How did Steve Jobs did it?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Reed College
1

<p>This post is not to demote Steve Jobs or anything but it is out of just pure curiosity. I have heard that Steve Jobs had 2.65 gpa in high school yet still managed to get into Reed College. I don't know the application standard for reed during the time but currently the average gpa for applicants accepted are around 3.7 (Correct me if I am wrong). I believe that the colleges average acceptance gpa will not be different from today. </p>

<p>Then the question is how the heck did he get in? What talent did he had that made the college overlook his poor grade? I know that he is considered a genius but still !!</p>

2

<p>Reed is more selective now than it was historically. Here’s a link to a post on rankings and selectivity from Reed’s admissions website. Note that the admit rate in 1983 was 92%, compared to an admit rate in 2013 of 36%.</p>

<p><a href=“College Rankings - Admission - Reed College”>College Rankings - Admission - Reed College;

3

<p>Times change.</p>

<p>Jobs attended Reed in the early 70’s. Maybe the 70’s admit rate was even more forgiving than the 80’s generous 92% admit rate. </p>

<p>GWBush went to Phillips Andover, Yale & Harvard Bus School in the 60’s - 70’s. There’s no way any of these schools today would take a C student.</p>

<p>Consider USC’s stratospheric rise in prestige & selectivity. In the 80’s, USC had a 75-80% admit rate, and it was known as the University of Spoiled Children. Compare that to the 17% admit rate & top 25 ranking today.
<a href=“Freshman admission rate the lowest in USC history - Daily Trojan”>http://dailytrojan.com/2014/08/15/freshman-admission-rate-the-lowest-in-usc-history/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

4

<p>Jobs attended for something like 1 semester before dropping out. College had pretty much zero to do with his success.</p>

5

<p>In 2008, my daughter’s friend was accepted to Reed with GPA around 3.3/3.4 uw. So I think back to Steve Jobs days, 2.56 GPA does not sound too off.</p>

6

<p>

You can’t compare a 1964 C to a 2014 C. GWB;'s C grades were earned right before the massive grade inflation that started around 1965. (Bush was applying to Yale in '64.) A C in '64 meant “average” the same way that a B+ or even A- (Harvard College) does today. Plus there was the legacy factor.</p>

7

<p>Why do you assume that average GPA of accepted students is the same now as decades before?</p>

<p>You seem unaware that

  1. selectivity at a ton of colleges (definitely the top 50 LACs and ton 50 universities) has gone up a lot over the past few decades.
  2. There has been (IMO, rampant) grade inflation at the HS level over the past few decades.</p>
8

<p>“How did Steve Jobs did it?” Maybe he used good grammar in his application. Maybe his ECs were astounding. Maybe he really impressed an alumni rep or an admissions person. Maybe his life story was compelling. GPA is not everything. What is the point of this question? Does it have anything to do with Reed today? Does it have anything to do with anything? (Hmmm … maybe a good Hum 110 question.)</p>

9

<ol>
<li>People are more than their GPAs.</li>
<li>Times change.</li>
</ol>