Anonymous
Post 11/21/2025 12:00     Subject: Which colleges have majority student body of very bright kids but not brainiacs?
I agree that SAT scores provide information, but not that much: A group of students scoring 1550 are going to do slightly better, on average, than a group scoring 1500, but if you compare one 1500 student with one 1550 student, the odds that that 1550 student will do better are only a bit above 50 percent.

Much more important is what they are interested in and how hard they work. A student who is passionate about English literature will be better off in a class full of students who are equally passionate and who read a lot for fun than a class full of kids with 1600 SAT scores whose dream is to go into consulting and get rich.
Anonymous
Post 11/21/2025 11:58     Subject: Which colleges have majority student body of very bright kids but not brainiacs?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I think you are assigning value to the SAT that isn’t true. Lots of brainiacs at many schools.

I don’t think you can tell the difference between a kid scoring a 1540 and 1400 if you meet them on the street.





OP here. Please no flame, but at our school, DD and 2 close friends who are similarly smart but not genius types scored 1530-1540 first try, minimal prep. While a true brainiac kid who has been brilliant since 1st grade scored 1600 first try, no one was surprised. Other friends told us their kids scored in the 1300s and need tutors to get up to 1450-ish. Those are the kids who always needed tutors and consistently performed a band under the 1540 kids (bc the school have different tracks for core subjects since middle school) and def under the 1600 kid. We have known all these kids since K and it's been very consistent. I disagree you can't tell the difference between a 1540 and 1400 kid, just as I can tell the difference between my 1540 kid and the 1600 kid. I have also seen kids who were happy in normal courses and got pushed by parents to get tutored into the advanced track math and chem classes and ended up having to drop back down to non-advanced track the following year.

I truly think kids do well in the track they naturally excel in but all have a chance to be very successful when they grow up if they learned in an environment where learn with peers with similar aptitudes and build confidence.


I think you have a narrow definition of "very bright kids". I know you aren't a troll but you act like one. My DD consistently scored 1420-1440 (not superscoring) on the SAT, so not very bright by your definition. But consistently scores in the 95% and above in the NWEA MAP scores, is also in the most difficult IB STEM classes at her school and is thriving, could probably take even more challenging classes and love them and will easily be in the top 10% of her class. Loves history and politics as well and has interesting ECs and leadership positions in her high school job. If you think she can't keep up in conversations with kids who have 1540 and above, you are mistaken. She is not a brainiac and that's okay, but she is "very bright" by every definition - a 1440 is 95% in SAT - and engaging. She had maybe 4-5 more SAT questions incorrect than your kid; that hardly makes your kid "very bright" but she isn't. I think you are pretty clueless on what makes a kid very bright. And I don't care if she is "just bright" vs. "very bright" vs a brainiac.
Anonymous
Post 11/21/2025 11:54     Subject: Which colleges have majority student body of very bright kids but not brainiacs?
People sort by major in college, and generally move toward areas of strength and interest. Even within a college, too, some majors will be substantially more difficult than others and each major will attract a different incoming academic profile. So you should be looking not at "where are there kids with similar SAT scores" and rather at "where is there a MAJOR where kids have similar profiles in their area of interest as my kid?"
Anonymous
Post 11/21/2025 11:53     Subject: Which colleges have majority student body of very bright kids but not brainiacs?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:With so much talk about colleges that TO, even Dartmouths with only 1/3 submitting as the rest likely scoring under 1450 if they had submitted...which colleges have a majority student body of say 1540 SAT without heavy prepping?

Our DC got 1540 with some self prep and no tutoring. We know she doesn't belong in a MIT, Caltech, Chicago type genius schools full of high scoring geniuses, but so many T30 seem to have at least 1/2 scoring under 1500. Which colleges have majority who could score in mid-1500 without tutoring and superscoring?


This list is a good starting point: https://www.collegeraptor.com/college-rankings/details/MedianSAT/
Some of the top schools are test optional, so the high score is artificial, you need to discount that.



Good list. Probably anywhere outside of the top 15 here is what OP is looking for.
Anonymous
Post 11/21/2025 11:53     Subject: Which colleges have majority student body of very bright kids but not brainiacs?
OP, your kid’s school is one school. Presumably she’s applying to places where kids will have different backgrounds. SAT score is one small part of the profile.
Anonymous
Post 11/21/2025 11:51     Subject: Which colleges have majority student body of very bright kids but not brainiacs?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I think you are assigning value to the SAT that isn’t true. Lots of brainiacs at many schools.

I don’t think you can tell the difference between a kid scoring a 1540 and 1400 if you meet them on the street.





OP here. Please no flame, but at our school, DD and 2 close friends who are similarly smart but not genius types scored 1530-1540 first try, minimal prep. While a true brainiac kid who has been brilliant since 1st grade scored 1600 first try, no one was surprised. Other friends told us their kids scored in the 1300s and need tutors to get up to 1450-ish. Those are the kids who always needed tutors and consistently performed a band under the 1540 kids (bc the school have different tracks for core subjects since middle school) and def under the 1600 kid. We have known all these kids since K and it's been very consistent. I disagree you can't tell the difference between a 1540 and 1400 kid, just as I can tell the difference between my 1540 kid and the 1600 kid. I have also seen kids who were happy in normal courses and got pushed by parents to get tutored into the advanced track math and chem classes and ended up having to drop back down to non-advanced track the following year.

