Its not completely impossible. The main key you should know is that for Business, Math isn't the end-all thing colleges look for. I was naive enough to think that, and later found out that a 680 on Critical Reading doesn't cut it =/. Stay well balanced on the SAT, and you should have a good shot at Wharton.
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Its not completely impossible. The main key you should know is that for Business, Math isn't the end-all thing colleges look for. I was naive enough to think that, and later found out that a 680 on Critical Reading doesn't cut it =/. Stay well balanced on the SAT, and you should have a good shot at Wharton.
Well at the start of this year I took the PSAT and got a 570/450/580 (a 1620 altogether)
Is that even considered good for a 9th grader? Does anyone know the general improvement one would get from 9th to 12th grade? (I heard it was somewhere between 100-150 points per section, so I might get around the 2000's if that is true)
I took them again last month so I hope I improved (mostly in math)
But god.... U.Penn seems like an impossible dream now.
I should look into a different business school. Any suggestions for a good business school that might be more in my league?
edit: I might get my scores in a month... I doubt this thread will still be active, but I can at least see if I improved at all.
I'll give you credit that you beat my freshmen scores, so you can definitely get into the 2100-2200 range. You can easily get to 800 in math if you find the right tutor. I wouldn't worry too much about writing compared to critical reading. If you get pretty good at the reading section, so would your writing a bit. Bottom line: try to improve that reading score as much as possible as it's the hardest thing to improve.
Sadly I am too lazy to read more... I will have to have my parents force me to read since that is one of the surefire ways to improve your reading score.
Now math has always been difficult for me, and I seem to blank out on math tests, and on the PSAT I just work too slowly... my mom did say she would get a tutor if needed. So I guess that wont be too much of a problem.
Now an 800 I doubt I would get. I don't think I would ever score perfectly on the math section. Math has never been my forte.
Also props to the OP for making this thread. It should help me a lot in getting prepared, and not getting my hopes up, etc....
Now math has always been difficult for me, and I seem to blank out on math tests, and on the PSAT I just work too slowly... my mom did say she would get a tutor if needed. So I guess that wont be too much of a problem.
Now an 800 I doubt I would get. I don't think I would ever score perfectly on the math section. Math has never been my forte.
Also props to the OP for making this thread. It should help me a lot in getting prepared, and not getting my hopes up, etc....
Rejected by UCLA and UC Berkeley. Got into UC San Diego, UC Irvine, and UC Santa Barbara. Before applying my it was a toss up for me to go to UCLA, Berkeley, or UCSD as they all had different things working for them. My decision was pretty much made for me and I'm going to UCSD majoring in Political Science.
Speaking of the SAT/PSAT, as a high school sophomore, I took the PSAT in October for a score of 181. A couple of months later, in January, I took the SAT for my application to the TAMS program at UNT. I scored a 2000 (exactly). My friends recieved score like 1780, 1960, 1980, and my girlfriend got a 2030 :|.
Anyway, since TAMS is a precursor to college, does anyone here know about this program (Texas Academy of Math and Science)? The premise of the program is that high school juniors and seniors spend their high school years at UNT and take their university courses. Graduates receive a High School diploma.
Currently, I'm having an internal struggle between staying at my local high school with IB, or going with TAMS. Just last week, I had an interview, and I'm 99.999% sure that I got in.
Does anyone on Smogon know about this program?
Anyway, since TAMS is a precursor to college, does anyone here know about this program (Texas Academy of Math and Science)? The premise of the program is that high school juniors and seniors spend their high school years at UNT and take their university courses. Graduates receive a High School diploma.
Currently, I'm having an internal struggle between staying at my local high school with IB, or going with TAMS. Just last week, I had an interview, and I'm 99.999% sure that I got in.
Does anyone on Smogon know about this program?
yo darkie, I know a little about TAMS, like half of my indian friends went there (not to generalize or anything..) What specifically do you need to know?
What I've heard/seen (I visited some of my friends a few years ago) is that the focus is definitely on math/science and barely any reading/english/whatever. It's kind of like college life with dorms and such too, which is cool, but you kind of miss out on high school life unless you come visit a lot.
IB is a great program if you stick through it though, which is why a good percentage stay in over TAMS, but both are prestigious, I believe. One of my friends there is accepted to cornell.
