How much do SATs and ACTs count????

Applying to College
1

<p>I have already taken my SATs twice and my ACTs once however neither of the scores were high at all. I am one of those people that have a problem with large tests because I always freeze up and become nervous as soon as the test hits my desk. However, I am involved in A LOT of after school activities. I am president of NHS as well as actively involved in many community service opportunities that I have contributed to since Middle School. Seeing that I am going into my senior year I do not enough time to take my SATs or ACTs to a nearly desirable grade. </p>

<p>I guess the golden question is, how do college weigh SATs against other activities that you do outside of school? Yes I have poor test taking skills but am actively involved in many organizations and have a ton of leadership positions. How do the weigh those different parts of the application? Help. </p>

2

<p>Colleges look for your scores to be past a certain threshold, but after that point, the difference doesn’t really matter that much.</p>

3

<p>they matter, but how much depends on your suite of target schools.</p>

4

<p>It varies by college. Google the Common Data Set + [College Name]. There is a page there that outlines the weight of an applicant’s stats (ie - gpa, testing, ec). Here is Dartmouth’s on pg 8 - <a href=“http://www.dartmouth.edu/~oir/pdfs/cds_2013-2014_updated.pdf”>This Page Has Moved. </p>

<p>That’s where your answer lies. Anything else said here is just speculation.</p>

5

<p>If you are truly terrible at standardized tests then you can look at these schools which don’t consider tests if they’re not provided. <a href=“ACT/SAT Optional List - Fairtest”>http://www.fairtest.org/university/optional&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

6

<p>Definitely look for the colleges that are test optional. There are some great schools that recognize that some students can do well in a rigorous academic setting but not do well under the standardized test gun.</p>

7

<p>I’ve heard they count a lot for most schools.</p>

<p>What are your scores and where are you looking to apply?</p>

8

<p>Heard at a recent info session for a selective school:</p>

<p>We think of an application as an ice cream sundae. GPA and SAT/ACT are the ice cream. Recommendations, essays, ECs, sports, etc. are the toppings. But you can’t have a good sundae without good ice cream. </p>

<p>That said, Bowdoin, 4th ranked lac, is test optional. </p>