<p>I am from a large public school in Southern Virginia. The average SAT score from my school is a 1310… and thats not out of 1600. The average is 1310/2400. </p>
<p>Therefore, I was wondering if colleges, such as Columbia (my first choice “far reach”), would take into consideration that my SAT scores may be “nationally low”, but are wonderful within my highschool and slightly higher than average for my state. </p>
<p>Don’t take me for naive, though, because I do plan to apply to probable and safety schools, such as New York U, Boston U, William and Mary, and UVA. I would just like everyone’s honest opinion about whether Ivy league schools take average highschool or state SAT scores and compare them to your own. Thank you!</p>
<p>I would look at the ED results thread so you can really see a (admittedly not representative, but still quite large) spread of SAT scores. The range as I remembered it started around 1900 (special cases, of course). Depending on what kind of a candidate you are otherwise, they may be able to look past it.</p>
<p>Though personally I would say unless you are at least significantly above the school average, there’s probably not much you could do that would keep you in the running… :\ Good luck either way!</p>
<p>SATs are one of the only things that objectively defines your education. I’m not saying it does a good job of it, but it’s the best thing Columbia has got. </p>
<p>If they wanted to compare you to the rest of the school, they would use your rank-- not your SAT score. Of course having a low SAT score will not automatically disable you from being accepted, but I would suggest bringing it up if you can. How your school did will not be sent in with your application. And, if it was, Columbia wouldn’t really care.</p>
<p>Of course, they’ll consider your SAT score in the context of your school, race, gender, class, and community. But context only goes so far; if your scores don’t demonstrate you can handle the college workload, you’re unlikely to get in.</p>
<p>Thank you all very much for your detailed responses! They really helped a lot. I’m around a 2000 SAT score, and planning on early decision. I also plan to bring my SAT’s up in the near future, but of course nothing is guaranteed! Columbia is just a dream school for me, but I could honestly be just as happy at NYU or UVA. Thank you again!</p>
Thank you again!</p>