Hello,
I got a 1550 on the SAT (800 M, 750 RW), but people have told me this score is kind of low for top schools (Ivies, MIT, Stanford, etc.). However, I also got a 1500 on the PSAT and am an NMS Semifinalist. I was wondering if this distinction could help compensate for my SAT score.
I know that a 1550 is not a bad score by any means, but compared to the scores of other top students (especially other top Asians students) in my school this score is only slightly above average.
You do realize how disingenuous you come off when you call a 1550 “low,” right? Express such an attitude in your essays or have them reflected in recs, then the 1550 will be the least of your worries.
But to answer your question, no, a PSAT will not “make up” for anything. Similarly, a high GPA does not “make up” for bad ECs or a bad essay or bad scores. And feel free to mix and match the nouns in the earlier sentence because every permutation will yield the same answer. College admissions is not like Mrs. Smith’s math class - there is no extra credit/retakes/drop the lowest quiz/etc.
If you’re a top recruited athlete or a severely underrepresented minority, you may get some slack in an area. Everyone else will be, for the most part, solid across the board
Agree with all of Skieurope’s points. From my perspective, I think that you are overly focusing on one aspect (scores). 1550 is a great SAT score. Being NMS Semi-finalist just reinforces that you are a consistently good test taker. Now move on to the rest of your narrative. Course rigor is important. People often specify on here extremely high UW and W GPAs without indicating how rigorous their course load is. IMHO a 4.0 that is derived from an extremely rigorous course load over someone’s entire high school career is more impressive than a very high GPA that is derived from a less rigorous course load. Picking rigor and doing well shows you are ready for college. Less risky for an AO to consider than someone who may have taken an easier road but is exceling - begs the question why they did not challenge themselves more! Having passion-driven ECs (or a single e.g. in the case of high performing athletes or concert level musicians etc) is also another important part of the narrative. Meaningless ECs or community service just to “check a box” is as transparent as glass I would imagine to any switched on AO. So, evaluate your whole narrative and see if there are any measurable tweaks to be made, but as it relates to your scores, I think you are all set. GL!
@skieurope Every other part of my application is solid:
3.99 UW GPA in arguably the best HS in MA
Solid EC: MIT PRIMES Researcher, Math Team Captain, Speech and Debate, etc.
Good Recs…
I was asking this question not to be disingenuous. Students from my high school are very strong, and being compared in terms of SAT scores, I fall short to the group of top students. However, my ECs are better on the whole than these students (I think). I wanted to confirm that my scores were sufficient in the context of my school. But by your answers, it seems that they are.
1550 is above to well above average for any school in the country.
Nothing “makes up for” parts of an application. They are all pieces to a whole.
But PSAT scores aren’t part of a college application- they won’t mean anything.
A lot of it depends on the particular class, in general 1550 is way above average for a high school and in the middle or say high middle of the SAT ranges for the colleges the OP is considering. However it would not be shocking if one particular class in a really competitive high school where a 1550 was slightly above average.
“But PSAT scores aren’t part of a college application- they won’t mean anything.”
It’s not score, it’s being named NMS, which could help a little.
OP, my guess though is that the kids that scored higher than you on the SATs will also be NMS, unless you know different.