is 3.8 and the average SAT is 2300.

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Don't know about the GPA, but NO school had an average SAT that high. Harvard is approx. 2240, Yale is about 2230, and UIUC is around 1980-2000 (taken from the SAT website).

[klaching]

it's possible he means only for the EE program, OR what they use to "auto-admit" people. Like without going into the entire file if they meet those 2 requirement they're in. IDK though

[furyshade]

the teacher writing my recs are both good for the job imo, one is my physics teacher from last year who graduated dartmouth and the other is my current english teacher who graduated USC, not sure where he got his master's though. my college councelor seems to like me a lot so that will help. to my knowledge, and i know most of the smart people in my grade, there isn't a single person with a 4.0 unweighted, a few 3.9s but im pretty sure there is no one without at least one A-/B+/B in there somehwere, and from what i have ascertained my SAT score is at least top 5 of my 76 person class. i only know for a fact one person did better than me, that is one of my friends who got a 2400 but there are a few people i dont talk to much who could have done better

[klaching]

well you seem to be in good shape.. good luck with all your schools, and report back when you get your answers...

[furyshade]

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well you seem to be in good shape.. good luck with all your schools, and report back when you get your answers...

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ill be sure to, that is still quite a while off though thanks for all the help from everyone

[ohioguy218]

I thought over your situation a bit, and came up with this advice:

Don't worry about the SAT writing score ... most colleges don't really care about it. That gives you like a 1560/1600 ... which is 99+ percentile. Those SATs are first rate ... good enough for any school in the United States (even HYPS etc.).

But .... In your situation (not so great GPA), Class rank is key (most top-tier schools consider class rank a better indicator of academic performance than GPA) Since your school doesn't rank ... your counselor should still be able to indicate to colleges within what percentage you fall (top 5%, 10%, 20% etc.) This is standard procedure for schools that don't rank.

Regardless, your recs. will be absolutely essential. your counselor needs to emphasize your tough course load and (hopefully) an upward trend in grades from your freshman year (colleges love that kind of stuff). your teachers need to emphasize your work ethic, classroom performance etc. (you don't want to come off looking like a slacker ... which is what your GPA and SATs might suggest to some)
If you get good recs, your GPA won't be as much of a problem.

Again ... don't worry about a 3.3/3.4 too much (especially if you come from a top high school) ... schools will overlook it if everything else is in place ... 3.0s from top prep schools get into Ivy's all the time

As far as essays go, some schools care more than others ... they don't have to be great or extra-creative ... just solid and well-written.

As for your schools:

-Have you taken SAT II subject tests?? they are required for some of the schools you have listed (stanford, cal tech). If not, I'd get around to it ASAP.

-U chicago doesn't offer engineering. It's a pretty miserable place to be as well. Geeky students, ugly girls, grade deflation, and overwhelming work. Go to Northwestern (you have a great chance of getting in), go to McCormick school of engineering, and profit.

-UCs will be very, very difficult for you OOS with mediocre GPA.

-Stanford and Cal Tech are obvious reaches ... good luck

[furyshade]

thanks for the lengthy post, but you missread something; i got a 760 on writing, 690 on reading, so i have a 1490 composite without writing. i am not applying to cal tech. chicago i know doesnt have engineering but from everything ive heard it sounds like a really cool school so that is the one case i wouldn't mind doing a physics major and deciding later what i want to do, though it is not a top choice. i have taken two SAT IIs so far, 700 US history and 590 lit (i dont plan to submit lit, i just took it cause i was there to take US history anyway). im taking physics and math IIc december 1st.

[Ganjasaurus Rex]

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To give you an idea of what the standards are... at UIUC, the average GPA is 3.8 and the average SAT is 2300.

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Don't know about the GPA, but NO school had an average SAT that high. Harvard is approx. 2240, Yale is about 2230, and UIUC is around 1980-2000 (taken from the SAT website).

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I was referring to the engineering students, as we are talking about a high school candidate who wants to enter a EE program. This was information given me by a colleague at UIUC who does regression analyses on college success as a function of SAT scores, so i assumed she knew what she was talking about.

Edit: It appears that there are multiple conversion charts from old SAT to new SAT. One chart would put the average at around 2220-2270, instead of 2300. Sorry if i was off in my original post.