I agree. 1490 isn't the golden ticket. I have one child in college who scored 1470 of the SAT. He didn't get into any college ranked higher than 35. I have another child who is a high school senior who scored 1490 on the SAT. Submitting applications now.

Our public school has lots of kids with SAT scores in the 1500s. They are really impressive kids in every way (bigger braianiacs than my kids and often with something really special in their character to offer). And even they don't get into some of the colleges they apply to.

Every kid, no matter how high the scores, needs to apply to safety and target schools, plus throw in a reach or two for fun. Good luck!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. But from DMV 1490 is nothing special.

A 1490 is something special.

It is higher than the average test score at the top private schools in DC. For most of them, it is significantly higher than the average:

https://www.lotusprep.com/best-high-schools-dc/

Heck, it's close to the average at Thomas Jefferson, which is often ranked as the "best" public high school in the United States:

https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/national-rankings

It is also in the top 1-2% of all test takers on planet earth.

In and of itself, it is not a golden ticket. Every institution in the top 20 or 30 is a reach no matter what your SAT score, but a 1490 certainly gets a candidate over the testing threshold and on to their application being seriously considered by highly selective schools.

I disagree. A 1500 is the 75th percentile at UVA. I know a lot of kids with 35 ACTs and 1500+ scores that did not get in. Go to college confidenital or reddit and read the posts of the students who did not get in. It is astounding what some of these applicants have achieved. OP's DD needs to retake and take the ACT as well (might do better as some students do on the ACT) and take the SAT II subject matter tests in comfortable fields and do really well on them. My DD did not get into Princeton because of 750s and 780s on the SAT II tests (considered too low). You are competing against perfect scored students at the very top schools. About two years ago a mom posted a tragic tale of her DD from an exceptional private who applied to the then norm of 8 or ten schools and did not get into a single one. And she had a great record. Parents simply don't understand how competitive this process is.

Anonymous wrote:Yes. But from DMV 1490 is nothing special.

A 1490 is something special.

It is higher than the average test score at the top private schools in DC. For most of them, it is significantly higher than the average:

https://www.lotusprep.com/best-high-schools-dc/

Heck, it's close to the average at Thomas Jefferson, which is often ranked as the "best" public high school in the United States:

https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/national-rankings

It is also in the top 1-2% of all test takers on planet earth.

In and of itself, it is not a golden ticket. Every institution in the top 20 or 30 is a reach no matter what your SAT score, but a 1490 certainly gets a candidate over the testing threshold and on to their application being seriously considered by highly selective schools.

Anonymous wrote:I wonder if we lived anywhere else, say Vermont, Maine, Alaska, Kansas, would a 1490 get you in at a better school that is not attainable to the DC kids just b/c of a zip code?

I mean there’s no question that geographic diversity can be a boost, this is pretty well known. Also consider that kids coming from the states you’re thinking of may be coming from a very different culture than the NY/DC/Boston etc kids. I live in one of the states you mentioned, my kid was in the 10% of graduating class from one of the top 3 publics in the state. So I know the high achiever demographic (and their parents.) Test prep madness just doesn’t exist here at the same level it does in other places. Sure, some kids take a class. Private tutors may exist but I’ve never heard of somebody paying thousands of dollars for one. So do we have fewer kids with near-perfect SAT scores? Almost certainly.

Anonymous wrote:I wonder if we lived anywhere else, say Vermont, Maine, Alaska, Kansas, would a 1490 get you in at a better school that is not attainable to the DC kids just b/c of a zip code?

Look at the common data set. Some schools don’t consider geographic diversity.

Anonymous wrote:I wonder if we lived anywhere else, say Vermont, Maine, Alaska, Kansas, would a 1490 get you in at a better school that is not attainable to the DC kids just b/c of a zip code?

Yes. But from DMV 1490 is nothing special.

Anonymous wrote:I wonder if we lived anywhere else, say Vermont, Maine, Alaska, Kansas, would a 1490 get you in at a better school that is not attainable to the DC kids just b/c of a zip code?

At some schools yes you would bring geograhic diversity to the class.

I wonder if we lived anywhere else, say Vermont, Maine, Alaska, Kansas, would a 1490 get you in at a better school that is not attainable to the DC kids just b/c of a zip code?

Anonymous wrote:She needs more match schools. If you are full pay look at BC, NYU, Miami, Wisconsin and University of Washington (since she's not a CS major).

Also check graduation requirements because it's not always easy to get a degree without taking math. Unless, she will have Calc AP scores to test out of requirements.

If applying to Wisconsin, take 4 years of HS language.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:gds

vandy loves your money, not your kid

Wow so much jealousy and vitriol. PP

Glad for the kid who got in off the WL. The parent said they were full pay and it probably helped. no need to be nasty.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:gds

vandy loves your money, not your kid

Wait list offers/admits are ALWAYS for full pay.

I know this is going to sound terrible but what about the mid families? We have two parents working and make a good salary together. But, its expensive to live in a city. So, we won't qualify for aid but cannot full pay. I should just quit my job and then apply for financial aid.

And then you will get a boatload of loans as your “financial aid.” So good luck with that plan.

Anonymous wrote:1490 is an AMAZING score, makes your kid pass the "SAT threshold" at very single school in America. Ignore the lunatic DCUM crowd who fail to see that.

Of course, admissions decisions are more than the SAT score. And the Top 25 are all hard to get into no matter what your credentials are. But a 1490 is definitely a leg up in admissions.

Have you spoken with anyone who has gone through the admissions process recently or had a child go through the admissions process recently? Op’s dd sounds amazing. But I know several equally if not more amazing kids who got rejected from their 1-4th choices. The competition is that insane. My dd who was not a top applicant set her sights on a 50-100 school, ED. She got in but may not have if she had gone RD. Who knows? It’s crazy.

Anonymous wrote:1490 is an AMAZING score, makes your kid pass the "SAT threshold" at very single school in America. Ignore the lunatic DCUM crowd who fail to see that.

Of course, admissions decisions are more than the SAT score. And the Top 25 are all hard to get into no matter what your credentials are. But a 1490 is definitely a leg up in admissions.

If that gives a leg up at top 25, there are a lot of legs that are UP.

1490 is an AMAZING score, makes your kid pass the "SAT threshold" at very single school in America. Ignore the lunatic DCUM crowd who fail to see that.

Of course, admissions decisions are more than the SAT score. And the Top 25 are all hard to get into no matter what your credentials are. But a 1490 is definitely a leg up in admissions.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yale, rice,jhu, vandy

Cornell and Michigan as safeties

PP must have a child at Rice. No one would put Rice next to Yale. Rice is much much much easier to get in than Cornell and Michigan.

Really?

No. DS got waitlisted at Michigan and rejected at Rice. But this was for engineering.