Anonymous
11/18/2025 19:21
Subject: what schools can a kid with a 1490.....
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:This entire discussion is nuts.
If you have a 1490, you are in the 97th to 99th percentile. You submit that score everywhere.
And if you get rejected, it's not going to be because of the one question on an SAT that dropped a score from 1520 to 1490.
Submit the 1490 everywhere and be proud of it.
You do realize that 1580 scorer will have a 3x chance at admission than a 1490 scorer?
A 1580 with nothing else going on is not going to have an advantage over a kid with a 1490 and great ECs and leadership.
And to put this into perspective, the difference is 2 or 3 questions on the SAT.
No college these days is choosing the high SAT score over far more interesting students that are rolling with something above 1400 or 32 and can actually contribute something to the university community. We are not China or India or Korea or Japan. Test scores are a part of things, but the reason American universities are so successful is because of "holistic" admissions. Lot more talent that way.
DP: why are your arguments so skewed that the 1490 kid is this dream holistic applicant but the 1580 kid has nothing going on? Realistically the 1580 kid will also have good ECs if not better.
PP says 1400, not 1490.
I think it's hallucinating that a 1400 will have everything else but just a low score of 1400.
1490 is closer. Entirely possible one has amazing ECs but a mere 1490, all the other parts of the application compensate the 1490.
Anonymous
11/18/2025 18:15
Subject: what schools can a kid with a 1490.....
With a 1490, Radford is your target school, ODU and CNU are your reach schools.
Anonymous
11/18/2025 18:00
Subject: what schools can a kid with a 1490.....
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:That's a good score for some of the big publics, UVA, Michigan, Purdue, Georgia, Florida, Illinois.
For top colleges, you need to be above 1530.
A couple of years ago DC who had a 1580 SAT (4.0 unwgpa/4.92 wgpa) was waitlisted at Mich. TBF, this was when college admissions was at its height, and DC is a dual math/CS major.
This is called yield protection... That waitlist is a badge of honor.
I don't think so. DC's friend who had a 1600, Eng major, very similar GPA, got in. I think for that major, it was just really tough.
Exactly. It's ALL major dependent.
A CS/eng/STEM kid CAN NEVER be TEST OPTIONAL successfully at T20. EVER.
Curious where the kid with the 1580 4.0uw CS/math ended up?
Anonymous
11/18/2025 17:56
Subject: what schools can a kid with a 1490.....
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:That's a good score for some of the big publics, UVA, Michigan, Purdue, Georgia, Florida, Illinois.
For top colleges, you need to be above 1530.
A couple of years ago DC who had a 1580 SAT (4.0 unwgpa/4.92 wgpa) was waitlisted at Mich. TBF, this was when college admissions was at its height, and DC is a dual math/CS major.
This is called yield protection... That waitlist is a badge of honor.
I don't think so. DC's friend who had a 1600, Eng major, very similar GPA, got in. I think for that major, it was just really tough.
Anonymous
11/18/2025 17:40
Subject: what schools can a kid with a 1490.....
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:That's a good score for some of the big publics, UVA, Michigan, Purdue, Georgia, Florida, Illinois.
For top colleges, you need to be above 1530.
A couple of years ago DC who had a 1580 SAT (4.0 unwgpa/4.92 wgpa) was waitlisted at Mich. TBF, this was when college admissions was at its height, and DC is a dual math/CS major.
This is called yield protection... That waitlist is a badge of honor.
Anonymous
11/18/2025 17:36
Subject: what schools can a kid with a 1490.....
If your kid is coming from BCC/Whitman like mine there are kids who are getting much higher scores with straight As. Sports helps. Being captain of Debate, officer in XYC club is pretty common for all of these kids.
Anonymous
11/18/2025 17:31
Subject: what schools can a kid with a 1490.....
Anonymous wrote:That's a good score for some of the big publics, UVA, Michigan, Purdue, Georgia, Florida, Illinois.
For top colleges, you need to be above 1530.
A couple of years ago DC who had a 1580 SAT (4.0 unwgpa/4.92 wgpa) was waitlisted at Mich. TBF, this was when college admissions was at its height, and DC is a dual math/CS major.
Anonymous
11/18/2025 17:28
Subject: what schools can a kid with a 1490.....
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:This entire discussion is nuts.
If you have a 1490, you are in the 97th to 99th percentile. You submit that score everywhere.
And if you get rejected, it's not going to be because of the one question on an SAT that dropped a score from 1520 to 1490.
Submit the 1490 everywhere and be proud of it.
You do realize that 1580 scorer will have a 3x chance at admission than a 1490 scorer?
A 1580 with nothing else going on is not going to have an advantage over a kid with a 1490 and great ECs and leadership.
And to put this into perspective, the difference is 2 or 3 questions on the SAT.
