Low SAT score, but top notch GPA at the number one school in MA

Chance Me / Match Me
1

I want to apply to 9 colleges, but I’m exactly sure whether I’ll get accepted a couple of them and I think I should narrow my results down.
-UConn
-UMass Amherst
-RIT
-WPI
-RPI
-Northeastern
-NYU Poly
-Stony Brook (SUNY)
-University at Buffalo (SUNY)

I want to major in engineering (not sure which branch, but I can decide until sophomore year of college), but I have a big concern with my SAT score. Its summer right now, so I’m planning on studying for the SAT, but I’m very nervous about my CR score. Overall, I have about a 1500 which is just average, and some of the colleges I listed above aren’t going to be impressed.

CR: 400 Math: 690 Writing: 540

I know I can improve my math score because its my strongest subject, and I know that I can improve my writing because I can now score a 10 on the essay very easily. However, I have a VERY big concern with my CR score because its all vocab and reading which I am very weak at. I’m not sure if I’m capable of memorizing all the vocabulary because its all flashcards, mnemonics, and visual images which don’t usually stick in my mind often. Any advice as to how I should study SAT vocabulary? And no, I’ve heard that BUYING SAT flashcards don’t help.
Also, I’ve been told by many people that the SAT passages are tricky and that you will only improve once you get used to reading A LOT of books. However, other people keep saying that its not all about reading books, its all about practice. I can’t decide which one to do. Is it a better idea that I read several articles each day, read a few pages of a book, and do some practice CR sections untimed for each day?

Now onto the positive part. I go to an IB school in MA. Its a Charter schools too and it has been ranked #1 in MA (I’m not trying to brag, I’m just trying to make a point). The classes I take are Higher Level Math, Physics, and Latin. Standard Level classes are Art, English, and World History (yes, I take the full diploma). My GPA for junior year is about a 3.6 or a 3.7 unweighted. My weighted I calculated with an online calculator showing IB as a weighted course says that I have an weighted GPA is around a 4.5 or so. I’m not if I trust that, but I’ll just say that it is. I was part of Engineering Club junior year and I was a peer tutor/helper of a 10th grade High Honors math course. Over the summer, I’m going to be volunteering at a Senior Center playing the role as a tech person or something that involves setting up for events (I don’t know, I’m still deciding). Next year, I’m planning on doing Key Club next year, Engineering Club, and being part of Prom Committee (that’s a maybe). For sports, I played JV for the last 3 years, and now I’m finally being recruited into the Varsity Squad (we’re a Division 3, so we’re not totally an athletic school). I’m working on my College Essay over the summer as well as completing some of the common app. Another big concern is whether or not I can get a Merit Scholarship. I don’t think my family can get financial aid because of immigration reasons I think.

I’m not slacking off or taking the easy way by not studying for CR, but could NYU, Northeastern, and RPI accept that I get a 550 on CR and the math and writing being at the high 600s or 700s? Some people say that colleges look at students holistically, but I don’t think those top colleges I want to get into are going to understand some of my background life and characteristics about myself because there are basically thousands of kids applying to that school hoping for the same thing I have. Could they look a lot more deeper with SAT subject tests than the SAT I? I’m taking the SAT Math Level 2 again (hoping for a 700+) and the SAT Physics again (hoping for a 700 at least because we’re going to learn new material senior since I had no clue what magnetism and nuclear physics was all about).

2

Also, do any of you think I should narrow my college choices? I feel like 9 colleges are too much. Do any of you have any suggestions as to which college(s) I should cross of and which college to consider. I want to keep at the East Coast, but my parents are forcing me to stick with Massachusetts colleges since we live here :((. I keep telling them I want to go to NY colleges, but they don’t freaking listen to me! There are a lot more opportunities in NY and even better, Florida (Florida Institute of Tech)

3

Math HL but only 690. How o.0

4

Well, critical reading is what you want focus on. Not only because it’s your weak subject, but because colleges look at that heavily. Many STEM colleges will only look at your CR & Math scores and will cut out your writing. Now, that doesn’t mean you should not even try on writing, definitely try and improve it. But, I’m just saying, CR is serious. What is the hardest part for you? Is it slow reading or the vocab? If it’s the vocab, what I did was just not look at the answers and try and think of my own words for the blank, then look at the answer choices and look for whatever word is closest to that meaning. Look for familiar roots, prefixes, suffixes etc. And make sure you look at the keywords to know if the two words should relate or kind of contrast. So words like “Although, because” etc.

For the reading, this advice I received from a Huntington Prep teacher, (my school offered a free crash course from her because she’s a teacher) was absolutely crucial for me. She told us to read the first and last paragraphs fully and read the first sentence ONLY of every paragraph in between. Skip the main idea questions and answer the ones that ask you to go to certain lines specifically. By the time you finish those questions, you’ve basically read the passage. Reading it before and after is redundant unless you have a spectacular memory. After answering those questions, return to the main idea questions you skipped. Only do this for the long passages, though. And, by the way, don’t skip past the text in italics before the passage. That is CRUCIAL information.

Hope this helped. Good luck.

5

I can definitely improve on that part, but I kind of regret not having a good sleep because that was what affected my score

6

Are you considered instate for the UMASS schools? If you are, you might want to add Lowell and maybe Dartmouth to the list. You’re applying for a very competitive major, which will put you at a disadvantage, and I believe the UMASS schools focus on Math+CR (at least, I know they do when looking at the honors colleges). But your GPA puts you within range, and if they’re familiar with your school, that might add a bit to your application. In-state tuition also might be your most affordable option, as your SAT scores probably won’t bring much in the way of merit aid (unless you end up qualifying for a lot of need-based financial aid, in which case a private school could end up being cheaper).

