Would 1580-->1600 SAT make a difference? & other UChicago admissions questions

BrianBoiler
Tue, 07 Jan 2020 13:29:45 +0000

I’m not expert on what schools will take, just a casual observer who managed to watch my son navigate the process at UChicago and became interested in the whole college admissions process. However, I would suspect that any university would look at a 1580 as equal to a 1600, especially in a “took it once” scenario. Great Job. Like others have said, make your essays superior. They should be filled with examples or evidence that “You + target University = World a Better Place.” I’m a strong believer that in holistic admissions, the stats portion (test scores and GPA) get you invited to the party. But it is the rest of the application that gets you asked to stay around and join the club. Schools are looking for world changers and body of knowledge shapers. They are trying to admit you for what you will do, not for what you have done. Your application needs to tell them that you haven’t peaked. Your stats are historical, your essays and your Letters of Recommendation tell the AOs what you will do in the future. Similarly, these schools give you a few optional vehicles to tell your story. At UChicago it is an optional video, at Northwestern an optional Alumni Interview, other schools offer extra essays. Each one of these optional vehicles are opportunities for you to make your case. If you have one or two target schools, I always suggest putting a ton of effort in these. I think you will find that there are many examples of 4.0 UW GPA 1600 SAT scores outright rejected and plenty of stories of 3.7 UW GPA and 1400 SAT scores accepted (regardless of the application round). That tells me that it is all in the essay, LOR’s and optional video that make the difference.