<p>It is unquestionable that the class of 2012 is an extremely competitive group of individuals. As a high school senior, I have been one of many who have embarked on the “roller coster college admissions ride.” One of the many things I have gotten out of the admissions process is: the power of identies versus numbers. While it goes without saying that many of our larger universities and colleges solely look at numbers, whether our GPA’s, SAT, ACTs, APs, etc… others look more at the person/ or in this case, the applicant at hand. In small/highly selective schools such as UChicago, Haverford, Swarthmore, Vassar, Bucknell, etc… it seems that our essays/personal statements/recommendations become more of a factor than ever. Any thoughts?</p>
<p>I don't think I would have gotten in otherwise. But yes I agree in general. A lot of my friends/classmates got into really competitive colleges, but they weren't necessarily super-candidates or have 2400 SATs. My friends/classmates are going to Bowdoin, U. of Chicago, Middlebury, Smith, Carleton etc.</p>
<p>last year bucknell received some 7000 applications from students with sat scores in excess of 1200 and nearly 5000 from students with at least a 1300. some 2650, athletes and legacies included, were ultimately admitted.</p>
<p>in shooting for a class of 900, could admissions have simply accepted the highest scorers? sure. they could have enrolled an entire class of 1360+ers. would such a class be in the best interests of the school? almost assuredly not.</p>
<p>of course, you have grades to consider. that obviously plays a large part in simply not accepting the highest scorers. but you also have all the things that make people and classes interesting. creative skills. leadership qualities. unique talents. economic, social and racial diversity. </p>
<p>thankfully, in my experience, bucknell, like most lacs, does a pretty good job attracting and ultimately admitting those people. the ultra-preppy guy from my first semester freshman economics class (i remember wondering how on earth he had been admitted) turned out to be an accomplished concert pianist. his best friend was a film-maker and his roommate both an actor and talented cyclist.</p>
<p>at the end of the day, though, well over 90% of bucknell admits (again, athletes and legacies included) scored over 1200 on their sats. that is to say, solid scores are a necessary condition for admission, but are by no means sufficient. and with nearly twice as many applicants scoring 1300+ as there are acceptance slots, short of raising the scores-based bar for consideration, it has to be that way.</p>