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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]A 680 isn't fatal, even for Harvard.  Harvard's average Math SAT is around 740 and it has its share of 800M scores on the other end.  What is more important, is that to be competitive at the top schools, she better be taking the most challenging classes at her high school.

Let your daughter take the lead on the college search.  It really is a process, almost like a rite of passage.  Maybe she will be "brand" obsessed like most DCUMs, but chances are she will consider a range of factors.  I'll bet she makes good decisions and will end up at the right school.[/quote]

And just who do you think with a 680 is at Harvard?  It's a recruited athlete, a legacy, a URM or someone with an extraordinary talent - an Olympic hopeful, a Westinghouse Science award winner, etc.  That's not to say that there aren't a ton of great colleges in the US.  And you're right there is an obsession with the top 10.  Just know who is getting into the top 10. It's not the well-rounded nice kid with above average SAT's, grades, class rankings and solid extra-curriculars.  It's the kid with perfect SAT scores, first in class or maybe second, with an extraordinary talent unless he/she has a "hook" as mentioned above.  Don't kid yourself.[/quote]

Well if your other two scores are 800s, a 680 won't kill you.  The middle 50% of accepted students at Harvard range is from 2080 to 2390.  Thus a 2280 is squarely within the range.  OPs scores were 2230, also within the range. "With the SAT, small differences of 50 or 100 points or more have no significant effect on admissions decisions." -- William Fitzsimmons, Dean of Harvard Admissions (to NYT).  Harvard could fill their class with kids with perfect SAT scores, but they don't.  They often don't take the top kid at a school favoring a lower ranking kid, with lower grades and SATs but with a more compelling case.  Schools like Harvard love interesting cases like first generation college students.  Harvard made headlines recently by admitting a homeless girl (from WV, I think), who wasn't exactly a Westinghouse scholar.  Everybody at Harvard is extraordinary in some way, and if you are, one 680 won't prevent you from being admitted. [/quote]

I think this response is wishful thinking.  Ask any parent whose daughter wasn't a recruited athlete, URM, legacy or who didn't have another hook, what kind of SATs resulted in fat envelopes.  I think you will find that it is those schools where dear daughter scored at the 75%ile or higher.[/quote]

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