<p>Hi,</p>
<p>I'm not trying to be negative in any way and I wish everyone who applied to a reach school all the best. However, I am just wondering, how many kids actually receive acceptance letters from their reach schools? How often do schools admit a student who is below their normal range? Has anyone on here been admitted to their reach school?</p>
<p>Thanks! and to all 2011 seniors applying to college like myself, good luck!</p>
<p>Yes. 10char.</p>
<p>As to how many students get into their reach schools, I couldn’t tell you that but, the term reach schools isn’t only about academic standards. Sometimes it applies to acceptance rate or randomness of admittance as I’m sure you know that there are some schools and programs out there which are a reach to any and every applicant just because of how unpredictable admissions are.</p>
<p>See the Penn early results thread - LOL!! College admissions is a darned crap shoot</p>
<p>I don’t know the statistics, but according to my counselor Penn was a ‘high reach’ for me, and I was accepted to Penn.</p>
<p>^^^lol nice coincidence. congrats blorgit</p>
<p>what do you think “made” your app? good essay?</p>
<p>Harvard is a reach for everyone, but rumor has it that some people get in.</p>
<p>Yeah, “rumor”. Just like “rumor” has it that aliens built the Pyramids and the Great Wall.</p>
<p>Though, I really like this question and I’m curious as well. I imagine that obviously there are success stories, but how often do schools reach below the “average” that usually makes it to their school?</p>
<p>That’s just about the stupidest comment I’ve ever read. Do you seriously believe that anybody going to Harvard is a conspiracy theory?</p>
<p>I’m looking for anyone who can give me an educated response to my questions. Yes, I know that occasionally by some fluke thing, a few kids get into their reach schools, but I’m wondering how rare this really is (or if it happens a lot). My dream school is a reach for me, and I’m just wondering what chance I have of getting into a school out of my league. </p>
<p>go4cornell, DoinSchool, and blorgit: thank you so much for your help! I really appreciate the insight.</p>
<p>It’s always hard to say. If colleges think that you are well-rounded (this differs from school to school) you can still get in even if you fall flat in one or two critical areas. It also depends on how you present yourself in your application. You need to show schools that YOU ARE DIFFERENT. Most schools are looking for that. Good luck!</p>
<p>@DoinSchool: Yeah probably, my essay was apparently really good according to the people I forced…er…asked to read xD I also thought that maybe my NASA internship got me in but I looked and a lot of people had cool internships…so it’s probably mainly the essay that got me in I think.</p>
<p>My coworker’s daughter got rejections from Yale, U of Chicago, Stanford, weightlisted at Pomona and Carleton, and accepted at Harvard, which she now attends. It appears that if you have a certain level of stats it gives you the opportunity to enter the lottery, and it may just work out for you. At the same time, it illustrates the importance of really liking your safeties (Willamette, in this case), because if it weren’t for the Harvard acceptance, that is where she would be going.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for the advice! I would really like to attend my reach school (USC), but I’m falling pretty short in both SAT and GPA. If anyone finds anything out about how many kids get into reach schools or how often colleges accept students below their usual average, please let me know!</p>
<p>50% of admitted students are below the median scores for their incoming class. Also, 25% of students fall below the middle 50% of admitted students. You need our help to figure that out?</p>
<p>Many of them are hooks or legacies, but one would presume the school was a reach for almost all of them.</p>
<p>@kameronsmith
I really would have hoped that it was obvious that I was kidding.</p>
<p>In any case, I’d be interested in sitting in on how decisions are actually made. What the mentality is in regards to stats and such. It’s obvious enough that half the people attending a school are bellow the reported median, but do top schools look at an applicant with scores below that mark as unfit until they see something that brings them back into the competition (be it an excellent essay, amazing extracurriculars, or some “hook”)?</p>
<p>@ moodragonx : That is exactly what I’m talking about! What kinds of things would make a school pick a student far below the average grades/test scores and what does the application review process look like for an applicant in this situation?</p>
<p>@ Chardo: Sure, its obvious that the average scores are the middle 50% and that 25% are below that, but who knows how far below it they are? I’m not talking about 100 points below the average SAT score and a kid having a 3.8 instead of a 3.9. I’m talking about way below the median.</p>
<p>Way below the median, you have almost no shot at all. They need to be certain that you’ll be academically qualified for the school.</p>
<p>If you were way below the median, you’d need an amazing EC (curing cancer), great international awards in established contests, and/or a very rich donor.</p>