<p>It seems that everyone I talk to who has gotten into any of the extremely prestigious schools are always out-of-this-world talented. Does one have to be a true freak-of-nature to get in, or are there semi-normal people who also gain admission into these schools? Is it even worth applying to if you do not have some international, national, or state-level honor or award? Do you have to do pretty much everything or can you still have a chance by doing the few things that you actually like? I'd like to know the honest truth before spending a small fortune applying to these schools.</p>
<p>I have a friend who had a 3.1 GPA and terrible SAT scores but he was one of the top trumpet players in the country and got into Northwestern with a full ride.</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure that at top schools like Northwestern, getting a “full ride” is a result of financial need, not merit…so I don’t think that that part was necessary.</p>
<p>^Not neccesserily. They want a well-rounded class, so they do take “normal people,” but even those normal people are usually top 10% of their class and SATs greater than 2200 in many cases</p>
<p>schoolisfun has it right. Highly selective schools take super-talented people, but they also take some people who are simply very good students. What they don’t do, however, is take a few people with average stats and ECs just for the heck of it.</p>
<p>To get a feel for this, take a look at the results threads for some of the highly selective schools.</p>
<p>That’s not completely true. I got into Cornell and CMU with a 1900 SAT, 3.6 weighted Gpa, and very very few ECs. CC is only a small sample of the people who apply and get admitted. To get a feel for this get off CC and in real life ask as many people as you can where they got in and what their stats were.</p>
<p>Hunt is right in that some semi-normal kids with decent stats are accepted. However, for HYPS, consider this:</p>
<p>Approximately 50% of matriculants are hooked candidates, meaning they’re a URM, recruited athlete, legacy, first-generation college student, developmental admit, or possess incredible talents (written 2 full-length novels) or very impressive accomplishments (qualified for USAMO, Intel finalist, etc.).</p>
<p>At HYP, the 25% percentile mark (lower end) for SAT’s cut off at approximately 700 for all three sections. And that’s the high end of the bottom quartile.</p>
<p>At HYPS, over 95% of the student body was in the top 10% of their class in high school.</p>
<p>Now, a candidate with a 2200 SAT, 3.8 GPA who is in the top 10% of his or her class shouldn’t lose hope. But someone with, say, a 1900 SAT, 3.5 GPA, and is in second or third decile of their class probably shouldn’t apply to Harvard, Yale, Princeton, or Stanford unless they believe they have a very special circumstance that will aid them significantly (e.g. single-handedly supporting a family, being famous, having parents who will donate seven-figure checks to the University).</p>
<p>^Essays/recs are very important. But you have to be at a certain point academically for those to come into play. That doesn’t mean 2300 SAT, 4.0 GPA, etc. But almost no one with an SAT below 2100 and/or GPA below 3.75 stands a fair chance at acceptance unless they’re hooked.</p>
<p>But they still have a chance and most of these people probably don’t post on CC since they are probably not as obsessed with this getting into top schools nonsense.</p>
<p>Again, Harvard doesn’t take a few people with lower stats and no ECs just for the heck of it. They take some people with lower stats and no ECs who have some other highly desirable characteristic, and they do take some people with very high but not stellar stats.</p>
<p>And let me just say that in the time I’ve spent on CC, it’s been much more common that I’ve been surprised that a student didn’t get in to a top school than that I’ve been surprised that somebody did get in.</p>
<p>I’m not trying to be mean, but there’s a kind of magical thinking going on here–I think students need to have a realistic understanding of the odds. If they don’t, they may make the mistake of applying to several super-reaches and one safety they don’t really want to attend. It’s OK to roll the dice and apply to Harvard even if the chances are remote, but it’s important to have a range of schools, including several that you are likely to get into.</p>
<p>All admits to top schools will be remarkable or desirable in some way, whether it’s academically, in ECs, or being hooked. This doesn’t mean, however, that everyone accepted is a super-genius, but it does mean that they are distinguished in some way.</p>
<p>Have a look at the four green dots that are at under 1400 SAT:</p>
<p>1) URM – Black Male, 1400 SAT,
2) URM – Black Female, 4.4 GPA, ACT 31 = SAT 1380, Valedictorian
3) semi-URM Hispanic Female, 4.73 weighted = top 3% of class, 1360 SAT
4) Chinese, 460 on English SAT (implies not in US long) with 770 Math SAT, high SAT Math2 and Physics scores, top 10% of HS class</p>
<p>5) – oh there aren’t any more. OUt of 136 applicants that year who posted their data on the above linked website.</p>
<p>So, if you are an applicant to Harvard who does not fit one of the above 4 categories, what are your odds? The lowest SAT of the lowest accepted was 1360, but with an incredibly rigorous course load (see delta between unweighted and weighted GPA) and almost straight As.</p>
<p>I have read in dozens of places that the Essay is only a tie breaker if two or more applicants have similarly impressive academic creditials (course rigor, GPA, test scores).</p>