<p>Just curious.
I know plenty of people who get into top schools with GPAs at or below 3.5, yet majority of everyone on here says that you'll get rejected with a GPA like that.
So what's the deal? If you have strong enough ECs, can they outweigh your GPA and grant you a better chance for admission into a top school?
Surely everyone at top schools doesn't have a 4.0.</p>
<p>yes, they can. The impact it will have depends on the school, though.</p>
<p>Where would ECs have the most impact as far as schools go?</p>
<p>Let’s say you are a pretty decent lacrosse player or tenor, but not national star quality. I would think this would play more to your advantage at some of the top New England LACs than the Ivies. Both care about such things, but the LACs can’t depend quite as easily on the applicant pool filling every slot with stars, simply because they are smaller. I’m speculating; someone with real admissions experience might weigh in with a different opinion.</p>
<p>First of all, define top schools. HYPSM? top 20? top 30? top 50?</p>
<p>It depends on the school one would be applying to. Generally, state schools only really focus on GPA and SAT scores, while private schools (especially LACs) consider ECs as a big part of your application.</p>
<p>My friend got into Princeton w a 3.6 but he had extremely unusual ECs and high school situation. It’s def doable!</p>
<p>I don’t think extracurricular activities <i>outweigh</i> your GPA, but they can enhance your application and may be able to compensate for a few points. Universities don’t just want smart kids, they want smart kids who will be involved with their university community, enhance student life, and will go on to be the movers and shakers who influence the world (and make their school look good as alumni).</p>
<p>So can a student with a 3.7 and above-average SAT scores who plays varsity tennis, tutors underprivileged kids on the weekend, has 1000+ hours of community service and just came back from a mission trip to Thailand get into an elite school? Sure. Will a kid witha 2.5 and the same stats get in? Probably not. There’s only so much that your ECs can do. The basic idea is that you still need to have a decent applicant profile, but if you fall a little below their average student with your grades, then high SAT scores or a really strong essay or ECs can help you. But if you are way below their applicant profile, then likely you won’t get in. A kid with a 2.1 and a 1300 total SAT is probably not going to get into Princeton, unless he cured AIDS last year in his spare time or something.</p>
<p>Don’t think of your application as a set of scales, where if one thing is found lacking something else can “balance” it out or “outweigh” it. They look at you as a total package – at most schools, it’s a holistic look. People don’t think like computers.</p>
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Having your dad live at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. and talking about the exposure that gave you to national and world events. I think the success rate historically has been 100%.</p>