I truly think kids do well in the track they naturally excel in but all have a chance to be very successful when they grow up if they learned in an environment where learn with peers with similar aptitudes and build confidence.

Meh, a kid who scored mediocrely on the SAT in my high school class has won an apker prize and now is getting his PhD at MIT. SAT isn’t an outcomes measure.
Anonymous
Post 11/21/2025 11:48     Subject: Which colleges have majority student body of very bright kids but not brainiacs?
Anonymous wrote:With so much talk about colleges that TO, even Dartmouths with only 1/3 submitting as the rest likely scoring under 1450 if they had submitted...which colleges have a majority student body of say 1540 SAT without heavy prepping?

Our DC got 1540 with some self prep and no tutoring. We know she doesn't belong in a MIT, Caltech, Chicago type genius schools full of high scoring geniuses, but so many T30 seem to have at least 1/2 scoring under 1500. Which colleges have majority who could score in mid-1500 without tutoring and superscoring?


This list is a good starting point: https://www.collegeraptor.com/college-rankings/details/MedianSAT/
Some of the top schools are test optional, so the high score is artificial, you need to discount that.
Anonymous
Post 11/21/2025 11:38     Subject: Which colleges have majority student body of very bright kids but not brainiacs?
Anonymous wrote:I think you are assigning value to the SAT that isn’t true. Lots of brainiacs at many schools.

I don’t think you can tell the difference between a kid scoring a 1540 and 1400 if you meet them on the street.





OP here. Please no flame, but at our school, DD and 2 close friends who are similarly smart but not genius types scored 1530-1540 first try, minimal prep. While a true brainiac kid who has been brilliant since 1st grade scored 1600 first try, no one was surprised. Other friends told us their kids scored in the 1300s and need tutors to get up to 1450-ish. Those are the kids who always needed tutors and consistently performed a band under the 1540 kids (bc the school have different tracks for core subjects since middle school) and def under the 1600 kid. We have known all these kids since K and it's been very consistent. I disagree you can't tell the difference between a 1540 and 1400 kid, just as I can tell the difference between my 1540 kid and the 1600 kid. I have also seen kids who were happy in normal courses and got pushed by parents to get tutored into the advanced track math and chem classes and ended up having to drop back down to non-advanced track the following year.

I truly think kids do well in the track they naturally excel in but all have a chance to be very successful when they grow up if they learned in an environment where learn with peers with similar aptitudes and build confidence.
Anonymous
Post 11/21/2025 11:30     Subject: Which colleges have majority student body of very bright kids but not brainiacs?
I don’t understand this question. Dartmouth is not test optional
Anonymous
Post 11/21/2025 11:28     Subject: Which colleges have majority student body of very bright kids but not brainiacs?
Anonymous wrote:With so much talk about colleges that TO, even Dartmouths with only 1/3 submitting as the rest likely scoring under 1450 if they had submitted...which colleges have a majority student body of say 1540 SAT without heavy prepping?

Our DC got 1540 with some self prep and no tutoring. We know she doesn't belong in a MIT, Caltech, Chicago type genius schools full of high scoring geniuses, but so many T30 seem to have at least 1/2 scoring under 1500. Which colleges have majority who could score in mid-1500 without tutoring and superscoring?


This is wrong. Not longer the case.
Anonymous
Post 11/21/2025 11:25     Subject: Which colleges have majority student body of very bright kids but not brainiacs?
Anonymous wrote:With so much talk about colleges that TO


Stop paying so much attention to people who are trying to malign particular schools based on application procedures. Pay attention to the actual educational processes once students are in college. Find out if your student can find good community there.

Do you ask potential new friends or mates what their SAT score was?
Anonymous
Post 11/21/2025 11:24     Subject: Which colleges have majority student body of very bright kids but not brainiacs?
My DS did not study and got a 1500.
His HS GPA was in the bottom 1/3 of his class.

GPA / rigor of course schedule is weighted much more for college admission.
You do not see schools saying GPA / transcript optional
Anonymous
Post 11/21/2025 11:20     Subject: Which colleges have majority student body of very bright kids but not brainiacs?
And I should actually clarify: I am not sure you can guess a kid’s sat score at any level.

You should focus on other traits when you visit to determine fit.
Anonymous
Post 11/21/2025 11:17     Subject: Which colleges have majority student body of very bright kids but not brainiacs?
I think you are assigning value to the SAT that isn’t true. Lots of brainiacs at many schools.

I don’t think you can tell the difference between a kid scoring a 1540 and 1400 if you meet them on the street.



Anonymous
Post 11/21/2025 11:12     Subject: Which colleges have majority student body of very bright kids but not brainiacs?
With so much talk about colleges that TO, even Dartmouths with only 1/3 submitting as the rest likely scoring under 1450 if they had submitted...which colleges have a majority student body of say 1540 SAT without heavy prepping?

Our DC got 1540 with some self prep and no tutoring. We know she doesn't belong in a MIT, Caltech, Chicago type genius schools full of high scoring geniuses, but so many T30 seem to have at least 1/2 scoring under 1500. Which colleges have majority who could score in mid-1500 without tutoring and superscoring?