Here's what Admissions committees won't tell you about your GPA, class rank, and SAT scores: above a specific level, IT DOESN'T MATTER.
College admissions is a game - and there are rules to getting into Harvard and Stanford that you should know. As a former Admissions Officer at a Top 20 school, I've had plenty of experience seeing the difference between admits and rejects, waitlists and fat accept packets.
With your GPA, class rank, and SAT, there are only 2 rules that you need to know - following these rules will SAVE A LOT OF TIME during the college admissions process.
1) Try to be in the top 3-5% of your class in terms of GPA and ranking, and you'll be strong enough for consideration at most top schools. Being valedictorian just doesn't mean that much these days, and Harvard values other accomplishments equally
It all depends on your school, too. If you're at Stuyvesant, you can be 10% and be fine.
2) Get above a 2100 on your SAT and you'll be covered. Of course, this is the minimum cutoff - but there's no need to stress about a perfect score
Please don't think I'm recommending you just get a 2100. The higher, the better - but at this point, it's smart to invest your time and energy in other productive areas, like ECs, sports, music, etc
One more caveat - it's CRITICAL that you take every AP or IB class that your school provides. Admissions officers always review your transcript - and you can't come across like you're slacking off or it will hurt you.
Do this, and you'll have a step up on the admissions competition.
Finally, as I tell everyone and describe in detail in my Hopeless to Harvard book, it's all about telling a great story. You do this not through your test scores, but through your EC commitments, your essays, and so on.
College admissions is a game - and there are rules to getting into Harvard and Stanford that you should know. As a former Admissions Officer at a Top 20 school, I've had plenty of experience seeing the difference between admits and rejects, waitlists and fat accept packets.
With your GPA, class rank, and SAT, there are only 2 rules that you need to know - following these rules will SAVE A LOT OF TIME during the college admissions process.
1) Try to be in the top 3-5% of your class in terms of GPA and ranking, and you'll be strong enough for consideration at most top schools. Being valedictorian just doesn't mean that much these days, and Harvard values other accomplishments equally
It all depends on your school, too. If you're at Stuyvesant, you can be 10% and be fine.
2) Get above a 2100 on your SAT and you'll be covered. Of course, this is the minimum cutoff - but there's no need to stress about a perfect score
Please don't think I'm recommending you just get a 2100. The higher, the better - but at this point, it's smart to invest your time and energy in other productive areas, like ECs, sports, music, etc
One more caveat - it's CRITICAL that you take every AP or IB class that your school provides. Admissions officers always review your transcript - and you can't come across like you're slacking off or it will hurt you.
Do this, and you'll have a step up on the admissions competition.
Finally, as I tell everyone and describe in detail in my Hopeless to Harvard book, it's all about telling a great story. You do this not through your test scores, but through your EC commitments, your essays, and so on.
About the Author:
Running out of time on your college application? Hopeless To Harvard is an insider's account of how a B+ student got into Harvard, Stanford, and Princeton. Click here to learn last-minute tips to getting into the school of your dreams. Get into Harvard now!
0 comments:
Post a Comment