Hi, I’m not so much asking to be chanced, but can someone help me understand please what made same of the outliers on this graph be accepted to Harvard? What made students with lower GPAs, and/or SAT/ACT be accepted to Harvard, as well as other Ivies as demonstrated by the graphs on this site?
http://collegeapps.about.com/od/GPA-SAT-ACT-Graphs/ss/harvard-admission-gpa-sat-act.htm
Well, they are exactly what they are: outliers. We can speculate as to what their circumstances might have been, but who knows. They’re outliers, so students whose stats are in similar range can’t really use them as a bench mark for “well maybe I have a shot, too.”
But some general thoughts: they might have been recruited athletes. They might be filthy rich and their parents gave $$$ to Harvard (see also: legacy). They might have had some really tragic circumstances (or attended a ridiculously rigorous prep school) that accounted for the scores, and wrote some damn fine essays to make up for it. They might be a URM from a challenged area with less access to test prep materials, etc., but showed enormous potential in their application and a natural aptitude for academics that may not have reflected in their GPA or test scores.
It takes all sorts, and I always assume there are extenuating circumstances behind such a student’s acceptance.
I appreciate you taking the time to reply. That makes sense, I figured the extreme outliers would be really talented athletes, but did not stop to consider the money aspect either. I’m hoping a slightly lower GPA, but high ACT and excellent credentials and great essay, will boost my chance a bit for UPenn. I’d hate to have my GPA ruin my chances at attending my dream school because of a lazy Freshman year, also you mentioned that a student’s circumstances growing up can affect the admissions process as well. I’m not trying to give a sob story, and I don’t like people feeling bad for me, I hate it in fact, but I’m certain I have overcome incredible odds due to my mom’s persistence raising me alone without any child support, as well as coming from a foreign country and being able to quickly learn the language. Sorry for going on a little rant there, I just believe I have a great topic for my college essay .
A compelling personal story can indeed make a difference, though stats are important. As you can see, an overwhelming majority of admitted students to Ivies have near-perfect GPAs. But strong standardized test scores are more helpful than not.
You may want to look at schools that don’t consider freshman grades if that’s your weak area. In the super elite category, Stanford comes to mind. Good luck!
Are you talking about the 2.0 GPA with 1300 SATs who was accepted and who didn’t attend?
Almost certainly a recruited athlete who was in demand elsewhere, too. As has already been said, there’s no point in comparing yourself to them. By the time you make application all those numbers are what they are, but your last act is to write that essay and great essays can make it happen.
That’s good to hear proudterrier, yeah I had Stanford does that, and I am deeply interested in getting a degree in finance, and they are excellent in business, finance, etc. JustOneDad, my GPA isn’t that low by any means, but yes outliers like that are crazy nonetheless despite compelling stories and what not, I figured they would be athletes like you said.