Me: denied to Reed college, accepted to lewis and clark college, hampshire college, and UMass Amherst. Going to UMass next year.
p.s. darkie pm me if you want some names so you can ask questions, some of my friends at tams might talk to you about it. Unless you already know them, but whatever. Let me know
What I've heard/seen (I visited some of my friends a few years ago) is that the focus is definitely on math/science and barely any reading/english/whatever. It's kind of like college life with dorms and such too, which is cool, but you kind of miss out on high school life unless you come visit a lot.
IB is a great program if you stick through it though, which is why a good percentage stay in over TAMS, but both are prestigious, I believe. One of my friends there is accepted to cornell.
Me: denied to Reed college, accepted to lewis and clark college, hampshire college, and UMass Amherst. Going to UMass next year.
p.s. darkie pm me if you want some names so you can ask questions, some of my friends at tams might talk to you about it. Unless you already know them, but whatever. Let me know
Eh? Has everyone here taken the SATs after they went from just math and reading comprehension to three sections? It's been four to five years since I took it and I think that was the last year they had the original two sections, which would make getting near 2,000 or more impossible.
I think a perfect score was, like...1,600 I think and I had gotten 1,300, which was spectacular for my school, apparently. I wish I had studied or practiced or went to a more difficult (or private) school or something so I'd have gotten a better score. My grade average was A/A+ through high school.
Anyways, I applied to three schools and only three schools: Massachusetts College of Pharmacy, University of Connecticut, and University of Rhode Island. I got accepted to MCP and wait-listed on the other two. I entered MCP for my doctorate in pharmacy and have been here for three years.
I think a perfect score was, like...1,600 I think and I had gotten 1,300, which was spectacular for my school, apparently. I wish I had studied or practiced or went to a more difficult (or private) school or something so I'd have gotten a better score. My grade average was A/A+ through high school.
Anyways, I applied to three schools and only three schools: Massachusetts College of Pharmacy, University of Connecticut, and University of Rhode Island. I got accepted to MCP and wait-listed on the other two. I entered MCP for my doctorate in pharmacy and have been here for three years.
I think someone I know did TAMS. It sounded like a good program, and he able to enter as a sophomore at UPenn. I really don't know enough about the program to decide, but from the little I've heard, I think I'd rather do TAMS than IB. I'm in the IB program right now (not in Texas though), and it saps up a whole lot of time without any apparent benefits besides impressing colleges and getting university credit. TAMS seems to do the same thing without being otherwise pointless, because actually taking university classes actually sounds useful, although you probably won't get as much attention/help from the teacher at a university.
Hustino said:
Yeah, after they added the writing section the max score is 2400.
Not to be brutally honest to the point of sounding like a jerk, but how did some of you guys get in to those schools? One of my best friends has a 4.7 GPA, got a 2280 on his SAT, 34 on the ACT, and is in the top-10 of our class (we go to one of the most competitive high schools in the country), yet he didn't manage to get in to any of the Ivy League schools to which he applied. Granted, he got accepted at Northwestern, Vanderbilt, and Washington University in St. Louis, but he didn't get in where he wanted to go. In all honesty, I thought it might have been due to the fact that he was a white male. Meh, he's happy to be going to WashU next year.
Anyway, as for me, I applied to KU, SMU, TCU, Vanderbilt, and Northwestern and got accepted into the former 3, and declined from the latter 2. I'll probably be going to TCU next year, but SMU is still a possibility. If anyone's wondering, my stats looked like this: 2030 SAT, 3.7 GPA, every AP class possible, and a ton of extra-curriculars.
Anyway, as for me, I applied to KU, SMU, TCU, Vanderbilt, and Northwestern and got accepted into the former 3, and declined from the latter 2. I'll probably be going to TCU next year, but SMU is still a possibility. If anyone's wondering, my stats looked like this: 2030 SAT, 3.7 GPA, every AP class possible, and a ton of extra-curriculars.
It's a bit disappointing now since it's hard to compare how I did with the scores of everyone that took the SATs after me. 1,300 doesn't sound as impressive as all those 2,000s.
Also, I never did an extracurricular activity in my life. Luckily my SATs and grades were enough to get me in. That, and my school is a money-grubbing pit that accepts more students than it can handle and will take anyone who can pay.
