Standardized Tests and Foreign Language Thoughts

[Medgirl314]

Colleges look at SAT scores. There's really no way around that. But overall, how important are they in comparison to other criteria on college applications? If one only got around an 1800 on the SAT, but had hundreds of hours of volunteering in their future career field, and had a 4.0 GPA, did fairly well on several AP tests,took college courses in high school, and was involved in at least one sport, would prestigious colleges in general care about the 1800 SAT score? What about for foreign language? If one only had two or three credits for foreign language, would it really matter in the grand scheme of things?

Thanks in advance for helpful replies!

 

[TheKracken]

What schools were you aiming for?

 

[Medgirl314]

Right now, I'm planning to stick to a state school(UAA) to get my basics. I may apply to different schools just to see if I can get in. Later I want to go to Harvard, or maybe some other great Med. school. I haven't actually taken the SATs yet, I still have a month, but my PSAT scores were lower than I thought they would be.

 

[Medgirl314]

I know I'll get into UAA, and I even have a full scholarship pretty much guaranteed. I'm just thinking about if I wanted to get into Harvard down the road, if my SAT score would matter at all.

 

[sheldonrocks97]

It really depends on the school. Keep in mind that many of the ivy league schools and top universities (including Harvard) have holistic admissions. Basically, it means they will look at more than just a GPA or a test score. They will certainly look at all of your volunteer hours and your 4.0 GPA. However, you don't actually know what you got on your SAT yet. If you don't do so hot on that, try the ACT if you can. I only got a 1540 SAT score, yet on the ACT I got a 27. Everyone's different, so keep that in mind when you apply to colleges. There are many colleges that would be more than happy to accept you at this point, so have some safety schools in mind that are still good schools. Also, UAA is practically open admission, so you should have no problem getting in there.

 

[jgens]

If one only got around an 1800 on the SAT, but had hundreds of hours of volunteering in their future career field, and had a 4.0 GPA, did fairly well on several AP tests,took college courses in high school, and was involved in at least one sport, would prestigious colleges in general care about the 1800 SAT score?

You can definitely get into a top college with an 1800 SAT score. I know several people here who did just that.

What about for foreign language? If one only had two or three credits for foreign language, would it really matter in the grand scheme of things?

If you take other awesome classes instead of taking more foreign language stuff, then it probably will not hurt. If instead you take something like auto-shop, then it definitely could hurt your chances. Not that there is anything wrong with auto-shop, courses like that are just not considered very highly in the college admissions process.

 

[Medgirl314]

Thanks to you both! I'm already set up to take college courses soon. at UAA. I've done a lot of research on these topics, and I just wanted to make sure that people who have gotten into great schools agreed with the research. Sheldonrocks97(Big Bang Theory reference?) I'm somewhat relieved you got a 1540, I got a 160 on the PSAT and was pretty disapointed, so it's nice to know I'm not the only one on here who is generally fairly smart, with only a bit above average test score. It's such a mind game. xD