If I know a kid who just scored 1360 on his SATs. He has a 4.1 GPA from a very good public H.S. in San Diego. he wants to go to top West Coast Schools. in my opinion, he has very solid extracurriculars. should I advise him to take the SATs again? If so, how should he prepare to get say a 1500?
That's ridiculous. The kid obviously has it goin on in a big way. Retake the tests? F that. Maybe he should move to another country, denounce his US citizenship... and then re-apply. He'll be in there like swim-wear.
What High School is it, I'm from San Diego -- just curious, (most likely it's Northern San Diego, or La Jolla...the South is poor/dumb) That sounds like a pretty solid background...he shouldn't have much trouble trying to get into his selected colleges. Take the SAT's as many times as you're allowed to get the highest possible score you're able to. When I was in High School...I was very average. to say the least. Oh well, different people have different callings and excel at different things...you can't force a square peg into a circle hole.
It may not be a problem as there is a significant random component in college admissions but he would do well to retake the test: especially for an event that can change the entire trajectory of his life. A college admissions admin at Harvard was interviewed in the New York Times. He said they could admit a whole class and then a second whole class and then a third whole class from a given years admission pool and the third would be the same quality as the first. Life is potentially very different for the person in that first class and the third hypothetical class.
Find some Hispanic, African, Native American blood in your family tree, apply as a minority, they can't by law question it.. I'm sure someone in your lineage fucked around with the help.
thank you so far. I am going to pass all this info on to him. The harvard class going 3 deep is a pretty powerful motivation. to answer the question about which H.S. it is Poway.
Here is an article I just found about mixed heritage http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/14/us/14admissions.html
Have the applicant use the moms maiden name, just in case UC has the Dads name in a data base of right wing kooks.
that is funny. I laughed pretty hard. you know if we did not have dnc trolls on this board all you would see from me is libertarian ideas plus low taxes. When I was younger and hung out, many of my friends were liberal granola types and surfers. I always believe that if you leave me alone I will leave you alone to do what you wish as long as you don't harm others. I would also not people that did not seem that smart 20 years ago... after 20 to 25 years running a business or being in law enforcement or administrators in the school system... can become pretty damn smart... and now when you see them at a gathering or a sporting event... many will tell you how their systems are being screwed up and how they are against all bad govt crap. These people were people who leaned left in their 20s... so maybe its an age thing. People get smart in the 40s if they have to run things. Last year I spoke at the democrat club in town here. some of members there were more conservative than I was on quite a few issues... many were concerned about taxes and immigration. When I worked for a prosecutor's office in the 90s I was one of the most liberal people there. (old school liberal) i did not take the job they offered me in part because I did want to cross over constitutional lines I saw cops and prosecutors cross too often. I know multiple judges who are to the right of me who are considered fair or even leftist judges down at the court house. I even know school teachers who are to the right me me. When I go to parties I don't even have to open my mouth because most people are to the right of me and make good arguments. so while the dnc is far left of me and some of the crazies on this board are too... in real life most of suburbia and many others are to the right of me. And, on constitutional issues there is no doubt I am more liberal than most of them.