By Ethan A.

When I was in high school, I remember university representatives responding to a question about their “ideal candidate.” Each delegate proclaimed their fluffy answer about motivation and coloring abilities, until the Princeton representative leaned to the microphone and simply stated, “Four point three.” Although everyone laughed, they understood the harsh reality of Ivy League competition.

College counselors and other idealists repeatedly nurture the hope that an ACT or SAT score will not differentiate one student from another. They promote that even with a poor score, the dream university is still possible. The cold truth, however, is scores matter just as much as everyone fears.

Although the acceptance committee will consider someone’s impressive participation in the chess club or theatre troupe, scores distinguish those creative achievements. After-school accomplishments suddenly fold in light of that person’s perfect score. Of course, scores do not exclusively determine a student’s acceptance, but an obvious statistical trend persists among the scores of the admitted.

The Scores of the Best

Whether your dream school is Harvard, Cornell, or Arizona State, you need a good score. The Ivy League’s Harvard, Yale, and Princeton each demonstrate the universal competition among applicants, as illustrated by this scary chart:

	 
		Harvard
		Yale
		Princeton
		National
	

  	Average Reading SAT
    750
    755
    740
    497
  

  	Average Math SAT
    750
    750
    760
    513
  

  	Average Writing SAT
    755
    760
    750
    487
  

    Average Composite SAT
    2260
    2265
    2250
    1497
  

  	Average ACT
    34
    33
    33
    21
  

  	Average GPA
    4.04
    4.19
    3.9
    N/A
  

  	Admissions Rate
    6%
    7%
    7%
    N/A
  

The average student at these universities scored significantly above the national average in every category (about 1/3 higher.) These intentionally intimidating numbers allow acceptance committees to swiftly reduce their massive pile of applicants.

The Bottom Line

Study, study, study.

Take a break.

Then keep studying. Your essay, background, and extracurricular activities matter—they really do—but for strictly academic programs, they won’t mean anything without the scores to back them up. Whether you need a leap or a push, you can enlist the help of various tutoring and test prep programs. The acceptance committees want to see that they are bringing in a passionate student who cares about learning and embracing life. Let your scores push you to the place where they can see the individual behind the numbers.