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So we grade tests with two significant digits (0-100%). Then we partition these to a letter grade (<1 significant digit) Then we average the letter grades to a GPA with three significant digits. So what's a bit more confusion? Small wonder colleges place more emphasis on the SAT (3 digits).

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Actual quotation from a U.S. News top-25 university admission officer who visited my town last year: "The G.P.A. has become the most meaningless number in college admissions." Yes, the test scores continue to play a significant role in college admission, as one factor among several, because grade averages are hardly comparable at all from one high school to the next.

The SAT is a little over 2 digits, too. First, you can never get a 755 or something - it always ends in a 0. Then, you can't get less than 400 and more than 1600. So it's 1-120, again.

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