A person can get rejected or accepted for a variety of reasons unrelated to SAT scores or grades alone. Even if students have tons of extra-curriculars, a school might be looking for a certain profile that a given student's extra-curriculars didn't meet, or the school already has too many similar students and they want to diversify backgrounds (not talking race here). Personal statements can play a role, too. Maybe a certain school is trying to find a few diamonds in the rough with 2.5 - 3.0 GPA students, or has lower standards for certain areas of study versus others. Hell, someone could just not like a particular student.
Honestly, no one is going to lay out all the requirements for enrollment. A school could set a standard for the minimum, but have a comprehensive list that isn't announced to the public. HS counselors may tell you otherwise, but don't believe them.
I have a question (even though I'm from Ontario, so I'm not planning to go to a uni in the states). How much do universities look at grade 11 marks?
I'm just asking because my marks aren't all that high right now, and I want to know if that's really going to screw me up. I still have grade 12 to go, and I know that counts a lot more, but even though the things that I need have good marks, the stuff that I don't need is still kinda low, so yeah. I have like a 90 in math, and the semester before I had 85 for spanish and 82 for english, but the other stuff is pretty shitty (high 70s is shitty for me), so I just want to know how much harder I'd have to work to get into my uni of choice in Brock.
I'm just asking because my marks aren't all that high right now, and I want to know if that's really going to screw me up. I still have grade 12 to go, and I know that counts a lot more, but even though the things that I need have good marks, the stuff that I don't need is still kinda low, so yeah. I have like a 90 in math, and the semester before I had 85 for spanish and 82 for english, but the other stuff is pretty shitty (high 70s is shitty for me), so I just want to know how much harder I'd have to work to get into my uni of choice in Brock.
shit shit I'm taking the bio SAT2 in a month and I'm slightly freaking out about it, I still have a ton more to learn. As of right now I'm not too concerned about the whole college process coming up (I'm in 10th grade), as I go to a very, very good school, am getting pretty much A- to A in every class, and am very involved in my extra-curriculars, and I know that doesn't really mean much as many people of that similar profile don't get accepted to the colleges they want to go to, but yeah, I feel I have a pretty good looking resume so far.
It kind of bothers me alot that race and social status and other things like that play a role in everything though, considering I'm on like the worst possible end of that (white, northeastern, rich family etc). I don't think it really makes much difference, as long as you manage to differentiate yourself somehow, I don't know by playing an obscure sport or something, (which I do, yeah water polo!).
Anyway, I have this lady, sort of a college counsellor I guess, who pretty much makes all this stuff clearer, and one thing she told me which I've really kept in mind is, regarding your extracurriculars, you want to almost tell a story. It doesn't look good to see someone who does every possible extra-curricular just for the sake of it. You want to almost establish your interests, and make your extra-curriculars reflect them if that makes any sense - basically you want to make it look like you are actually passionate about them. For example, say you had the broad interest of music, which started with classical piano, well hopefully after a few years of that you have attained some high level of proficiency to show for it, and upped the rigor. Then maybe you branched out and learned jazz piano, or maybe later on picked up another instrument, then maybe you "were inspired by your love of music" to start a charity organization donating music instruments to poor kids or something. You want to have something to show for you extra-curricular efforts.
But yeah like I said I'm not really stressing out over any of this just yet - but I probably will be come this same time next year lol.
Oh and @Bologo, senior year doesn't really have very much impact on college admission at all. I believe you have to send your applications before the year even starts, meaning your university will only be seeing the very beginning of senior year, or maybe none at all, when they're making their decisions. What classes you're taking senior year are important, like the college will take into account that you may be taking three APs next year or whatever and that may sway their decision, but yeah, colleges don't really get to see your 12th grade grades
It kind of bothers me alot that race and social status and other things like that play a role in everything though, considering I'm on like the worst possible end of that (white, northeastern, rich family etc). I don't think it really makes much difference, as long as you manage to differentiate yourself somehow, I don't know by playing an obscure sport or something, (which I do, yeah water polo!).
