Question

If you have a bad gpa, but have a really good SAT or ACT score, would you be more likely to get into a selective school? Or does it not matter at all?

Answer 1

It can help balance out, or so I have heard, but it's best to have both.

Answer 2

Like colleges take a good SAT and bad GPA as you having a bad year or two but you got your stuff together.

Answer 3

But honestly, does SAT scores help at all?
College people are going to think that I just did well on it because it was just simple math that everyone at school could do, cause I'm one year ahead in Math (which I really shouldn't be, you know me)

Answer 4

Of course it helps. If it didn't, they wouldn't ask for it.

Answer 5

Did you know University of Chicago stopped accepting SAT scores?

Answer 6

I think they already realized that it's not really helpful for one test that you could have gotten good luck on by guessing, you know?

Answer 7

Just because one person who smoked and didn't get cancer, doesn't mean there isn't a correlation.

Answer 8

That's a very confusing sentence Let me reread it like ten times

Answer 9

Yeah it's a double negative lol

Answer 10

That's confusing please explain

Answer 11

Person A, B, C, D, E smokes and doesn't get cancer.
Person F, smokes and get cancer.

Just because there is a case, or multiple cases, in which the lack of a causal relationship between two variables (smoking causing cancer) exists, this doesn't nullify the existence of the causal relationship.

Answer 12

Still a double negative but hopefully it sounds better.

Answer 13

Point is, just because Chicago did it, doesn't mean they are right.

Answer 14

I want to say something petty but I won't.
But then if Chicago did it, that means they found like a little correlation or sum shiz about how SAT scores may not correlate with your academic abilities. And the fact that there isn't like alot of drama about it either just shows that other colleges probably believe in it too

Answer 15

You would have to show a study to convince me.

Answer 16

So you're saying I have to do something unnecessary

Answer 17

I am saying if you would want to convince me, you'd need to do so with a study.

Answer 18

https://www.mckendree.edu/academics/scholars/issue18/streetman.htm

Answer 19

https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/USA-Update/2016/0120/Harvard-study-says-SATs-should-be-optional.-Here-s-why

Answer 20

Idk man, I've been getting bad grades and stuff and I want to get into this school, but I feel like they won't accept me at all. ):

Answer 21

So see I have another branched off question:
Does it look better if I have a C in the second hardest class in our school and another class which is honors because it means I'm trying?

Answer 22

https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED563073.pdf

" the SAT was an equally effective or a slightly better predictor of college success than HSGPA. "

If anyone's curious...their hypothesis:

"The main hypothesis under study was that the SAT would be better than HSGPA in predicting high levels of college success, because the SAT measures cognitive performance while HSGPA measures both cognitive and noncognitive factors; and cognitive achievement is reflected more in high FGPAs than in lower FGPAs. "

Answer 23

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/education/nail-biting-standardized-testing-may-miss-mark-college-students

'According to the data, if high school grades are not high, good testing does not promise college success. Students with good grades and modest testing did better in college than students with higher testing and lower high school grades.'

Answer 24

But see @shadow that source is biased because it came from a company that makes the SAT.

Answer 25

I know. That's why I am looking for their p value.

Answer 26

I can't seem to find one, but this provided and analysis of what generalizability this study has for the population.

"The sample consisted of approximately 34,000 students who entered college
in the fall of 1995. The sample was 53 percent female and 47 percent male, and approximately 75 percent white/Caucasian, 10 percent Asian American, 5 percent African American, 5 percent Hispanic, 1 percent Native American, and 4 percent other or unknown. The gender distribution in the sample was very similar to the 1995 population of college-bound seniors; however, the ethnic distribution differed somewhat. The sample had fewer African American and Hispanic students and more white students than the 1995 population."

Also, the link on the article doesn't lead to an actual study..

Answer 27

^Am referring to your 'study'

Answer 28

What did that have to do with anything? I'm stupid LMAO
The Harvard one does.

Answer 29

I went and found it.

https://offices.depaul.edu/enrollment-management-marketing/test-optional/Documents/HISSDefiningPromise.pdf

Looks promising.

Answer 30

Reason it matters is because the article is referring to a study, yet the website linked for the study says it doesn't exist. That's suspicious, so I went and found the actual study.

Answer 31

The original question was if colleges judge only by the grades I get.
I truly try but I don't think they'll understand.
I feel challenged in my classes all the time but I want that credit, I want to show I can try

Answer 32

@lowkey Here is one of their most important points.

"College and university Animeulative GPAs closely track high school GPAs, despite wide variations in testing. Students with strong HSGPAs generally perform wellin college despite modest or low testing. In contrast, students with weak HSGPAs earn lower college Anime GPAs and graduate at lower rates, even with markedly stronger testing. A clear message: hard work and good grades in high school matter, and they matter a lot."

Answer 33

Try to ignore the odd spacing. Am copying and pasting from the study and its a pdf so stuff gets weird.

Answer 34

\[Animeulative = Salsaulative\]

Answer 35

Lmao

Answer 36

@Ultrilliam

Answer 37

I don't know their metric of "performing generally well" is...yet.

Answer 38

i just felt like colleges think I don't put effort into them
cause what matters later is just the grades

Answer 39

what is 'them'

Answer 40

classes

Answer 41

I mean, grades are meant to be the metric to judge your intellect, effort, and potential.

Answer 42

Potential for higher education or capacity in executing that knowledge in a work environment.

Answer 43

So technically grades matter more than SAT?
Oh well, prepare for me to go to College of Dupage LMAOOOOO

'College of DuPage. DuPage is a public college located in Glen Ellyn, Illinois in the Chicago Area. It is a mid-size institution with an enrollment of 9,004 undergraduate students. The DuPage acceptance rate is 100%.
College of DuPage - Niche
https://www.niche.com/colleges/college-of-dupage/'

Answer 44

I was going to tell a story of when my friends and I applied to a 100% college, but let's just say...they really are 100%. Lol.

Answer 45

Wait tell me LMAO

Answer 46

And my dumb butt thought my dream school was stanford. LMAOOOO SIKE

Answer 47

https://my.cappex.com/hq/scattergram/results?consideringCollegeIds=204796&collegeId=204796

This website has a graph of the people admitted into a college. The x-axis is SAT/ACT scores while the y-axis is GPA. It plots dots of red+green for accepted and not-accepted.

Here is one for my college Ohio State University.

If the site says you need to create an account, just enter the college you want but PUT IN A FAKE EMAIL ADDRESS and fake all of your personal info, they don't need it (screw them).

Answer 48

lol

Answer 49

Thank you Chen, looks like a valuable resource.