Anonymous
Post 01/08/2026 11:53     Subject: Low-ish GPA/High-ish SAT success stories for male in RD?
Anonymous wrote:My mid GPA high SAT and APs kid ended up at London School of Economics for political sci.


how is he liking LSE?
Anonymous
Post 01/08/2026 11:47     Subject: Low-ish GPA/High-ish SAT success stories for male in RD?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Hi all,

Trying to gather some anecdata. Has anyone's DC had good or surprisingly good results in RD for a male student with a low-ish GPA and a high-ish SAT and solid ECs? We're trying to figure out what's possible.

Tiny private school so scoir data feels unhelpful.
GPA: uw 3.7-ish, weighted 4.1-ish, good rigor. no grades ever below B+.
SAT: 1510
ECs: 3-season varsity athlete (not a captain), senior leader on newspaper, some other school leadership, community service
Major: Poli sci or History
Interested in mid-sized campuses, urban or suburban (not rural).
Male
Good references from math/humanities teachers.
Interested primarily in East Coast or West Coast because of family.
Good writer so essays will be strong.


That profile at our private k-12 is slightly above the 50th%ile weighted and UW gpa, and roughly 10-15% of the seniors get that SAT. IF they took the very highest rigor and did ED they might get in to UVA but likely would not. VT would be a more likely admit, with UC-Irvine, UCSB, BU, NCSU, UGA all likely to admit (over 50%) chance.
BC would be "match" range with ED (50/50 odds), same with Northeastern.
No chance at any T25 besides UVA in state.
JMU, Auburn, Alabama would be a safety from our school.
(Well regarded private: students in the top25% based on SCOIR and the profile are accepted to in state UVA EA (or ED) 75% of the time, those in top 10% over 95% of the time.


Ds has 4.05weighted, v high rigor with APs and DE, 1530 SAT, captain of varsity sports, didn’t get into UVa ED instate.


Where else did your DS apply? Did they get into any EA schools?


Waiting on the rest , EA and will do some Regular. ( UMd Hopkins, state flagships)
Got into George Mason, waiting on Va Tech .
Anonymous
Post 01/08/2026 11:42     Subject: Low-ish GPA/High-ish SAT success stories for male in RD?
OP, my DS has similar stats. 4.3w, 35 ACT, good rigor (12 APs). I will report back on where he gets in EA and RD. He was deferred from ED at a top20.
Anonymous
Post 01/08/2026 11:40     Subject: Low-ish GPA/High-ish SAT success stories for male in RD?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Hi all,

Trying to gather some anecdata. Has anyone's DC had good or surprisingly good results in RD for a male student with a low-ish GPA and a high-ish SAT and solid ECs? We're trying to figure out what's possible.

Tiny private school so scoir data feels unhelpful.
GPA: uw 3.7-ish, weighted 4.1-ish, good rigor. no grades ever below B+.
SAT: 1510
ECs: 3-season varsity athlete (not a captain), senior leader on newspaper, some other school leadership, community service
Major: Poli sci or History
Interested in mid-sized campuses, urban or suburban (not rural).
Male
Good references from math/humanities teachers.
Interested primarily in East Coast or West Coast because of family.
Good writer so essays will be strong.


That profile at our private k-12 is slightly above the 50th%ile weighted and UW gpa, and roughly 10-15% of the seniors get that SAT. IF they took the very highest rigor and did ED they might get in to UVA but likely would not. VT would be a more likely admit, with UC-Irvine, UCSB, BU, NCSU, UGA all likely to admit (over 50%) chance.
BC would be "match" range with ED (50/50 odds), same with Northeastern.
No chance at any T25 besides UVA in state.
JMU, Auburn, Alabama would be a safety from our school.
(Well regarded private: students in the top25% based on SCOIR and the profile are accepted to in state UVA EA (or ED) 75% of the time, those in top 10% over 95% of the time.


Ds has 4.05weighted, v high rigor with APs and DE, 1530 SAT, captain of varsity sports, didn’t get into UVa ED instate.


Where else did your DS apply? Did they get into any EA schools?
Anonymous
Post 01/08/2026 11:02     Subject: Low-ish GPA/High-ish SAT success stories for male in RD?
Anonymous wrote:Hi all,

Trying to gather some anecdata. Has anyone's DC had good or surprisingly good results in RD for a male student with a low-ish GPA and a high-ish SAT and solid ECs? We're trying to figure out what's possible.

Tiny private school so scoir data feels unhelpful.
GPA: uw 3.7-ish, weighted 4.1-ish, good rigor. no grades ever below B+.
SAT: 1510
ECs: 3-season varsity athlete (not a captain), senior leader on newspaper, some other school leadership, community service
Major: Poli sci or History
Interested in mid-sized campuses, urban or suburban (not rural).
Male
Good references from math/humanities teachers.
Interested primarily in East Coast or West Coast because of family.
Good writer so essays will be strong.


3.7 / 1510 / good rigor are good stats.
These stats would pass academic bar at any schools, particularly at T20s which practice holistic review.
Once you pass the academic bar, no one cares about 3.7 or 1510 anymore.

Other parts of the application are more important than you'd think.
Work on your essays to make you stand out.
Anonymous
Post 01/08/2026 10:20     Subject: Low-ish GPA/High-ish SAT success stories for male in RD?
Sone good suggestions in here already but I’d add Wesleyan.
Anonymous
Post 01/08/2026 09:17     Subject: Low-ish GPA/High-ish SAT success stories for male in RD?
3.82uw/33 ACT works at Cornell CALS
(OOS)
Private HS
Strong application narrative/story and pre-professional evidence
Anonymous
Post 01/08/2026 08:04     Subject: Low-ish GPA/High-ish SAT success stories for male in RD?
3.8/low 1500’s, top 10%-30%, unhooked for a boy at my kid’s non-feeder private can work for competitive state flagship, non-WASP LAC’s, and lower end of T-25’s (better odds with ED there).
Anonymous
Post 01/08/2026 07:48     Subject: Low-ish GPA/High-ish SAT success stories for male in RD?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Hi all,

Trying to gather some anecdata. Has anyone's DC had good or surprisingly good results in RD for a male student with a low-ish GPA and a high-ish SAT and solid ECs? We're trying to figure out what's possible.

