Anyone received their May 5th SAT score reports yet? ***GOT MINE TODAY***

[jaybert]

SAT II you can miss around 6 or 7 questions and still get an 800.

 

[bmd]

Well, whatever it was, I ended up with a 750 getting only 2 wrong and leaving no blanks. Crazy ETS / College Board / whoever.

 

[Fermilevel]

Perhaps you should read these links before getting yourselves all worked up over a test that doesn't mean a whole lot.
Colleges: In California, the SATs Face a New Test
Colleges reject top applicants, taking only those likely to enroll
How To Face College Rejection Letters (see second link)

The ability to score high on a test says nothing about the ability of a student to learn or perform well in academia.

 

[bmd]

<< a test that doesn't mean a whole lot >>



First off, no one is getting &quot;all worked up&quot;, we are just discussing our results / experiences w/ the test.

Secondly, this test DEFINITELY counts, although some public colleges in CA might make SATs optional (big deal, those aren't the most restrictive schools anyway). Though the SAT may not be an indicator of intelligence it most definitely is a major factor for colleges when deciding who to accept.

 

[beer]

And for schools like UT Austin w/ 50,000+ students, they don't require essays or recomendations, and the only factors affecting your admission on the whole are class rank and GPA.

 

[Kosugi]

SAT's mean nothing.


After they &quot;recentered&quot; the tests back about 8 years ago, just about everybody who took them received an extra 200-250 points. For me, that just means that the tests are artificially elevated, and thus useless overall.

Many universities are pondering dropping the SAT as a consideration for entrance. I suggest they do that.

At one time, getting a 1600 on the SAT meant a whole lot, but not anymore. You can get a perfect score, and still miss questions. Why does that make sense to anyone?

 

[bmd]

<< For me, that just means that the tests are artificially elevated, and thus useless overall >>


Yeah, if everyone gets the exact same boost that ruins their ability to compare students relative to eachother...



<< At one time, getting a 1600 on the SAT meant a whole lot, but not anymore >>


ARE YOU SERIOUS?!?!?! A 1600 doesn't mean a whole lot? There is only one person in my entire grade in one of the best high schools in the state that got a 1600. I say that's pretty ******* impressive.

 

[MonstaThrilla]

A math wiz a year older than me got an 800 on Math (and mid-600's in verbal) and a 5 on the AP Calc AB test and got into Cornell with that. He was ranked 14th out of 200 or so (not Cornell material usually) and was so piss poor in extracurriculars that he couldn't even make the National Honor Society. But his math testing ability got him into Cornell, so I'd say that great test scores do help immensely.

As for me, 700 Math/730 Verbal and a 5 on the AP U.S. History test and I got into Georgia Tech (where I will go), Vanderbilt, and Washington U. of St. Louis (great, but not very known university). BUT, I was rejected to Cornell, Rice, and Northwestern. That might be because I didn't bother to interview with any of them, but oh well. Tech was my first choice, I got accepted before I even started to fill out most of my apps, and I should have quit right there, but I probably would have gone to Cornell if they accepted me...

 

[Thanatopsis]

<< SAT's mean nothing. >>



SAT's do not mean everything. However, they do not mean nothing either. Ivy League and other top schools do not accept people based on their SAT or ACT scores alone. It is more of a requirement, showing them that you are good enough to come to their school. Sure, they might get an application from a kid with a great essay, good grades, but a pisspoor SAT score. To them, that kid would probably not be legit, or able to handle their workload. On the other hand, just having a 1500+ SAT score does not distinguish you from thousands of other applications to their school. As I heard one MIT admissions person say, (not verbatim) we could discard our entire freshmen class and reselect them from the remaining pool of applicants, and still come up with an outstanding class. Sometimes, its luck of the draw. Just remember SAT and ACT scores are merely one measure of a person, not a guarantee or a complete assessment of the individual.