No college these days is choosing the high SAT score over far more interesting students that are rolling with something above 1400 or 32 and can actually contribute something to the university community. We are not China or India or Korea or Japan. Test scores are a part of things, but the reason American universities are so successful is because of "holistic" admissions. Lot more talent that way.
In the UK, the SATs and AP scores matter. The US GPAs and extracurriculars don't - at all.
So you can add UK and most european schools with China, India, Korea and Japan.
Anonymous
11/18/2025 17:14
Subject: what schools can a kid with a 1490.....
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:This entire discussion is nuts.
If you have a 1490, you are in the 97th to 99th percentile. You submit that score everywhere.
And if you get rejected, it's not going to be because of the one question on an SAT that dropped a score from 1520 to 1490.
Submit the 1490 everywhere and be proud of it.
You do realize that 1580 scorer will have a 3x chance at admission than a 1490 scorer?
A 1580 with nothing else going on is not going to have an advantage over a kid with a 1490 and great ECs and leadership.
And to put this into perspective, the difference is 2 or 3 questions on the SAT.
No college these days is choosing the high SAT score over far more interesting students that are rolling with something above 1400 or 32 and can actually contribute something to the university community. We are not China or India or Korea or Japan. Test scores are a part of things, but the reason American universities are so successful is because of "holistic" admissions. Lot more talent that way.
DP: why are your arguments so skewed that the 1490 kid is this dream holistic applicant but the 1580 kid has nothing going on? Realistically the 1580 kid will also have good ECs if not better.
Anonymous
11/18/2025 16:36
Subject: what schools can a kid with a 1490.....
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:This entire discussion is nuts.
If you have a 1490, you are in the 97th to 99th percentile. You submit that score everywhere.
And if you get rejected, it's not going to be because of the one question on an SAT that dropped a score from 1520 to 1490.
Submit the 1490 everywhere and be proud of it.
You do realize that 1580 scorer will have a 3x chance at admission than a 1490 scorer?
You do realize that that is not causation but correlation, right?
It all comes down to holistic review, how strong this applicant is based on ALL parts of their application.
Statistically, 1580 scorers have a 3x chance: because they are strong in other aspects as well, it just happens that they also got 1580. (which is understandable, a strong candidate typically is strong in many aspects).
In pure isolation, 1580 or 1490, there is no difference, both validate academic readiness. Getting a 1580 alone would not enhance your chance compared to 1490. Like, not at all. Getting a 1490 would not decrease your chance either.
I don't know what to tell you, you are wrong. The data is the data.
How would you interpret the data?
Caltech's bracket system is not universal. That only works at Caltech and MIT, maybe a couple more.
All other selective schools look at test scores qualitatively, not quatitatively. It's one data point, it validates your academic readniess. Nothing more than that.
1580 alone does not move the needle more than 1490 does.
There are thousands of 1580 scorers end up at state school each year, particularly from highly competitive schools where a high score is the norm.
Then how do you explain Dartmouth's study where a slide explicitly demonstrates that a 1580 scorer has a 3x chance at admission than a 1490 scorer, no matter if the applicant was from a low-income, fgli background or was from a higher SES household? Dartmouth's data doesn't comport with your assertion.
Really simple. Those Dartmouth admits are strong in every aspect, not just the test scores.
The 3x enhanced chance is a result of student quality, which comprises factors 1-10, whereas the test score is one of the factors.
Causation: For those applicants, high student quality results in 3x enhanced chance. For those applicants, high student quality also results in 1580.
However, 1580 does not lead to 3x enhanced chance. They are merely correlated. Coincidentally.
Not all high quality student has 1580.
Conversely, haivng 1580 does not automatically makes you a high quality.
Anonymous
11/18/2025 16:33
Subject: what schools can a kid with a 1490.....
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:The majority of NESCAC schools may be realistic for this student, particularly with the use of ED.
As examples, Wesleyan reported a median SAT score of 1430 on its most recent CDS and Hamilton reported a median of 1500. For this student, either of these colleges may be accessible.
Wes parent here. I won’t repeat my whole spiel again but if you are interested in the school I would encourage you to look at the admitted students profile range on the website as opposed to the CDS data to inform a decision on whether or not to apply TO. This issue as it applies to Wes has come up a few times on the board so you can search for the background if interested. Accept the analysis or not but I wouldn’t be feeling bullet proof applying to Wes RD with a 1490. At least, not without other charms. Institutional priorities become much more important in RD (kids from low yield states, etc.)
Anonymous
11/18/2025 16:33
Subject: what schools can a kid with a 1490.....
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:This entire discussion is nuts.
If you have a 1490, you are in the 97th to 99th percentile. You submit that score everywhere.
And if you get rejected, it's not going to be because of the one question on an SAT that dropped a score from 1520 to 1490.
Submit the 1490 everywhere and be proud of it.
