<p>Does it mean anything when colleges like Harvard, Columbia, and Yale send you stuff telling you to apply? My grades and scores aren’t the best, but the schools sent me stuff and keeps encouraging me to apply. I don’t want to apply if I’m not going to make it, but I don’t know if I should just apply anyway. What do you guys think?</p>
<p>Usually such letters come as a result of your PSAT/SAT scores. The letters mean that your scores are within the range of students who were accepted to their schools. </p>
<p>It's important to realize that when it comes to a school like Harvard, that gets about 20,000 applications, about 85% or so of the applicants have the scores, grades, curriculum that indicate they could be succcessful students at the school. However, for space reasons, Harvard can only accept 1 in 10 applicants. </p>
<p>Most of those who are accepted have scores at the high end of SATs (The range for Harvard students is 1200-1600, with only about 50% of those scoring 1600s being accepted, and a much smaller proportion of students getting 1200s accepted).</p>
<p>Thus, apply to Harvard if you wish, but also make sure that you have some good match and safety schools.</p>
<p>All right, thanks. :)</p>
<p>Also I want to ask, which is easier to get into, Harvard or Columbia?</p>
<p>Columbia is probably easier to get into that Harvard, but Columbia is no pushover. It's still plenty hard.</p>
<p>The point about the letters is to not take them personally. They haven't singled you out in some way to urge to to apply. What they really mean is that your name is on some list or database that they purchased, be it PSAT, or SAT, or ACT, or whatever. They will readily reject a large majority of those students they encouraged to apply.</p>
<p>So keep a sharp eye on your safeties when making up your final school list.</p>