SAT Scores: Yes, the scores still matter… far more than most realize

By General Education Advice

“Yes. Despite what we say on tours and in our published material.”

“A lot.”

“For suburban Connecticut students like your base… huge.”

These are the three off-the-record comments I received from friendly acquaintances and one relative in admissions offices.

The follow-up elaboration:

“We have a hard time deciphering grades.”

“So many kids have A averages.”

“If you are from an affluent suburban area, test-optional is not really optional.”

The biggest issues: (1) grades are wildly inflated from even 10 years ago, but certainly from the time parents went to school and (2) a provincial understanding of how much admissions officers will really “dig in” to get to know each individual student and (3) how much they understand the relative strength of your school

Grade inflation: Students seem to understand the issue far better than their parents because they know the grades of their peers.  “My grades are not so good.  I have a 92 average.”  From my generation’s viewpoint, that sounds completely crazy.  But this was a reasonable statement from a student at a local high school where I have previously commented that it seems everyone has over a 90 average.

Understanding each student: How many applications do these understaffed admissions officers have to review?  The nuances between someone with a 3.8 GPA un-weighted, 4.2 weighted from Daniel Hand High School versus someone with a 3.9 GPA un-weighted and 4.15 weighted from Guilford High School are pretty hard to decipher.  If one had 100 points higher SAT score, the decision is easier.

School systems:  Outside of elite prep schools and several public schools – mostly in Fairfield County – and some scattered in the Shoreline and New Haven areas – the differences are not as clear to most admissions officers as they are to parents.  Most admissions officers are not really clear about the differences between East Lyme High School (super strong) and Montville High School (a fine school, but not East Lyme strong).

The SAT for all its challenges is the single common element of most applications.