S.A.T test and GPA?

Question

Uhm.....hi, I'm 13 years old and my goal is to get a good grade in the S.A.T test and a good grade in the GPA so I could get into Harard University. I'm wondering if I could get some tips from the people who got good grades in S.A.T and GPA on how to sucess. THank you.

Answer 1

Make good use of all of your resources.

For the SAT, use practice books and online tests and test questions to prepare. Also, if any review sessions are being offered at your school or community centers, attend them. Finally, take the SAT more than once, you will likely increase your score each time.

Grade-wise, do all of your homework and do it on time. Even if it seems pointless, read your materials. If you find yourself falling behind or not understanding something, ask for help from your teachers. They will be more than willing to help you, so don't hesitate to ask. Also, challenge yourself in the classes that you take. To college admissions people, a B in an honors class looks better than an A in the regular class.

Another point about how many schools decide which applicants to accept. Grades and test scores aren't the only things that they look at. Applicants with a 4.0 and great SAT score may be denied if they don't demonstrate anything else than that. Colleges like applicants that are involved in their community and school. So, join clubs, activities and other sports. Get involved in community organizations as well; American Cancer Society, Big Brothers Big Sisters and Red Cross are some great organizations to get involved with.

Answer 2

Joy M's answer was a good start, but as a current senior, I'll just chip in a few pieces of my own advice.

First of all, it's admirable that you're beginning to think about college at such a young age (no patronization meant, but I know in middle school college had barely entered my subconscious, and I've always been pretty intellectual). However, it's way too early for you to start studying, as such, for the SATs - you're going to want to begin that around 10th or 11th grade. The SAT basically tests you on your ability to take the test, so it is something that can be studied for, but at this point in time, to do so would probably be more than somewhat futile, especially as you may not have yet learned all the requisite math. You can study more generally by reading challenging books (the better your vocabulary and general English skills, the less you'll need to stress, and I speak as someone who got perfect scores on both the Critical Reading and Writing sections without much studying). Pay attention in math class, and make sure you don't forget basic algebra and geometry even once you've moved on. That's about all you should be doing at this point. Also considering looking into the ACT, which is an alternative test to the SAT that is more heavily academically-based and less math-centric. You'll probably want to take both to see which one you're better at.

Now, on to GPA. From your syntax, I'm not sure you're exactly clear on what that represents (actually, and I certainly don't mean to be rude here, but your syntax in general seems to me to be reminiscent of someone for whom English is not a first language). GPA stands for grade point average, or the average of your grades in all your classes. On a non-weighted scale, an A=4, B=3, etc. etc... there are many different systems of weighting, but many give one extra point to Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), and some honors classes. An answerer above mentioned that colleges would rather see B's in honors classes than A's in regular classes, which is true. However, Harvard accepts a very small percentage of applicants, so to have a shot, your only chance is really to get A's in honors classes. How to do this? Study hard, put academics first, ask for help when you need it, blah blah blah. However, from a cynical perspective, I'll say honestly - go to a bad school. Another thing that counts in your admissions process is ranking - valedictorians and salutorians have a tremendous leg up. Go to a school where most people are not particularly academic, and you'll easily get A's and be first in your class. Go to a prestigious school, and if you do well, it will look even better, but it will be much more of an uphill battle. This isn't to tell you that it's actually a good idea to find a bad school - it's not. You'll learn less, be wiht peers who don't value an education as highly, as probably not get as much out of your high school experience - but to be perfectly frank, your GPA will probably be higher. (Me, embittered? Nah.)

Now, let's move on to talk about the other important factors besides GPA, SAT, and rank. First of all, there's extra curriculars. Colleges like to see a few activities that you've devoted yourself to throughout high school, so now's the time to get started on those. Don't do them just for college - find a few things you love and spend a lot of time on them. Being president/captain/editor-in-chief of something - or several things - also shows leadership, which looks excellent. Teacher recommendations are important, so make sure your teachers know and like you. Besides this, there are the essays and interview, which you can't do much about at this time. Other factors are your ethnicity, your parents' income, and your status as a legacy, none of which you can really do anything about at all.

And what I'm getting at with that last sentence, and I'm sure you'll hear this more than once, is that getting into a college like Harvard is, ultimately, a total crapshoot. When you're accepting barely 10% of applicants, you're going to be turning down a lot of people with straight A's, great SATS, and perfect everything-else to offer spots to people with pretty much the same profile. It used to be that having a good GPA and SAT score would get you into Harvard - now, it's what you need to even have a shot, and it certainly doesn't guarantee you admission.

Lucky, then, that there are other great schools besides Harvard, which actually has somewhat of a reputation for stiffing its undergraduates. The other Ivy League schools are also good, and there are a plethora of fantastic liberal arts colleges and universities that are of equal caliber but offer a far more reasonable shot at admission. In other words - good luck with Harvard, but please don't close your minds to other schools, and don't consider it the end of the world if it doesn't work out.

Work hard, study hard, make good friends with your college counselor, and don't forget to enjoy your high school experience - it goes by really, really, fast.

Best of luck, and hope this helped!
Ariel, class of '07 (and intractably verbose - sorry!)

Answer 3

i would work very hard on my english skills. its important for just about every class and 2/3 of the SAT.

Answer 4

read a lot, study a lot, show up for class ALWAYS!!

Answer 5

Read a lot.