<p>Haverford is a great school, btw.</p>
<p>
Why? In your points, no one is innocent. Your premise is that a school with very high standards keeps out many kids, who through no fault of their own, never can fulfill full potential. Then you blame the elite school? Head-shaker, here.</p>
<p>
H standards screen out lots of kids. But it’s Harvard’s (et.al) job to find the diamonds in the rough. To the extent they do that, they should be commended. Or is your solution that H should serve as a community college?</p>
<p>
Pray tell what school can meet your lofty requirements? To say there are huge holes in the American education system is an understatement. What would you say elite colleges should do? Crazy generous FinAid and need-blind admissions is a start, wouldn’t you agree?</p>
<p>Your points on aid by Harvard are noted. It would be cool if Harvad said next year in an effort to increase diversity we will fill the class with students from high schools that have not sent a kid here in 20+ years. Just to show these kids they have a chance.</p>
<p>bud, what do you really know about what H does or thinks?<br>
There are schools that haven’t seen a H admit in many years and one of the things adcoms at top schools do, routinely, is see if someone applying from there does meet their qualifications. There is absolutely NO telling, from the outside, what the actual quality of a kid from border Texas or farmland or the worst-reputed schools is, or has been able to accomplish. You’re generalizing. These kids a top school may be impressed by have the gpa, take the rigor they can, incl AP or dual enrollment (and have the scores to back them up,) have internships and/or work, lead ECs, mentor, do admirable community service and so much more. Depending on circumstances, some knock themselves out just to physically get to their opps. And they write great essays, don’t fill in the blanks with random trivial stuff an have well-written, well-considered LoRs. It’s extraordinary. It’s not ordinary- T26E4 called them “diamonds in the rough,” but many are not in the rough, at all.</p>
<p>So watch the generalizations. Not alll kids in underperforming hs are great. Just as not all at TJ or Stuy or green-lawned suburbia are. Vision, insight, the ability to push onesself and achieve are always valued. Just being "good enough"isn’t “it.”</p>
<p>And, they won’t fill the class with kids from unrewarded schools to prove something. Geo diversity, potential, achievements, focus and motivation, balance in what majors, gender-ratios, all sorts of considerations- are more important. The kid gets a chance to perform or not in hs and the kid fills out his Common App.</p>
<p>From what I hear it seems Harvard is actually committed to bringing students of all backgrounds</p>
<p>
I was playing around with the calculator and it would be great if that would be the price I would have to pay to go to college. Harvard is in a league of its own when it comes to aid (and I guess academics as well). Now my only problem is getting in ;)</p>
<p>
Not exactly. Yale and Princeton are on par.</p>