<p>um, ok...I'm pretty sure I wasn't saying that if you haven't qualified for an olympiad or was one of the best at a magnet school that you don't still have a decent shot of getting in. I'm just saying that if you have done these things, you shouldn't be surprised to get in.</p>
<p>I have still heard unfortunate stories about people making the chemistry olympics training camp (top 50) and getting rejected by MIT, so there isn't a 100% guarantee, but I think that you can still say that you would not be surprised to get in. There's no need to induce anxiety of people with these distinctions by saying their accomplishments are like monopoly money and that nearly everybody who applied is "qualified" and therefore on equal footing.</p>