<p>okay the money thing was not meant to be my whole point, but you do not understand the fact that a non-profit still makes money. They use that money to pay employees.</p>
<p>And the reason they changed the SAT was because the University of California School system said it would not accept the SAT as it currently was (just verbal and math)…so collegeboard realizing this huge loss of “customers” had to change it.</p>
<p>I know they don’t make money like a normal corporation, but they still need money to exist.</p>
<p>Maybe my school is easy?? I don’t believe that claim…but even if it was true then it would make a point that some public school students ahve lower SAT scores because they dont have enough SAT review courses.</p>
<p>I know that rich kids at prep school not only have SAT tutors and Kaplan courses, but they also have independent college counselors and pay them thousands to help them get in to a school.</p>
<p>Before you assume about the situation at my school or any other school, learn the facts. Not everyone has the same opportunity and even with studying the SAT is not a normal test.</p>
<p>I don’t think in college you have to sit in one seat for 4 hours straight on a saturday morning at a remote school and be expected to perform your best. If you honestly think the SAT is a predictor of intelligence/college performance, you are mistaken. I do not agree with your opinion but you have the right to your opinion.</p>
<p>Evildictator… honestly, what was your objective with this thread? </p>
<p>I don’t know anything about your stats (and I really don’t care) but by reading what you posted, it seems that rather than overconfident you seem insecure about your credentials.</p>
<p>I still don’t understand how this thread has anything to do with me like my credentials. For the last and final time, I’m basically advocating that kids go to a school that will better fir their specific educational needs rather than attending an ivy institution for prestige, especially if they may have trouble dealing with the courseload.</p>
<p>The OP’s intentions may have been good, but it just seems highly suspicious that a kid who’s about to start applying to colleges randomly starts discouraging others. Given the level of competitiveness that most CC kids exhibit, it’s not surprising that other users were so critical.</p>
<p>“168 problems in 4 days, and 2 books w/ written responses in one week, and other insane hw. dont know about you guys, but i think that’s a pretty tough courseload.”</p>
<p>and this has something to do with high school GPA and SAT scores? No…actually this statement makes it look like the only thing you need to succeed is a good work ethic.</p>
<p>EAD is actually offering good advice in that people should re-evaluate what is best for them. The only thing really missing from his post is that people should reconsider attending even if they have the abilities to do well at Wharton or at any other school specific to their situation.</p>
<p>Again, he’s not discouraging people from applying. Understand that at the very least.</p>
<p>The only other person who seems to be able to comprehend what EAD is trying to say is UCLAri</p>
<p>“He got a 5 on the AP Calculus BC exam, which is one of the hardest AP exams, yet he “only” has a 1900 SAT score.”</p>
<p>I saw this,and just had to say that most kids in my school who take BC get 5s so i never thought of it as a hard exam. </p>
<p>Anyways, I think what the op is trying to say is that if you obviously do not have the stats for Penn (not top 25% of your class, bellow 2000 SAT) you may not be doing the best for your ego by applying and probably being rejected. Not to say people with stats lower than this will not get into Penn, but it’s hard to say how well the, or anyone else, will perform in college. He also raises the point that if you are not mature enough to do the work at a college as cometitive as Penn, then maybe it is best to go to a school that will nurture and help you mature into a strong student. Big research universities are not for everyone. Some people need the extra attention because at 17/18/19 they still are not ready to do everything independantly. </p>
<p>Also, to people who say the SAT is not an indicator of how students perform in college: Why do colleges want you to take it or the ACT? The SAT was made so colleges could have a single ruler to measure applicants. It is a lot better than using GPAs from different schools with different curiculums and curves. Also, I have very smart friends with sub 3.5 GPAs who scored 2200+ on the SATs. They are very smart people who either did not work as hard or had some bad luck in highschool. The SAT shows that they are smart, and the GPA shows that they may not work as hard. If a student spends night and day studying, but still cannot maintain a 3.0 at a decently competitive public school and cannot get above an 1800 SAT, it is possilbe that s/he is not the sharpest tool in the shed. S/he clearly works hard, but does not have much to show from the hours of studying. A person like that would get killed at a place like Penn with a tough curve and a lot of work.</p>
<p>I am a bit confused about this “curve.” What exactly is it? I have a general idea of what it is and I want to see if I’m correct. I think it has something to do with limiting the number of people who can get a certain grade.</p>
<p>points you’re missing. If an applicant can get into penn, even if he is at the low end of the quality of admits, he most likely is getting into other good schools. Someone who can get into penn is still likely applying to all tier 1 universities. Its not as if theres all other schools which have 1 academic courseload, and then theres the ivy league school which have a “step up” in academic difficulty. </p>
<p>You really think that the course load at upenn is necessarily that much harder than at say at a school like Boston College? I highly doubt it. Don’t get wrapped up in the mysticism that the ivy league schools are just a level above everything else. </p>
<p>Also, if a student is going to be in bottom whatever % of his class which you consider to be poor at upenn, what makes you think he’s going to be in the top of his class at another school? Like I said, you’ll find that the top 40 or so schools, and especially the top 25 schools have pretty similiar academic requirements.</p>
<p>Whatever…this is a pointless thread…the OP has never attended Penn and even if he had it’s not really anyone’s prerogative to say those sorts of things.</p>
<p>adidas3130: i’m amazed by your imagination. i’m not dictator, just someone who happens to agree w/ him. if that doesn’t convince you, o well :)</p>
<p>my 2 cents:</p>
<p>i just don’t see what’s so offending about this thread, although the OP may not have the prerequisite to say it. if you are not doing so well in high school because, heck, you don’t have the brains for it, then why bother killing yourself trying to compete w/ some of the brightest kids in the country? i’m SURE there are people who got in penn w/ less than stellar stats but still succeeded in life, but that’s just a much smaller percentage. if someone believes he can do so, that’s perfectly fine too. of course there’s gotta be some D and F kids in penn, but that’s just a natural percentage, an unfavorable one that can’t be helped. it’s totally ok to be a small fish in a big pond, but would you really want to be the smallest fish there? if you love penn and don’t mind being in the bottom 10%, then go for it by all means. i just personally don’t think that’s the brightest move. </p>
<p>btw i’m applying to penn as well. will anyone accuse me of being a hypocrite if i say i’m not trying to eliminate competition by this post? :)</p>
<p>MallomarCookie: i’m just saying if you can’t even handle highschool courseload, then college’s gonna be even tougher. i think it’s more about work ethic; at least i don’t think i can get all those hw done by just working hard.</p>
<p>i guess i should stop wasting my life here, lol</p>
<p>the reason why this thread is obnoxious is because the OP is assuming you get into penn. there arn’t any morons getting into penn and this guy is assuming that the people who get in, but may be on the bottem end of the admissions spectrum “can’t handle it” which is of course bs.</p>
<p>^morons definitely get into every school including Penn and HYP. I’m not sure exactly how this happens but believe me it does. Amazing extracurriculars and the like might make an admissions committee look twice at an otherwise weaker candidate. The fact that some kids who are in Penn now are getting D’s in their classes now are perfect examples of this since they would have probably been suited at a smaller university which would be educationally suited best for them.</p>
<p>Whatever, I’m done arguing in this thread. If you truly believe that colleges should abandon evaluation of GPA’s and SAT’s and place more emphasis on leadership positions in HS and personal qualities like CHARISMA and COMPASSION as a poster on this thread said before, more power to you I guess. American higher education is headed down the tube anyway. China and India, here we come…</p>