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same as the title...

does anyone know how much the adcoms look at your sat scores (if they are good and solid, but not amazing)? is a huge weight put on SATs?

more specifically, (i know that noone REALLY knows, but from what you have heard/noticed in Penn students) if a student has stellar grades, ecs, recs, etc. how do the SATs would play a factor in admissions (ED to be exact)?

(specifically SAT score in the low 1400s and sat2s between 680-720)?

By Bartoastt (Bartoastt) on Tuesday, September 21, 2004 - 04:03 pm: Edit

to be frank, having a great score will not get you in anywhere. not that much emphasis is placed on it..the way that it works, as far as i know, is that as long as you have a score thats within a decent range, then you're fine and it wont hurt your application. i know people who have gotten into penn with 1330's and who have gotten into dartmouth with a 1310. I know a kid who got into yale with a 1420 and two girls that got into duke with 1270 and a 1300. they dont care too much about scores. as long as your score doesnt hurt your application, even having a 1600 wont help you that much. (as seen by however many 1600's that the ivies reject every year) the adcoms care more about your gpa and course load. having a low 1400's score is FINE. everyone on these boards puts wayyy too much emphasis on scores. penn will care more about your courses, gpa, and other factors than about a few points on the SAT. a 1400 and up is great, dont let anyone convince you otherwise.

By Crazykidd (Crazykidd) on Tuesday, September 21, 2004 - 04:19 pm: Edit

umm sorry...people deprecate scores a little too much sometimes...they are still very important in admission decisions...though nothing tops the transcript, ec's, scores, essays, recommendations are all weighted pretty equally in the decision...having low scores but great ec's to make up for it is fine, but having high scores will certainly help you a great deal, that cannot be denied...and about this 1600 business, the reason its toted as such a meaningful stat is because it amazes everyone so much; however, that can't be misinterpreted to mean scores don't matter...they matter just as much as everything else; if you fit into a decent range they won't hurt/help you; if your below theyll hurt you, if your above theyll help you

By Drake (Drake) on Wednesday, September 22, 2004 - 04:36 am: Edit

If you have :::okay::: (not bad) sat scores, then it won't matter much as long as you have a great transcript and great satII scores.
People sometimes forget about the importance of satIIs, they are just as relevant as the sats.

That said you should bring up those satII scores so that everything is 700+ (unless if that 680 is a foreign language). For a even better chance, a 740-750 average SATII score will likely mean that your scores are good enough to offset your slighly low sat score, if coupled with good grades.

If that can be the case, then you probably have a good shot at Penn in terms of the :::academic:::: part of admissions.


p.s.- just what i think...im not a penn student myself!

By Fingercuffs2006 (Fingercuffs2006) on Wednesday, September 22, 2004 - 12:08 pm: Edit

According to the lady giving an information session at Penn this past summer, "Test scores aren't as important as most people believe they are, but they are more important than you'd probably like them to be."

She went on to say that this year they admitted less than half of those with a perfect SAT that applied, and they also admitted one student who scored below a 1000 on the SAT. There is no formula for admission, but a higher score helps.

She also added that they are "not at all impressed when a student lists 'SAT Prep' as an extracurricular activity."

By Fushia183 (Fushia183) on Wednesday, September 22, 2004 - 10:01 pm: Edit

any more??!

By Regulus (Regulus) on Wednesday, September 22, 2004 - 10:46 pm: Edit

Once you pass 1300 you should be fine; however, 1450+ gives you an edge. This is my personal opinion btw.

By Chocoman (Chocoman) on Wednesday, September 22, 2004 - 11:21 pm: Edit

the college adcom that went to my school said he only cares with sat 2s above 600. hes the philadelphia regional director and they have to accept kids with lower scores here though.

By Fushia183 (Fushia183) on Thursday, September 23, 2004 - 04:30 pm: Edit

wait? so he only cares of scores are 600 or better? meaning, a 680-720 range is okay?

By Regulus (Regulus) on Thursday, September 23, 2004 - 04:48 pm: Edit

From my understanding, testing scores are more of a way to weed out people, not as a direct measure of their capability. As long as you break a certain threshold (1300 on the SAT and 600 on the SATII's) you should be okay. However, having amazing scores across the board will no doubt help your case if your admission is a coin-toss situation.

By Dressagechick (Dressagechick) on Thursday, September 23, 2004 - 05:27 pm: Edit

The college adminssions officer that came to my school said that he spends 10s looking and thinking about your scores and a lot more time looking at your transcript. He told us not to stress too much about them, since they're not the major factor.

By Liquidfox (Liquidfox) on Thursday, September 23, 2004 - 06:11 pm: Edit

taken that most decisions take less than three minutes (after the filing department has condensed you to a card) for the admissions commitee, that isn't very reassuring Dressage. One line should be read and analyzed much faster than a list of 30.

Scores are equally important, and a valedictorian with horrible sat scores will be out just as fast as a near-perfect/perfect with horrible grades.

Take it from me, I know from experience: In my school, it's a tradition for the top 3 people in my school to have a biography of their high school career displayed to the student body.
All three were with near perfect or perfect scores and ECs and all three went to Harvard. This is just about how the "bios" are every year, with all three being 1500+ 99% of the time...except for 2002. In 2002, we had a valedictorian who of course had great grades as well as great ECs, but her SAT was a 1330.
She went to UM, a average private university near the school. Granted, she obviously got good financial aid there, but if she had better scores then she could have gotten into Harvard or Princeton, where financial aid is given generously to all who need it.

I'm no expert, but that's what I think. Take it how you will.

p.s.- i know i have bad grammar in this post..thanks!