<p>I know that there is a lot that goes in to the admissions process but I was wondering if your SAT and/or ACT scores are above the 25%-75% and your GPA is above the average, are you almost guaranteed acceptance. Definitely not at HYPS or top ten schools, but for schools that are at the lower end of Tier 1 and Tier 2 schools.</p>
<p>You can probably find the stats you need. Lots of colleges break down accept rates by scores of applicants. I would highly think that for your group of schools, which are still relatively selective, that even top scorers can be so confident.</p>
<p>I know you aren’t discussing HYP but just as an example, for kids who scored 760-800 in Verbal, Yale accepted only 16.4% of applicants last year. For Math 760-800, it was only 13.0%. That means there were tons of disappointed top scoring applicants. While the group you’re referencing probably don’t have 84 and 87% rejection rates for these top scorers, I bet it’s still not a shoo-in.</p>
<p>No, it kind of does. Even for schools as good and selective as Michigan you have 80% chance if you have scores and GPA above 75%</p>
<p>^Probably even higher than that to be honest</p>
<p>University of Michigan Ann Arbor is in my top 5. University of Wisconsin and Ohio State University are also in my top and I know OOS is hard</p>
<p>[< bump >]</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Utter nonsense. Roughly 92% of entering freshmen at Michigan rank in the top 10% of their HS class. If your class rank is in the top 25% range, your chances of admission are slim to none unless you’re a recruited athlete or offer some other special talent they’re looking for. An SAT CR score at the 75th percentile (top 25% overall) puts you in the bottom quartile of Michigan’s entering class, which means your chances of admission are considerably less than 50-50, probably closer to 25%, maybe less. An SAT Math score at the 75th percentile is even worse; Michigan’s 25th percentile SAT Math score (bottom quartile of their entering class) is about 50 points higher than the 75th percentile (top quarter) for all SAT-takers. You’re dreaming if you think being in the top 25% gets you into a school like Michigan. Not even close, unless you’re a fifth-generation legacy or a Big Ten championship-caliber quarterback.</p>
<p>Not to steal your thunder there, but I’m fairly sure s/he meant 75th percentile of UMichigan admits, not 75th percentile overall.</p>
<p>This is true, 75th of the actual school.</p>
<p>yea bclintonk. I mean if you’re above the 75% percentile of admitted students in that particular school not SAT/ACT rank percentile.</p>
<p>I see. Apologies, I misunderstood. </p>
<p>I think you need to look at the overall admit rate of the school. If it’s up around 40-50% or higher then being in the top quartile in both test scores and GPA/class rank probably means you have a very strong chance of admission. But even then it’s no guarantee. You could have some other blemish on your record, or get dinged by a lukewarm recommendation, or the school could decide you didn’t take a sufficiently rigorous course load. Even at schools with supposedly “numbers-driven” admissions processes, numbers may not be everything. By the same token, though, even at schools that profess to use a “holistic” admissions review and claim to downplay stats, the stats probably matter more than they let on. As the admissions director for one highly selective LAC told us, “Grades and SAT scores matter a lot less than applicants think, but they probably matter more than we care to admit.”</p>
<p>Ok, is it me or does most students on CC seem to be uber-geniuses? If we don’t have stats anywhere close to them, does that mean we don’t stand a chance? I keep seeing these stellar scores, ECs, etc and think, who am I fooling? Sigh.</p>
<p>Definitely not a guarantee for schools that have lower admit rates (maybe 30% and less?). All you have to do is check some of CC’s “results” threads from prior years to see that there are always some applicants who get rejected even with those top stats.</p>
<p>Here’s an example of your chances from one of the schools you mentioned:</p>
<p>[University</a> of Wisconsin - Madison: Likelihood of Admission](<a href=“http://www.admissions.wisc.edu/images/UW_FreshmanExpectations.pdf]University”>http://www.admissions.wisc.edu/images/UW_FreshmanExpectations.pdf)</p>
<p>Oh cool. According to that site I would have a 95% chance at Wisconsin :D</p>
<p>D was above the 75% at UMich and didn’t get in…2008 though; alot has changed…</p>