Many college hopefuls may feel ready to ace the SAT, only to find that their scores don’t align with how prepared they felt. There can be many reasons for that: test anxiety, not enough practice, or struggling with time management.
In Sandra’s case, her perfectionism and drive to succeed meant she allocated too much time toward tougher questions without skipping ahead. Although attention to detail isn’t necessarily bad (and it’s quite valuable for the legal field), Sandra didn’t have enough time to retake the SAT and recoiled at the thought of taking a gap year. That’s when she knew she needed an expert admissions consultant’s help to perfect her applications without a higher score.
We immediately told Sandra that her SAT score didn’t have to spell automatic rejection. Most colleges review applications holistically, and we gave her examples of other students who beat the odds at top schools with similar scores. With newfound confidence, Sandra opened up about her passions, interests, and detailed career goals.
Beyond a lower SAT score than she would’ve liked to achieve, there were many ways we could place Sandra’s academic excellence and intellectual curiosity at the forefront of her application. We learned that Sandra had taken AP classes such as English, Economics, and Government & Politics and that she’d participated in a Model UN conference.
Highlighting these experiences in her application showcases her intellect and drive to cultivate her interests.
Even with a stellar GPA, a college application’s qualitative elements matter. Working together through brainstorming sessions, we helped Sandra craft the perfect application narrative, expertly summing up the contributions and value she would add to any classroom. After tailoring her brag sheets to complement her personal statement, Sandra’s received well-written recommendations reaffirming her qualities, skills, and character.
Sandra was accepted at eight schools: Georgetown, NYU, Duke, UVA, the University of Florida, Case Western Reserve, Amherst College, and Washington State. She went with her initial first-choice school: Georgetown University.
