<p>Haha Phyllo. Sad but oh so true.</p>
<p>You cannot have a class made entirely out of overachievers: the bottom quarter of that class would go mad. Every class needs students who will be happy to be at the bottom.</p>
<p>Haha, phyllo, I know a native american who is quite smarter than me! If she put white on her Harvard application, I wouldn't be suprised if she still got in.</p>
<p>Yeah, they probably have a motto in the Harvard admissions office: "The only good Native American is a white Native American."</p>
<p>3.6 WEIGHTED, lower than 3.5 senior year, 28 ACT, accepted into Penn.</p>
<p>one of my great guy friends got into harvard with a 1900 but he was recruited and a legacy....</p>
<p>he also won the highest award that my school gives out but i think that was because he was going to harvard</p>
<p>international student (girl) with 1750 in Harvard!</p>
<p>You guys are so silly. With the avg. SAT score being 1600, you can't call these people w/ SAT scores in 1800s, 1900s idiots. Seriously, I think anyone can improve their 1600-->1800-->2000+ with a reasonable amount of studying.</p>
<p>i think ppl look too much into the actual numbers that a particular person has when complaining about how they got into such-and-such school....you gotta remember theres more to ppl than just their SAT scores and their gpa</p>
<p>smart guy, but he cheated a LOT and was senior class pres by virtue of the fact that he was popular (he hosted great parties)</p>
<p>Myself!!!!</p>
<p>Guys... this thread is non-sensical (sp?), degrading, rude, uncalled for, whatever you want to call it.</p>
<p>Trying to point out the dumbest person at Harvard is like trying to point out the ugliest supermodel, it's not gonna work (I'm not gonna argue with developmental cases however...).</p>
<p>Plus, that "dumbest person" is still IN an Ivy-caliber school... are you?</p>
<p>LAptopLover, I get your point. But I wasn't even in the same class as the cheater/drinker who got into Penn. I'm just saying, if admissions officers knew, would they let the person in?</p>
<p>you know what, Phyllo? This was a great idea to post a thread like this. give people hope when some CCers bring them down. I wish I could contribute to this thread because there are ignorant people who think that a 2400 and a 4.99 WGPA will get you through your whole life. Like Kemo said, "theres more to people than just SAT scores and GPA."</p>
<p>Indeed, there is a lot more to a person than SAT scores and GPA. But is an adcom going to see that from your little admissions envelope? Does your admissions package make up everything there is in a person either? No way.</p>
<p>Maybe a kid who did a million ECs, mostly volunteering, absolutely abhors them, but he did it either because he knew it would help in college admissions or because his parents pressured him into it. Will a college know that? No.</p>
<p>Obviously there is a lot more to a person than just numbers, but I would think of scores as being a fairly constant and reliable indicator of a person and their abilities. Scores are not the end all nor flawless, but they do have importance.</p>
<p>As I read more and more about the top college admissions, I start to wonder if they are almost taking the importance of diversity too far. Diversity is certainly a good thing, but like anything, it can be overdone. I wonder just how near in the future it is where people start being accepted to college, an institution to learn, not by merit, achievement, or demonstrated ambition, but rather for the simple sake of being unusual in an aspect of who they are or by something they do.</p>
<p>Who gets in the Harvard is not dumb at all, that person definitly is smart, i just wrote dumbest score</p>
<p>
[quote]
As I read more and more about the top college admissions, I start to wonder if they are almost taking the importance of diversity too far. Diversity is certainly a good thing, but like anything, it can be overdone. I wonder just how near in the future it is where people start being accepted to college, an institution to learn, not by merit, achievement, or demonstrated ambition, but rather for the simple sake of being unusual in an aspect of who they are or by something they do.
[/quote]
I understand your concern, but I think you're oversimplifying the issue. Sure, it seems like the only kids we hear about who get into prestigious schools have highly unusual ECs or life experiences. However, while perfect scores and grades alone won't get you in, neither will simply being "diverse." I would bet that in the admissions pools of the ivies and other top schools, 70 or 80 percent of the students have the stats to prove that they can handle the work. The admissions people need a way to choose among all these applicants because they just don't have room for all of them. I think that's why, after they've determined that you're academically qualified, they start looking at ECs, recommendations, and essays to determine your personal qualities and how you might contribute to life on campus. What I'm trying to say is, 9 times out of 10, simply being unusual will not get you in to a college for which you are academically unqualified.</p>
<p>As far as "dumb" kids who are rich legacies, I honestly don't mind if a few of them slip in every year. Know why? Their parents are paying for my financial aid! Being a poor kid at a rich school ROCKS.</p>
<p>Yes, simply being diverse will not get you in - currently. It does seem that a lot of weight is being given to the diverse aspect though, perhaps also for some of the wrong reasons.</p>
<p>I was looking at a certain college's admissions statistics and saw that of the 150 some-odd international students that were admitted in the given year, there happened to be 60 some-odd countries represented among them. I couldn't help but wonder what the odds of that happening were if diversity wasn't a significant factor in those decisions.</p>
<p>George W. Bush</p>
<p>paid someone to take the SAT for him (i think 2050 was the score), paid someone else to take the SAT IIs for him (800 IIC, 760 bio, 780 chem), paid a professional to write up his personal statements, damn cheater in school (almost legendary. caught many times), judging from past experiences quite possible that he made up his ECs. heading to cornell. yes i lost all my respect for the ivy league schools cuz of this boy.</p>