How much time do admissions officers spend on each application?

renaissancedad
Fri, 05 Jun 2015 16:54:02 +0000

Reading the Stanford article, the thing that struck me the most was this:

“69 percent of Stanford’s applicants over the past five years with SATs of 2400—the highest score possible—didn’t get in.”

I know it’s more than “just the numbers”, but I find it incredible that this many perfect scores could be rejected by one school. It has to hurt.

@mjrube94, I’m certainly no admissions effort, but I just think this reflects people’s misunderstandings about SAT scores.

Scores are just one element that colleges look for, and what matters is that they check off a box - nothing more. If you are below the 25-75% mark it is a red flag, though not an insurmountable one. But as long as you are in that range, it checks off a box for most top colleges. Getting a 2400 isn’t any different than getting a 2350 or 2300, or probably less. No one gets admitted to a top school based on a 2400 SAT score. They still need the curricular rigor, grades, essays, letters and extracurriculars to at least be competitive, and preferably to distinguish themselves.

Stanford - and most other top schools - look for more than getting a perfect score on a 3 hour test that doesn’t particularly mean much about ability to function in a competitive academic environment over time. It’s not that surprising. It may also possibly suggest that people who obsess about test taking may do so to the detriment of other elements that colleges value, but that’s a bit of a speculative leap.