Stupid ass question about college acceptance'y stuff

[Elmer the Pointy]

800 English (reading, writing)
800 Math

when I took it

[Gafgarionn]

All the tests are now out of 2400 with the new writing section, but it's too early for colleges to base acceptance off of it since they're brand new. Don't worry about the writing, I think most colleges still look at your score out of 1600.

[Kuya]

Good luck with that Zylo, so glad im out of that shit already. But now i have to write a essay, go through two interviews, and pretty much over inflate everything i did for the last 4 years to get into some sort of Honors program.

I gotta learn a 3rd language(sp)to. :/

[edgarfigaro]

All the tests are now out of 2400 with the new writing section, but it's too early for colleges to base acceptance off of it since they're brand new. Don't worry about the writing, I think most colleges still look at your score out of 1600.

It's the third year of the new test, and most selective colleges already made applicants take the SAT II writing exam...so it's not really that new to begin with anyways. They look at it, trust me. Considering anyone with a somewhat tenuous grasp of the english language can score a 600 on that portion, it's basically there to give your score an extra "umph."

[thestalkmore]

My brother was accepted into CalPoly like halfway through his senior year based pretty much on his test scores and past grades. He started slacking hardcore because he knew he was getting in. Not sure how they caught wind, but CalPoly sent him a letter saying basically "bring your grades back up or else you're not getting in here."

I live in San Luis Obispo

Edit: Anyone go to Berkely, Stanford, or UCLA on these forums? I NEED TO DECIDE.

[Daahan]

People think that colleges put the most stock in ACT and SAT grades these days. That's not the case. The grades that you get and the classes that you take are the most important for colleges. ACT and SAT scores are also important, but colleges usually those as border line deciders.

[Osede]

it depends on which college u gonna apply to. Unless it is some top university like berkeley, ann arbor those school. The time when I apply to wisconsin as international student, the first thing they told me the reason I got reject is my loltoefl not qualified XD

well... then the SUNY now i study, they even accept those international student who got lower than the acceptance toefl score, and just need take some more ESL classes. so, the SAT should also be the same thing..

[Ichthyos]

Edit: Anyone go to Berkely, Stanford, or UCLA on these forums? I NEED TO DECIDE.

i didn't, but went to mit over cal and stanford. there are obviously a lot of factors to consider, but...

- what are you looking for most in college?
- do you know what you might want to study? some schools are known for certain programs/departments.
- if you play a sport or are involved in some other extracurricular that you'd like to continue in, it might be worth looking into the programs/student groups/etc that are at the school.
- how large of a school do you want to go to?
- how close to / far away from home do you want to be?
- how much tuition will you be comfortable paying / how much will your parents be helping out with?
- considerations about public vs private schools - class sizes, competition to get into high-demand classes, relationships with professors, availability of various resources, housing, etc.
- will you have a car? if not, it's good to consider the transportation options that students have to get off campus.

anyway this is just the tip of the iceberg, but i hope it helps.

[Nirokun!]

im a nursing student, and if i could do it all over again knowing the things i know now, i'd attend the community college 15mins away from my house, and get my license(sp?) in 2-3 years.

i wasnt a nursing student to begin with, i was bio for premed and i came to find out that it wasnt the thing i wanted to do. so i ended up taking harder classes than i needed (but still applied to my nursing pre-reqs luckily), took bad advise, and in the end, im leaving my state science and tech university to go to that little community college to get my license. The whole thing will probably take 4-5 years, what i could have done in 2-3 sad

the reputation of the college/university you go to only applies to some majors. personally, for nursing, it doesnt really matter (at least for me). i'll get my license and be able to start working whether i went to that community college, or that prestigious university. why? nurse shortages

this about the competition for jobs in your field of interest, and decide whether or not a prestigious school is adventageous for you or not

[Devek]

I can't imagine anyone looking at a resume and think "Oh he dropped out of high school.... but he got a 4.0 at POS Community College. That's better than finishing high school!"

I don't even put what high school I went to on my resume much less my GPA.

Once you start looking at jobs that are not fast food.. no one cares if you went to high school much less how well you did. You could say you got a 4.0 at "foobar high school" and no one in the world would actually check it.

[edgarfigaro]

People think that colleges put the most stock in ACT and SAT grades these days. That's not the case. The grades that you get and the classes that you take are the most important for colleges. ACT and SAT scores are also important, but colleges usually those as border line deciders.

You're both right and wrong. You're right in that grades and strength of class schedule are the two top criteria, but you're wrong in that ACT/SAT scores are much more important than any admissions officer will admit. 1st off, ACT/SAT scores and AP/IB scores if available are used to differentiate between a 4.0 at a weak highschool that hands out high grades versus a strong magnet school with tons of competition. 2nd, and more importantly, there is tremendous pressure to keep the average scores the same or higher because they play a large part in the college rankings by the US News. Colleges would rather take someone with outstanding test scores and decent grades than someone with outstanding grades and a below their average SAT score.

That said, the best thing to do that you control completely in terms of college is to take the hardest courseload possible. If your school doesn't offer AP/IB courses, see if you can take some courses at the local community college. Don't take a free period, that just makes you look like a slacker.

Oh, and don't goto Duke until the group of 88 recants.

[thestalkmore]

Word to the SAT/ACT thing. SAT/ACT/SAT II's are probably #1 or #2 in deciding factors. The rest are just platitudes.