How Important Are SAT Scores?

Applying to College
1

<p>Hello! (I apologize for the wordy thread, I have always used too many words to express myself.)</p>

<p>First, let me tell you a bit about myself. I am a native of Kazakhstan (please no Borat jokes, he’s Jewish-British), but I moved to US in fifth grade, where I had to learn English from scratch and eventually got my US citizenship. During my freshman year, my family and I moved to China and I currently attend an international school in a city of 11 million people.</p>

<p>As a junior, I have a 3.91 GPA and am full of AP classes and extra curricular activities. I took AP World History last year (got a 4). This year, I’m taking AP Lit, AP Gov and AP Calculus. Since the number of APs provided by my school is limited, I’m self studying three more. </p>

<p>I was also on the varsity volleyball team for three years in the row and this year, I was the team captain. I have participated in MUN for my entire high school career and traveled to many conferences in China and Singapore. This year, I’m going to be the deputy president/chair for the first time. I also started our very first school newspaper and I’m successfully running it and I am the editor in chief. I’m also the editor of the yearbook. I have participated in drama and theatre productions every year. I have some community service experience as well. Oh, and I also run our class website, where I post all of our homework and school help. I also won the Discus award this year. In addition to that, I design all of the posters, tickets and advertisements for school events. I am fluent in Russian, Kazakh and English. I took German and French in the past, which I can read and understand. Currently, I am taking Chinese and I am sure I will be fluent by the end of my senior year.</p>

<p>Sorry for the long list of my accomplishments but I needed to list those to console myself for my poor SAT score. I took the SATs for the first time in December and got 1750. Now, I have never ever been good at standardized tests, no matter how much I study. I’m planning to take the SATs again, but from my practice tests, I’ve never scored anything higher than 1900.</p>

<p>So my question is, given my extensive list of extra curricular activities and accomplishments along with my interesting background, would colleges overlook my poor SAT score?</p>

2

<p>Your ECs are impressive, but a 1750 on the SAT will close many doors for you. Keep studying for the SAT and hope for a score above 2000. If you can’t bring your score up, Bowdoin and Middlebury are the most well-known/‘prestigious’ SAT-optional colleges, so you may want to take a look at them. (There are many others.)</p>

3

<p>They are probably one of the most important factors along with your GPA and essay.</p>

<p>Don’t worry. I raised it up from a 1690 to a 2130 in one year (Really it was just one summer).</p>

<p>For the entire summer, I did a total of 47 practice tests. One every day. You can do it.
2130 might not be impressive. It isn’t. I should’ve scored higher but i messed up and missed 2 in Math… I usually get 800s on math everytime but for some reason!!!
Ah…it still bothers me like crazy.</p>

4

<p>A lot of people say that SAT isn’t everything, which is true in a sense, but it’s definitelly pretty darn important. When you ask “will colleges overlook my scores?”, I don’t think anyone can honestly tell you that scores won’t be a fairly large factor in decisions. As Ghostt said, a lot of doors will be closed; I don’t know what tier you’re aiming for but a 1750 is just not high enough for Ivies, for example. </p>

<p>Have you tried taking an ACT? I know a lot of people (including myself) who scored significantly higher on that than the SAT.</p>

5

<p>A bad score on the SAT shows a fundamental flaw in your knowledge in whichever topics you scored badly on.</p>

6

<p>I once heard an admissions officer at a highly selective LAC say, “Test scores aren’t nearly as important as most applicants think they are, but they’re probably a lot more important than we like to admit.” Bottom line, they’re pretty important, but only as part of the overall package. </p>

<p>A 1750 SAT will likely keep you out of the most selective colleges. You still have time to raise your SAT scores with diligent prep. Also, try taking the ACT; some students do much better on one test than on the other. If you don’t get significantly better scores using those strategies, you sound like a great candidate for test-optional schools.</p>