Anyway, I have this lady, sort of a college counsellor I guess, who pretty much makes all this stuff clearer, and one thing she told me which I've really kept in mind is, regarding your extracurriculars, you want to almost tell a story. It doesn't look good to see someone who does every possible extra-curricular just for the sake of it. You want to almost establish your interests, and make your extra-curriculars reflect them if that makes any sense - basically you want to make it look like you are actually passionate about them. For example, say you had the broad interest of music, which started with classical piano, well hopefully after a few years of that you have attained some high level of proficiency to show for it, and upped the rigor. Then maybe you branched out and learned jazz piano, or maybe later on picked up another instrument, then maybe you "were inspired by your love of music" to start a charity organization donating music instruments to poor kids or something. You want to have something to show for you extra-curricular efforts.
But yeah like I said I'm not really stressing out over any of this just yet - but I probably will be come this same time next year lol.
Oh and @Bologo, senior year doesn't really have very much impact on college admission at all. I believe you have to send your applications before the year even starts, meaning your university will only be seeing the very beginning of senior year, or maybe none at all, when they're making their decisions. What classes you're taking senior year are important, like the college will take into account that you may be taking three APs next year or whatever and that may sway their decision, but yeah, colleges don't really get to see your 12th grade grades
IIRC Junior Year is the most important year - Your university will only see perhaps the first semester of your senior year so it's not that important.
You sir are correct.
Its important you do very well junior year, especially in English and Mathematics.
Your counselor is right. If you're able to demonstrate how any of your activities are enriching to your life, there's a college out there ready to accept you. While I don't interview students for college, I do for other programs. I know tons of kids out there who have played a musical instrument for years, traveled all over the world, and volunteered their heads off. Not all of them have the ability to insightfully reflect on their experiences, and as an interviewer, I can't be sure if they see the value of what they've done, or are just robots going through the motions. If I want my program or school to be successful, I have to bank on the students who can verbalize back to me what they've learned and why it's important. Hell, even if they're faking it a bit, this at least shows the ability to look for different perspectives... one day they'll do or experience something that will make them think.
Water polo isn't as obscure as you think, unfortunately! Don't worry, that won't be something that'll crush your chances. I think the fact that you're already thinking about how to properly frame your educational experience is a good sign. You'll be even better at that two years from now. Good luck!
I understand that high SAT scores are necessary for the Ivies, but to put things it into perspective...
I got a 2170, and I applied to only in-state colleges (Virginia Tech, University of Virginia, and William & Mary)... and Virginia Tech was the only one that accepted me (UVa flat out rejected me, and W&M waitlisted me). This is after having had done the IB program, being in the top 5% of my class, doing extracurricular activities left and right, tons of volunteering, the oh-so-important leadership roles in clubs and organizations, having a 4.2something GPA, etc, etc... you get the picture.
I mean, honestly, after going through all of that, I have to ask myself if it's even possible to get into an Ivy League nowadays without being a blind, paraplegic trapeze artist that has also saved a 3rd world country from starvation (a joke that developed amongst me and my friends during our last two years of high school). Certainly, I congratulate all of you that have managed to get into an Ivy League (without sawing off all your limbs and blinding yourselves), but I'm just saying that the process of getting into colleges is getting more and more ridiculous every year.
Ok, so taking all that into account I can easily say I am a very uninteresting person, and very unfit for any type of leadership role (hell, even being social to other people is a challenge for me). If even having those is not enough to get you into an Ivy League school then can anyone name some noteworthy non-Ivy league business schools?
I really doubt I will get into U.Penn, unless they consider a highly unsocial person with a complete lack of leadership skills interesting...
I really doubt I will get into U.Penn, unless they consider a highly unsocial person with a complete lack of leadership skills interesting...
Lucky you... I think you will get in via High test scores + Affirmative action...
Being black/japanese greatly increases your chances, or so they say.
I would say that Affirmative Action does help a lot. My best friend who is of the same year as me is black/white, and she's currently at Princeton. I say that Affirmative Action helps a lot because my friend, quite literally, didn't do much at all in high school. Her SATs were in the 2100's, and she was in the top 10% of her class, but beyond that, even she readily admits that she did very, very little extracurricular activities/volunteering compared to me or her other friends.
(Note, however, that we didn't go to the same school. She went to high school in Houston- I used to live there- and I went to high school in Yorktown, Virginia.)