<p>This is a question for a friend who won a gold at last year's International Olympiad in Informatics, which is the foremost competition in computer science for high school students. There are similar competitions in math, biology, chemistry and physics. Does winning in one of these competitions guarantee acceptance?</p>
<p>No, but it is a big plus. There is no such thing as a "guaranteed" acceptance these days.</p>
<p>Of course not.</p>
<p>My friend got rejected with about 2 silver and 1 gold from IMO(int math's olym) with a 2160 SAT. And, generally speaking, medals guarantee nothing in top universities, nothing does actually; they do indeed give you some considerable advantage but "guarantee" is far too extreme.</p>
<p>714nD1, is your friend an international applicant to US schools? That may make a difference, since OP is domestic.</p>
<p>While nothing is a guarantee, I'd honestly say a gold medal at IOI is practically guaranteed admission...</p>
<p>There is NO GUARANTEE..All you have is a bit of an advantage...</p>
<p>"a bit of an advantage"? I don't think you even understand what olympiads are if you would say that.</p>
<p>Unless you are the child (at least somewhat smart) of a very important person, you are not guaranteed admission.</p>
<p>As far as "guaranteed admission" goes, Gaffe nailed it.</p>
<p>Yeah, I don't understand what is an Olympiad, just as I don't understand what I am writing about, just as I don't understand what I am trying to explain here, just as I haven't seen 100s of accepted student's profiles, just as my predictions were quite on target....I am lame..I must wonder, why I am here for..</p>
<p>amb3r : It seem you don't understand what olympiads are. MIT is insane to ask its prospective students participate in Olympiads on their website, aren't they?</p>
<p>Why is MIT "insane" to ask about Olympiad participation (or to encourage it) as they do on their website? It strikes me that it is one way to distinguish oneself from all the other 800 Math scorers out there. The kids who get to the national level final cut and beyond are among the top 15-20 (national finals) and 4-6 (int'l) in the country. </p>
<p>Would I recommend someone do it for college admissions? No -- I don't believe in activities for the sake of resumes. Would I recommend someone participate because she/he has an absolute passions for that field and it's an opportunity to go faster/farther/deeper than what's available in one's school? Absolutely.</p>
<p>nothing is guaranteed</p>
<p>What are you all raving about? </p>
<p>Of course nothing is guaranteed admission, but that's a moot point. Olympiad gold winner is almost as close to guaranteed admission as you can get. There's not much else you can do except win a gold medal in the Olympics or cure cancer.</p>
<p>^..If you see the world out of academics and Diseases, it's really big..:)..</p>
<p>I'm speaking specifically about students who are getting into Ivies through extraodinary academic (specifically scientific) excellence, versus other pathways like volunteering, athletics, and so on. As far as the sciences are concerned, you cannot do better than an International Olympiad.</p>
<p>Athletics is tougher than winning a medal at Olympiad for most of us! :D</p>
<p>If International Olympiad people are indeed rejected, I don't see what colleges expect to get out of it. I mean, these are some of the smartest kids in the WORLD, and surely they have more potential to do something great in the future than some subpar URM who is admitted in the name of "diversity."</p>
<p>Not entirely relevant to this thread, but I am curious, do children of the donors of endowments receive similar consideration as legacies for admissions to Stanford?</p>
<p>At most universities, the children of donors of endowments, or the children of potential donors of endowments, usually receive higher consideration than legacies. In admissions terms, they are often known as "development admits."</p>
<p>It seems unjust that (development admits, legacies) they are given any preferential treatment AT ALL, but to stay in business I guess that's what private colleges have to do</p>