Tiny private school so scoir data feels unhelpful.
GPA: uw 3.7-ish, weighted 4.1-ish, good rigor. no grades ever below B+.
SAT: 1510
ECs: 3-season varsity athlete (not a captain), senior leader on newspaper, some other school leadership, community service
Major: Poli sci or History
Interested in mid-sized campuses, urban or suburban (not rural).
Male
Good references from math/humanities teachers.
Interested primarily in East Coast or West Coast because of family.
Good writer so essays will be strong.


That profile at our private k-12 is slightly above the 50th%ile weighted and UW gpa, and roughly 10-15% of the seniors get that SAT. IF they took the very highest rigor and did ED they might get in to UVA but likely would not. VT would be a more likely admit, with UC-Irvine, UCSB, BU, NCSU, UGA all likely to admit (over 50%) chance.
BC would be "match" range with ED (50/50 odds), same with Northeastern.
No chance at any T25 besides UVA in state.
JMU, Auburn, Alabama would be a safety from our school.
(Well regarded private: students in the top25% based on SCOIR and the profile are accepted to in state UVA EA (or ED) 75% of the time, those in top 10% over 95% of the time.


No, SCHEV is clear you need a 4.4 for median at UVA and 4.5 for 75th percentile. The 1510, though, is spot-on


Only 64% of admitted students last year submitted test scores. The 1510 is hugely inflated. What a joke.


I find it amusing that these colleges like to self-proclaim to be so strict on having top rigor and high GPA, when they admit a huge mass of kids who can’t even do the very basic stuff on the SAT🤣
Anonymous
Post 01/08/2026 04:56     Subject: Low-ish GPA/High-ish SAT success stories for male in RD?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Hi all,

Trying to gather some anecdata. Has anyone's DC had good or surprisingly good results in RD for a male student with a low-ish GPA and a high-ish SAT and solid ECs? We're trying to figure out what's possible.

Tiny private school so scoir data feels unhelpful.
GPA: uw 3.7-ish, weighted 4.1-ish, good rigor. no grades ever below B+.
SAT: 1510
ECs: 3-season varsity athlete (not a captain), senior leader on newspaper, some other school leadership, community service
Major: Poli sci or History
Interested in mid-sized campuses, urban or suburban (not rural).
Male
Good references from math/humanities teachers.
Interested primarily in East Coast or West Coast because of family.
Good writer so essays will be strong.


That profile at our private k-12 is slightly above the 50th%ile weighted and UW gpa, and roughly 10-15% of the seniors get that SAT. IF they took the very highest rigor and did ED they might get in to UVA but likely would not. VT would be a more likely admit, with UC-Irvine, UCSB, BU, NCSU, UGA all likely to admit (over 50%) chance.
BC would be "match" range with ED (50/50 odds), same with Northeastern.
No chance at any T25 besides UVA in state.
JMU, Auburn, Alabama would be a safety from our school.
(Well regarded private: students in the top25% based on SCOIR and the profile are accepted to in state UVA EA (or ED) 75% of the time, those in top 10% over 95% of the time.


Ds has 4.05weighted, v high rigor with APs and DE, 1530 SAT, captain of varsity sports, didn’t get into UVa ED instate.
Anonymous
Post 01/08/2026 02:53     Subject: Low-ish GPA/High-ish SAT success stories for male in RD?
Anonymous wrote:Hi all,

Trying to gather some anecdata. Has anyone's DC had good or surprisingly good results in RD for a male student with a low-ish GPA and a high-ish SAT and solid ECs? We're trying to figure out what's possible.

Tiny private school so scoir data feels unhelpful.
GPA: uw 3.7-ish, weighted 4.1-ish, good rigor. no grades ever below B+.
SAT: 1510
ECs: 3-season varsity athlete (not a captain), senior leader on newspaper, some other school leadership, community service
Major: Poli sci or History
Interested in mid-sized campuses, urban or suburban (not rural).
Male
Good references from math/humanities teachers.
Interested primarily in East Coast or West Coast because of family.
Good writer so essays will be strong.


Only on DCUM is a 3.7uw “low-ish” and a 1510 SAT “high-ISH”

I hope you don’t say this garbage to your student. I’m not trying to attack you OP but listen to yourself.
Anonymous
Post 01/08/2026 02:45     Subject: Low-ish GPA/High-ish SAT success stories for male in RD?
following
Anonymous
Post 12/19/2025 12:47     Subject: Low-ish GPA/High-ish SAT success stories for male in RD?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My kid with a similar profile (higher score tho) was accepted ED1 to a SLAC with 10% admit rate. Can you ED2?


Where is your high school located?


DMV public
Anonymous
Post 12/19/2025 11:13     Subject: Low-ish GPA/High-ish SAT success stories for male in RD?
Conventional wisdom for this type of kids:
Apply to UK colleges, especially Oxibridge. They don't look at your grades. For Oxibridge, try to get a higher test score. Take AP, get 5s.

Search dcum on how to get in Oxibridge.
Anonymous
Post 12/19/2025 10:47     Subject: Low-ish GPA/High-ish SAT success stories for male in RD?
I'm following because my DS also has average around 3.7 with 1500 SAT. Hard to read what schools are legit targets vs reaches.