<p>One’s GPA is NOT a better reflection of intelligence than one’s SAT, though it is typically a better reflection of work ethic. GPAs are far from standardized - some high schools practice extensive grade inflation to meet requirements, while others grade harshly and in some cases even practice grade deflation - while the SAT is the same for all takers, not just down to the subjects and the difficulty but the questions. Anyone can kiss up to his or her teachers - or just have parents who are well-connected enough to pull strings - and get a 4.0. Getting a high score on the SAT takes real intelligence, particularly in the Critical Reading section that is difficult to teach for, though it’s questionable that pure intelligence is really what makes a successful career. The magical almost-infallible correlation with intelligence that we expect GPA to have just isn’t there.</p>
<p>This is all to say nothing of the undue importance given to class rank; don’t get me started on that…</p>
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<p>Yeah, I can rant for hours (and have), but part of it is that I’m upset that, though my standardized test scores are well into the 99th percentile, my GPA is lackluster (about a 3.73). It’s not because I’m lazy, though, and it definitely isn’t because I’m unintelligent. It’s because for a long time I just had poor organization and communication skills and now I’ll never get anywhere close to a 4.0.</p>
<p>Ugh.</p>