I am glad to be here. We're gearing up for another year of college hunting and I am looking forward to your questions. The U.S. has some of the best schools in the world, but it has a sharply polarized system. We have many schools, especially serving disadvantaged urban students, where the quality of instruction is far below where it should be. The issue is to find ways to raise these schools to world-class standards.
Test scores are important, primarily as to how they compliment grades.
For many large Universities, grades and test scores are the only factors. Beyond that, essays and personal recommendations would be factors. But I would come back to the initial point of having a strong transcript. That is the most important weapon to have in getting into the school of your choice. For more information on transcripts, please click here .