You do realize that 1580 scorer will have a 3x chance at admission than a 1490 scorer?
You do realize that that is not causation but correlation, right?
It all comes down to holistic review, how strong this applicant is based on ALL parts of their application.
Statistically, 1580 scorers have a 3x chance: because they are strong in other aspects as well, it just happens that they also got 1580. (which is understandable, a strong candidate typically is strong in many aspects).
In pure isolation, 1580 or 1490, there is no difference, both validate academic readiness. Getting a 1580 alone would not enhance your chance compared to 1490. Like, not at all. Getting a 1490 would not decrease your chance either.
I don't know what to tell you, you are wrong. The data is the data.
How would you interpret the data?
Caltech's bracket system is not universal. That only works at Caltech and MIT, maybe a couple more.
All other selective schools look at test scores qualitatively, not quatitatively. It's one data point, it validates your academic readniess. Nothing more than that.
1580 alone does not move the needle more than 1490 does.
There are thousands of 1580 scorers end up at state school each year, particularly from highly competitive schools where a high score is the norm.
Then how do you explain Dartmouth's study where a slide explicitly demonstrates that a 1580 scorer has a 3x chance at admission than a 1490 scorer, no matter if the applicant was from a low-income, fgli background or was from a higher SES household? Dartmouth's data doesn't comport with your assertion.
Np:
Dartmouth says test scores are “very important”. Makes sense there. But you can’t extrapolate that to be everywhere in the top schools.
Do the work. Dig harder.
Anonymous
11/18/2025 16:24
Subject: what schools can a kid with a 1490.....
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:This entire discussion is nuts.
If you have a 1490, you are in the 97th to 99th percentile. You submit that score everywhere.
And if you get rejected, it's not going to be because of the one question on an SAT that dropped a score from 1520 to 1490.
Submit the 1490 everywhere and be proud of it.
You do realize that 1580 scorer will have a 3x chance at admission than a 1490 scorer?
You do realize that that is not causation but correlation, right?
It all comes down to holistic review, how strong this applicant is based on ALL parts of their application.
Statistically, 1580 scorers have a 3x chance: because they are strong in other aspects as well, it just happens that they also got 1580. (which is understandable, a strong candidate typically is strong in many aspects).
In pure isolation, 1580 or 1490, there is no difference, both validate academic readiness. Getting a 1580 alone would not enhance your chance compared to 1490. Like, not at all. Getting a 1490 would not decrease your chance either.
I don't know what to tell you, you are wrong. The data is the data.
How would you interpret the data?
Caltech's bracket system is not universal. That only works at Caltech and MIT, maybe a couple more.
All other selective schools look at test scores qualitatively, not quatitatively. It's one data point, it validates your academic readniess. Nothing more than that.
1580 alone does not move the needle more than 1490 does.
There are thousands of 1580 scorers end up at state school each year, particularly from highly competitive schools where a high score is the norm.
Then how do you explain Dartmouth's study where a slide explicitly demonstrates that a 1580 scorer has a 3x chance at admission than a 1490 scorer, no matter if the applicant was from a low-income, fgli background or was from a higher SES household? Dartmouth's data doesn't comport with your assertion.
Anonymous
11/18/2025 16:20
Subject: what schools can a kid with a 1490.....
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:This entire discussion is nuts.
If you have a 1490, you are in the 97th to 99th percentile. You submit that score everywhere.
And if you get rejected, it's not going to be because of the one question on an SAT that dropped a score from 1520 to 1490.
Submit the 1490 everywhere and be proud of it.
You do realize that 1580 scorer will have a 3x chance at admission than a 1490 scorer?
You do realize that that is not causation but correlation, right?
It all comes down to holistic review, how strong this applicant is based on ALL parts of their application.
Statistically, 1580 scorers have a 3x chance: because they are strong in other aspects as well, it just happens that they also got 1580. (which is understandable, a strong candidate typically is strong in many aspects).
In pure isolation, 1580 or 1490, there is no difference, both validate academic readiness. Getting a 1580 alone would not enhance your chance compared to 1490. Like, not at all. Getting a 1490 would not decrease your chance either.
I don't know what to tell you, you are wrong. The data is the data.
How would you interpret the data?
Caltech's bracket system is not universal. That only works at Caltech and MIT, maybe a couple more.
All other selective schools look at test scores qualitatively, not quatitatively. It's one data point, it validates your academic readniess. Nothing more than that.
1580 alone does not move the needle more than 1490 does.
There are thousands of 1580 scorers end up at state school each year, particularly from highly competitive schools where a high score is the norm.
Anonymous
11/18/2025 16:14
Subject: what schools can a kid with a 1490.....
That's a good score for some of the big publics, UVA, Michigan, Purdue, Georgia, Florida, Illinois.
For top colleges, you need to be above 1530.
For top colleges, you need to be above 1530.