Have you considered taking the ACT? And can you use your sport to your advantage?

7

One of my friend got into UConn, and my uncle told me that he got offered instate tuition because of his honors classes he takes. I take the IB diploma so that’s a huge advantage

8

SpringAwake15, I am considered instate for the UMass schools, but I don’t want to go to Lowell and Darmouth since I didn’t really like much of the campus. Also, since Amherst has an honors course, I think its a lot better personally. Lowell is almost of a college that isn’t that course rigorous and is kind of like a college that emphasizes sports. Darmouth I just don’t even go there

9

Also, I’ve been told by my uncle because he knows a lot about whats going on with my college process and my immigration status, we are going to be qualified for financial aid, so lets just focus on whether I can get accepted if I get a 1900 or so on the SAT (550 CR) and not focus so much on the cost. I have a great GPA, but would colleges accept the fact that I tried my absolute best on CR?

10

I can definitely understand not liking Lowell’s campus. I wouldn’t dismiss it as less rigorous, though. I’m also 99% sure that the Amherst honors college is based on your combined SAT Math+CR score. So while I can understand it being a plus (though Lowell has an honors college too), you might not want to make it a deciding factor.

You could try seeing if any of the non-UMASS state schools offer engineering. While your friend got a great deal at UCONN, I wouldn’t bank on that always being the case, even with your IB classes.

Does your school use Naviance? The scattergrams there would probably be helpful to you.

11

@SpringAwake15 Have you taken a look at what colleges I’m going to be apply to? I can tell you for certain, that I can improve my SAT CR score to probably a 550. Now although you may say that there isn’t a 100% guarantee that I could get into NYU, Northeastern, and RPI, I’m giving it a try. Heck, they say practice makes perfect, and I totally believe that. Also, since I’m getting emails and mail letters from RPI mentioning their visiting days, are they sending me this because they really want me to apply, or are they just being what colleges are…businesses in which they want money. I’ve been told that many people who get these kinds of mail letters have a higher chance of getting into college, but I don’t think that’s true.

12

The mid 50% of admitted students at Northeastern on the SAT CR section is 660-740. As an Asian American you will not get a hook anywhere.

You need to get over the attitude that UMass Lowell is not good enough for you and hope that you are good enough for UMass Lowell.

13

@TomSrOfBoston, I’ve spoken to a friend of mine who is a professor at Northeastern, Mr. Chen, and he told me that its not about SAT scores. What matters is that they see me holistically. Now, I don’t know about NYU, but he said that it works with all colleges. Sure, my SAT critical reading score isn’t what they’re looking for, but I might have a chance. He also said that theres a NU-in program in which you go oversees for the first semester, and then back to NU for the second semester of freshman year. I’m not even going near UMass Lowell since there aren’t a lot of choices for engineering majors; it would be great if there were more engineering majors, that way, I can actually have more breathing room as to which branch major of engineering to select. Other than that, my safety schools are UConn, UMass Amherst, and University at Buffalo (SUNY). Not even thinking about the other UMass schools besides Amherst.

14

I’ll never say that anything is impossible, but Northeastern is going to be a high reach, even with a 550. They’ve been working hard to rise in the ranks, so anyone who manages to get in with a CR score under their twenty-fifth percentile is going to need a major hook. You also have to realize that engineering is the “major of the day;” a lot of highly-qualified students want to go into that field. You’ll likely be competing against a more competitive pool of students than the statistics let on. I’ll never tell someone not to go for it, but it’ll be an uphill battle.

I’m not as well-versed in NYU and RPI, but if your SAT ends up being low for them, I would consider them reaches as well. Emails from a school don’t really mean anything, unfortunately. And while “holistic admissions” can give a boost, they’re not going to replace the scores that the school explicitly states that the majority of their first-year admitted students meet.

Also, a cursory Google search leads me to think that the SAT score you’re shooting for is just about at the 25th percentile for most of your safeties. An ideal safety is somewhere where your stats are above the school’s average (and you know you can afford it). None of us can make you add schools, obviously, and without a final SAT score it’s hard to say what schools would fit that bill. But that might be something you want to keep in mind.

15

@SpringAwake15 Would you consider RIT, WPI, UMass Amherst, SUNY Buffalo, and UConn as possible college choices? And also, if you have read any comments before, I apologize to those people for my bad temper and stress. Its just been a stressful thing that I’ve been trying to handle and again, I just want to say sorry. Do you think that I can improve my CR score by 200 points. Its easier said than done, but is it possible? If so, what would be your best strategy to reading passages and handling vocab? Should I read books and articles, or should do practice more than reading non-SAT material?

16

@BioTech36 Thanks for the advice. And this may sound odd, but do you know by any chance if I should say read books/articles or do practice tests AND read books/articles? There are many different strategies that work for different people, but in your opinion, which one seems like a better strategy tip for studying?

17

@rohank10, no worries. I understand you’re in a stressful situation. Other posters might have different perspectives, but I’m hesitant to consider them possible matches just because you don’t know what your final SAT scores are. Like I said, as it stands, they’re basically all reaches. That could change, but I think it’s dangerous to consider the “maybes” without preparing for the worst-case scenario, which is why I would really recommend having a few actual backups on your list.

Is it possible to raise your CR score 200 points? Yes, though like you said, it’ll be difficult. How can you do that? I honestly can’t answer that, because I didn’t have the same problem. I believe there’s a forum on here specifically for SAT advice. Asking there, or browsing through existing threads, would probably be of more benefit to you.