<p>Just wondering, since there’s a lot of talk about the importance of academics vs. soft factors, would SAT scorers with 2340 or something in that ballpark versus 2400’ers with equal academic sand ECs, or are essays and passion all that matter at that point?</p>
<p>2340’s and 2400’s are considered to be pretty much the same. I couldn’t quite make sense of your question – is it a full sentence? – but I think you’re asking if just essays and “passion” count after you get around a 2340. I don’t think just essays and passion count with ANY score. All things count. And 2340’s and 2400’s are virtually the same in adcoms’ eyes at MOST schools, Stanford included. And neither score is anywhere NEAR a guarantee of admission. Plenty of 2340’s to 2400’s are rejected every year – even with essays, ECs, and passion. It’s important to have a realistic perspective on this so that you can include a great variety of schools on your list. Good luck to you! :)</p>
<p>Thanks. What I meant to say is, if there are two scorers, one with a 2340 and one with a 2400, will the adcoms look only at essays and passions/leadership to make the difference?</p>
<p>Global, they will look at all aspects of each application. It’s a holistic process in which the applicant is viewed within the context of his or her own circumstances and opportunities, and in light of what he or she can contribute to the community. There’s always going to be the additional element of what specific needs Stanford has for certain types of students in a given application cycle, which is that “crap shoot” element that characterizes admissions at all top schools. So, you really can’t meaningfully parse the process down into the discrete elements posed in many of your inquiries. Good luck.</p>
<p>Are they treated differently? Yes. They’re different scores.</p>
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They will look at everything, plus pet interests that are out of your control.</p>
<p>^Seriously. They’re not treated differently. Adcoms are not as caught up with SAT scores as applicants tend to be. Both scores are very strong, and both scores are just one tiny piece of the whole picture.</p>
<p>Sometimes people will say, “Yeah, but ALL other things being equal …” But that’s silly, too. There would never be a case that ALL other things were “equal,” with the only deciding factor being the difference between one person’s 2340 and another person’s 2400. Adcoms really don’t care. And, no two people’s applications and experiences would ever be entirely “equal.”</p>
<p>They’re treated differently because, well, they’re different scores. I agree with cellist. The difference though, isn’t too much.</p>
<p>^The next time you’re at an admissions seminar at a tier one or tier two type school, ask the adcom whether they think there’s a difference between a 2340 or 50 and a 2400. I have yet to hear an admissions counselor for ANY school say they view them differently. The more elite the school (Stanford, Yale, Harvard, MIT – all sessions which I have attended), the more likely they are to say that, in their minds, there is no difference. They really don’t care if you’re a 2350 or a 2400. It’s all the same to them. People with 2400s (especially those who took 5 tries to get there) don’t like to hear that … but it’s true. (Or, just read an admissions book or two. Same concept.)</p>
<p>I guess it’s because being in that ballpark shows them you’re an academic high achiever…</p>
<p>Perfecting anything in life is difficult especially the SAT which has questions designed to trick you. If you are saying that there are two applicants with nothing other than SAT scores, then a 2400 would obviously be different than a 2340.</p>
<p>^^Yes, GlobalDolphin. And because it’s just one test – one measure of success and potential out of many. And because any given day, a person w a 2370, let’s say, could get a 2400, and a person w a 2400 could get a 2370. The questions are tricky, and one person’s score one day could be a roughly similar (but not exactly the same) score another day. That’s why I’ve never understood the kid w a great score laboring over 3-5 SATs looking for that perfect score. At each elite school admissions session I’ve attended w my kids, the adcoms specifically address this subject. They Don’t like to see professional test-takers, and they consider scores within a general ballpark to be the same, for all intents and purposes, including that more elusive 2400.</p>