Does 1580+ help T20 admissions?

[Anonymous]

Our school counselor gaslit my high score DC, basically told DC their high score is treated the same as 1500. Counselor was an AO at an ivy. So I guess it’s not helpful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:1580 waitlisted at Mich, denied at CMU, MIT, UIUC, GATech. Male, cs major.

Aha.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our school counselor gaslit my high score DC, basically told DC their high score is treated the same as 1500. Counselor was an AO at an ivy. So I guess it’s not helpful.

1580 humanities major with a great impactful EC list is more impressive than a STEM major with a 1580. It sux but play the game.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn’t have thought it was a big factor, but there is a study someone linked awhile ago of legacy admissions and race at Ivy + schools and it showed a clear benefit to very high SAT scores vs those with low 1500s. I think the paper was in Nature.

Correlation not causation?

[Anonymous]

Some TO schools are directly guiding students not to submit unless the SAT is >15XX.

Some schools provide massive scholarships based on 1550+ scores (not T20).

Some schools care more about the component scores, dependent upon major - 800 math being checkmark.

Some schools calculate an academic index using gpa and SAT to determine who gets a full read. A higher SAT pushes the index upward. Or can cover for a bad grade.

Some schools don’t care beyond a min threshold.

Every school is different. It certainly doesn’t hurt to have a higher score when a file goes to committee.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our school counselor gaslit my high score DC, basically told DC their high score is treated the same as 1500. Counselor was an AO at an ivy. So I guess it’s not helpful.

They could use it in shaping the class, where most AOs are not involved.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some TO schools are directly guiding students not to submit unless the SAT is >15XX.

Some schools provide massive scholarships based on 1550+ scores (not T20).

Some schools care more about the component scores, dependent upon major - 800 math being checkmark.

Some schools calculate an academic index using gpa and SAT to determine who gets a full read. A higher SAT pushes the index upward. Or can cover for a bad grade.

Some schools don’t care beyond a min threshold.

Every school is different. It certainly doesn’t hurt to have a higher score when a file goes to committee.

Could you name the above schools in each group?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:1580 waitlisted at Mich, denied at CMU, MIT, UIUC, GATech. Male, cs major.

Yep. 1560 FCPS HS class of 2023 CS major denied at Harvard and Penn. WL at UVA and NEU. Fortunately attending UMD.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our school counselor gaslit my high score DC, basically told DC their high score is treated the same as 1500. Counselor was an AO at an ivy. So I guess it’s not helpful.

How is this gaslighting? We were told the same thing. I believe it, honestly. I do think it matters a lot for T20 and below (maybe some above).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1580 waitlisted at Mich, denied at CMU, MIT, UIUC, GATech. Male, cs major.

Yep. 1560 FCPS HS class of 2023 CS major denied at Harvard and Penn. WL at UVA and NEU. Fortunately attending UMD.

PP here. Yep, my kid also at UMD. No regrets. He said he's having the time of his life, and he's gotten internships at quant firms.

UMD for CS is T20, so that's no small feat. Plus, it saved us so much money as in state.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our school counselor gaslit my high score DC, basically told DC their high score is treated the same as 1500. Counselor was an AO at an ivy. So I guess it’s not helpful.

They could use it in shaping the class, where most AOs are not involved.

What does it mean shaping the class? Who is shaping the class if AOs are not involved?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1580 waitlisted at Mich, denied at CMU, MIT, UIUC, GATech. Male, cs major.

Yep. 1560 FCPS HS class of 2023 CS major denied at Harvard and Penn. WL at UVA and NEU. Fortunately attending UMD.

PP here. Yep, my kid also at UMD. No regrets. He said he's having the time of his life, and he's gotten internships at quant firms.

UMD for CS is T20, so that's no small feat. Plus, it saved us so much money as in state.

Congrats! UMD is an amazing school for CS!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn’t have thought it was a big factor, but there is a study someone linked awhile ago of legacy admissions and race at Ivy + schools and it showed a clear benefit to very high SAT scores vs those with low 1500s. I think the paper was in Nature.

Correlation not causation?

Take a look: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-55119-0

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our school counselor gaslit my high score DC, basically told DC their high score is treated the same as 1500. Counselor was an AO at an ivy. So I guess it’s not helpful.

They could use it in shaping the class, where most AOs are not involved.

What does it mean shaping the class? Who is shaping the class if AOs are not involved?

The Harvard lawsuit revealed something called the Lop list which was where they took kids out of the admitted pile based only on need, race, legacy, or recruited status. It was algorithmic basically.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our school counselor gaslit my high score DC, basically told DC their high score is treated the same as 1500. Counselor was an AO at an ivy. So I guess it’s not helpful.

They could use it in shaping the class, where most AOs are not involved.

What does it mean shaping the class? Who is shaping the class if AOs are not involved?

The Harvard lawsuit revealed something called the Lop list which was where they took kids out of the admitted pile based only on need, race, legacy, or recruited status. It was algorithmic basically.

"The "lop list" is the final stage of the Harvard University undergraduate admissions process, used to cull the list of tentatively admitted students to shape the incoming class to meet specific institutional goals. This process involves narrowing down the pool of applicants by analyzing specific, often demographically focused, factors. "

"Purpose: To make final adjustments to the class composition, aligning it with institutional goals for diversity, gender, or specific academic, athletic, and personal profiles."

I take it this is a process to take in hooked kids. Nothing to do with test scores?