<p>You have to think of the magnitude of the number of applicants. She has solid grades and boards, a nice list of awards, and some good extracurriculars, but think of how many others have the exact same thing. Hell, some people will have an even better application. That doesn’t mean anything. Remember that several students with perfect scores on SATs get rejected (in fact, keep in mind that SATs play no bigger a role than any other factor). In fact, a report came out not long ago that said that Brown could essentially fill its classrooms with applicants who have perfect scores. Doesn’t mean they all get in.</p>
<p>Is she qualified? Yes, she more than likely is. But you can’t take everyone who is qualified - the numbers are staggering. There were almost 19,000 applicants last year, and only around 2,500 were admitted. I would wager that most of them had impressive records. The fact of the matter is they can’t take them all. No part of anyone’s resume makes you a lock.</p>
<p>It all depends on the mood of the commission and (for Brown, at least) what they are looking for at that particular time.
You have to approach admission with any school with a state of mind that, assuming you have done all you can do in high school and you have given your all on your application, whatever the response is, it is not indicative of your actual worth as a student. The ideal student could be rejected; sometimes that’s going to be you. Know that you tried your hardest, and whatever happens, happens.</p>