<p>If you excel, and i mean EXCEL in two out of the three sections (grades, test scores, EC) (understanding that you got good recs and essays) can colleges over look the weaker area of the three? will top schools (top 20) over look a lower transcript if one has excellent EC's, and test scores? will a school overlook bad test scores if you have good grades?</p>
<p>At a top 20 school, you basically have to have all 3. At the lower end of the top 20, ECs don’t matter quite so much, but if you don’t have good grades or test scores… you pretty much need to have either had or cured cancer.</p>
<p>Hmmm… I’m in a situation where my grades and test scores are good, but I don’t have stellar ECs (only a few, namely math club, science projects, piano, orchestra). Do I still have a chance?</p>
<p>Top 20 schools expect your test scores to be excellent (Many of their 25th percentiles are >2000…meaning 75 percent of the people there have a score higher than that), and students are typically in the top 5%, so their grades are obvious great. That leaves schools with course-load, and EC’s to differentiate students.</p>
<p>test + grade - EC = not great
but crazy EC + ok test + ok grade = may get you pretty well
My friend wasn’t that smart actually. Just mediocre. He didn’t have that much of a high grade nor test scores. But, he won bunch of awards for his science fair thing (and he went to Intel Science fair), and he got into UPenn.</p>
<p>I don’t know if this was his case, but I’m really annoyed that the people who win regionals around my area have a family member who works at a university, who then uses the equipment there to run a meaningless experiment the student doesn’t understand.</p>
<p>yup. exactly his case. that’s why I say science fair or researches don’t really show one’s true intellect</p>
<p>the look at everything when they look at your apps, write a good essay that helps</p>