Hello group, I need some guidance.
my D has a decent academic profile, but have a C in Calculus. She has a overall SAT score of 1420, with Math being 730. Applying to USC, and maybe even Stanford (super reach), would sending the SAT score of 1420, with math being 730 helpful even though its on the lower end of the SAT range for these colleges ? And both being test optional. Or better to not send at all. Just wanted to check if Math SAT score would help offsite the math calculus grade weakness. Please provide your thought.
That score will not be helpful for either school - neither the total nor math score.
I would not send it.
I don’t know your students overall profile but I suspect both are high reaches given what you’ve said.
Good luck.
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thanks for the input. One clarification. Would it atleast help to offset the weaker calculus grade in 11th ? would a math sat score of 730 help offset calculus C grade. Understand the overall SAT score is weak for those two schools.
High SAT scores don’t offset a low grade any more than a high grade offsets a low SAT score
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What does that mean? A C in Math is unlikely to be overcome, with or without test scores. I think you’d need to be looking at a 780-800 for it to have any kind of impact (if at all). Does she have AP scores? That is more likely to help IMO.
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Not really. What is the average at her school (that 1430 will be evaluated differently if her school’s average is 850-1000 or if it’s 1250), what math is she taking this year and what major is she thinking of?
Frankly, a C in anything makes Stanford impossible unless she took the test and got a 4-5 or if she has a specific profile (ie., “passionate about languages, has AP scores of 5 for 3 of them plus self study of Ancient Greek, plans to double major in Hispanic Studies and Classics, has won national awards for doing sth with them”…Or if if she’s applying for some form of Art for which she’s already publicly known nationally… they could overlook the C because it would be offset by something really significant.)
Normally the 730 would suffice - public flagships, national universities ranked 40+, LACs ranked 30-75, etc.
Why Stanford and USC?
We may be able to suggest universities that are similar enough, would value the M730, and where the C wouldn’t be a deal breaker.
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Most students don’t even take Calc in 11th; however, that 1420 is not going to help her. I wouldn’t send that SAT scored. Understand that both schools are a long shot, Stanford is over-reaching.
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Unfortunately the 730 is not a high score for either school. It’s below USC’s 25th percentile.
Perhaps you should do a chance me or match me.
You say USC, I say Syracuse :).
If you have a full list, you might want to get opinions to ensure you are calibrating properly.
Nothing is more important than your safeties.
Good luck.
Thanks for all the replies. Very helpful. More context:
Major - Psychology
Prefers to stay in-state (CA). Understand Stanford and USC are reaches, but wanted to give a shot.
Very strong extra curricular profile, and with good personal essays (Genuine, and reflects well).
Many college courses, especially in Psych are A ,and Statistics is A too (college courses).
Outside of UC’s, wanted to check with this situation, what other choices would be good. Out -of state we are limiting to Reach/Targets - like
UMass
Gtech
UMCP
Purdue
ASU
Ohio State
Any other recommendations please.
What is her gpa unweighted and weighted ?
Some of those schools are very far from CA.
If she likes USC, I wasn’t kidding about Syracuse. It’s cold but so is some of your list.
That C in calculus will be a problem for Purdue, and I’d expect for GT as well.
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unweighted GPA is 3.67
Weighted GPA - not able to find based how to get this for ouside UC colleges. for UC, I think it comes to around 4.0.
Course work -
11 Dual enrollment College courses (from 9th through 11th) - completed. all
2 AP courses - A’s
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Large public universities are not going to weigh ECs the way privates would. Most use a combination of (GPAĂ—rigorĂ—scores) weighted +(ECs, essays, etc) - UCs and CSUs are a bit different.
If she wants Big 10/large public with football/sports culture, I would replace GTech with UGA (she has a better shot); Penn State Schreyer (honors) would look at rigor and ECs but it’s one of the top honors colleges and the application is extensive with few days to get everything sent so you get the link for the SRAR so it’s in by Nov1; I would add University of Iowa with its automatic admission process (*).
Virginia Tech and NCSU may be more accessible than Georgia Tech if you want Tech universities, though for Psych it’s not necessary and in fact 2 majors with more or less math, more statistics or not… Would likely be useful to her.
Replace Purdue with University of Indiana (probably better for Psychology anyway).
Most would not have significant scholarships so make sure to run the NPC.
Clark (excellent for Psych, likely) in MA is likely to offer significant scholarships to someone with a 730M, enough rigor for UCs, and excellent ECs, but is smaller and not sports-focused.
(*) A 255 RAI score automatically qualifies you for OOS admission to Psychology. No tricks no wait. There IS an Honors college these students can apply to.
https://www.iowaregents.edu/institutions/higher-education-links/regent-admission-index/rai-calculator
https://honors.uiowa.edu/
It could be good to have since UCs are so competitive.
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You are hoping that the C in calculus will somehow be outshone by other parts of your daughter’s application. At some places…it might. But sticking to your thread subject…this is highly unlikely at either Stanford or USC. Apply if she would like, but make sure she understands she might not get accepted.
UMass- possible
Gtech- the C won’t be ingored…in my opinion.
UMCP- apply early action. This school accepts over 90% of its incoming class in the EA round.
Purdue I don’t think the C will be ignored here either.
ASU I think ASU will be fine. @tsbna44
Ohio State maybe.
What instate options are you considering?
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I’m curious: why did she take calc in 11th grade? Had she done the necessary prerequisites? Is the C in calc an outlier?
Also wondering how you chose her out-of-state options. G-tech and Purdue seem like odd choices for someone with a C in calc and desire to major in psychology. Has she considered closer-to-CA state schools like UNR, Utah, CU Boulder, Oregon?
I really can’t see Stanford or USC happening–unless there is some extraordinary story behind the scenes. But depending on her GPA and what else she’s done, there are plenty of options in California that could happen. University of the Pacific and Santa Clara both come to mind. University of San Francisco, too. And if she doesn’t mind a Christian school, Pepperdine has a very strong psych department.
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So yes to UMASS, target to UMD, and yes to OSU and a definite yes to ASU.
I’d suspect Purdue is possible given the major.
She picked USC and Stanford. Very different than the rest of the list - so why doesn’t the rest of the list match ? A Syracuse and U Denver or William & Mary as examples.
And if she wants to stay in state, why schools so far away? For a psych degree the where will likely not matter.
You have UCs, CSUs and close to CA schools in Arizona, Oregon, and Nevada.
Her choice but given geographical desires it seems an impractical list.
Also - any budget concerns ?
Good luck.
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Then why the lengthy list of OOS public universities that are far away? I agree with others. There are plenty of OOS publics nearer to CA than the ones you have listed. CO, OR, WA, UT, AZ, NM.
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Even for non-engineering? Purdue regularly accepts kids with sub 3.6 GPAs from our school.
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Seems a lot of schools in the list are strong in STEM. Why not IU-Bloomington instead of Purdue?
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Certainly less important than for engineering, but Purdue’s psych degree is a BS degree in the College of Health and Human Services, and the major has more math and science requirements than other universities.
I agree with the suggestion to look at IU instead of Purdue.
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