Reply to 90th percentile

Forum Index » College and University Discussion

Reply to "90th percentile"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I'm confused... you're asking why your kid didn't get an A on the SAT?[/quote]

No--- I'm asking why 1350plus is not "smart enough" for most top schools[/quote]

You are conflating different things. The  majority of kids in our public magnet, get above 1300 on the SAT. The average grade in each high school class is typically a low A(90 and above is an A here). The tests have plenty B grades or occasional C but the overall semester average results in about half the students getting an “A” because of homework and participation grades. It is what the principal tells the teachers to aim for: half As. This is true in the lowest math class and the highest, and it is also true at my friend’s school: she teaches in the city at a public with an SAT average of 1000 and that school also has about half the kids get 90 or above for a semester average, sometimes more like 2/3 because they do test retakes below 85. Result: the top half of the graduating class in her school and mine has almost all As. Yet completely different SAT ranges. The A says nothing about SAT or intelligence, it is just a grade reflection a certain level of mastery that is frankly a low bar(tests and quizzes make up less than half the grade).
Ok for colleges: pre-test optional at the top 15-20 schools in the country had a median SAT of just below 1500. A 1350 is FAR below the 25th percentile for these schools even pre-test optional. A 1350 is “not smart enough” to get in because these schools accept and matriculate almost all 98-99th percentile kids even pre test optional. A 1350 is smart enough to pass college , at any school, because these schools do let in 1150-1250 athletes all the time and they pass. That group of athletes does not do well in the challenging majors and are often firmly discouraged or even banned from these majors by their coaches or mandatory academic tutors. Its not that your student could not pass these colleges, likely with mostly Bs and maybe some As depending on major, given that the average gpa is 3.7 at top colleges and the bottom 25% still have over a 3.0. The fact is your student with a 1350 is not competitive enough to get in because there are tens or f thousands of kids out of the 60k who apply to each who have all As AND much higher scores. The top schools let ANY student admitted be premed or start on track of econ major or a physics major: for the unhooked they want students who can change their mind and pick any major with a reasonable chance of doing well. They cannot in good conscience let in a bunch of 1350s or lower when the average student has 1500+: in a curved classes like econ, calc, physics the bottom 1/3 get Cs. As I said the lower scoring athletes are pushed into easier majors where the bottom of the easy courses get Bs . They are admitted for sports. A XC runner who has 1450 wont be banned from a major because he/she wont be flagged as borderline by coach.
You have to reset your thinking to be that of looking for colleges where your kid will fit academically: the 1350 should at least be 25th%ile if not closer to average for your kod’s success. And that is likely the schools that she has a real chance at getting admitted. 1350 should be above the college’s average by a lot if your kid wants premed. [/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics