<li>I’m not a ■■■■■… Seriously! :p</li>
<li>This is not a chance thread.</li>
<li>The title was made purely for attracting people to respond to this thread.</li>
</ol>
<p>Now for my real question:</p>
<p>Okay, let’s say you are given the list of people who will attend Harvard (or any other top-tier college, for that matter) in the fall of 2008 (or any other year).</p>
<p>Do you believe that this list of students would change if Harvard’s adcoms were to reevaluate each applicant they received in 2008? If so, how drastic do you think the change would be?</p>
<p>In a nutshell, is admissions to top-tier institutions a “crapshoot”?</p>
<p>I really do believe that lots of their admissions decisions could possibly come down to what kind of mood they're in at the time of reading an app, the order of reading your app (e.g. if they read an incredible one right before yours, or, on a different day, a terrible one right before,) or other subjective variables</p>
<p>Some kids are single read admits. That means they are immediately put in the admit stack. Others are not. There are kids who are definitely crapshoots.</p>
<p>No, they wouldn't change it. Why would they?
Yes, admissions is a "crapshoot," but not with the negative connotation of that word. I think the phrase "luck-based, subjective meritocracy" more accurately describes it.</p>
<p>I assume so. Think of it this way. They have a "definitely yes" pile, a "maybe" pile, and a 'definitely no" pile. The "maybe" pile is then filtered. No one from the "definitely yes" pile will be rejected later since they are "definitely yes." Same for the "definitely no."</p>
<p>Do you mean, if they had the same exact applicant pool say in 2009 instead of 2008 would the outcome be different or would they make nearly the same decision? Yes some of it would probably be different since its not an exact science and they have so many applicants with similar qualifications.</p>
<ol>
<li>Does the applicant have a perfect 2400 and 4.0 UW GPA? </li>
<li>Is the applicant one of the greatest athletes in the country?</li>
<li>Has the applicant cured cancer?</li>
<li>Does the applicant have any family who have previously attended the University? </li>
<li>Has anyone related to the applicant donated a substantial amount of money to the institution?</li>
</ol>
<p>If yes to any of the above, award with a big, fat, yes.</p>
<p>Xzibit, I assume there are guidelines, such as have high SAT scores, GPA, strong ECs, etc, that the adcoms look for to determine who is in or out. But you will never find a set of specific guideline with cut-offs or any of that sort, just a generalized list.
Remember, you always have a shot until you get the rejection letter or you decide not to apply.</p>
<p>It is not written in stone, and can be changed until the letters go out. Even then can be changed if new info is adverse. But given the volume of apps that have to be done in the amount of time, flip flopping just is not done often because it would really undermine the process. If you have ever been in the inner workings of an admissions office when they are trying to get the job done in high season, you would know what I mean.</p>
<p>There is a book I read called "What it Really Takes to Get into an Ivy League School", written by a senior Harvard admissions officer. It costs something like 12 bucks and is very in depth. </p>
<p>First, a junior admissions officers summarizes your stats on a sheet of paper and reads your essay. They have something called the 'academic index,' which is an objective score card used to calculate your stats, i.e., class rank, SAT scores, GPA, subject tests scores, URM status, Legacy, geographic location, etc.</p>
<p>Then he/she passes this onto their senior to look at. If your a strong contender, your information is passed onto the Admissions committee. They then vote on whether they will admit you or not. I can't remember the amount of votes you need but I know there are about 35 people on the committee. Be advised though, many times, applications are not passed onto senior admissions staff and are immediately rejected. If your essay is really good, it will be read aloud to the entire committee. </p>
<p>I think the whole thing is rather ridiculous.</p>