GPA or SAT Scores?

carolyn
Tue, 05 Apr 2005 00:18:35 +0000

The most important thing that ALL colleges/universities look at is your GPA AND the quality of the curriculum you’ve taken in high school. Then come test scores.

High tests scores with a mediocre curriculum or GPA won’t get you into top schools. A tough curriculum with a solid GPA will trump so-so test scores every time.

And by curriculum, I’m not just talking about the number of AP and honors classes you’ve taken but about how you’ve filled out your schedule in terms of academic core classes (math, science, history, foreign language and history). Someone who has a great GPA but has only taken 3 years of math or 2 years of language is going to be at a disadvantage when compared to someone with approximately the same GPA but a full 4 years of math or language. Someone with a great GPA but a transcript full of electives is not going to be considered the same as someone who forego’s electives to concentrate on those core academics.

Finally, keep in mind that many, many schools will recompute your GPA according to their own system - they may drop non-core classes, they may not weight honors or AP classes, they may only look at GPA from sophomore and junior year. So, always always ask admissions if and how they recompute GPAs and use that information to realistically weigh your chances at a particular school.