<p>It seems that not having a hook is an automatic rejection at this point. An Asian kid at my school who scored a 36 on his ACT, was captain of Quiz Bowl, chief editor of the paper, had a 5.31 weighted GPA, and loads of (genuine) community service got deferred from Stanford. Meanwhile, the URM with good not great grades and a passion for bowling was accepted to Yale. These schools seem to care more about uniqueness than academic excellence. Everyone is qualified, so they just pick out the shining stars who may not have top test scores (or even the best grades) but have some hook. Is applying to these schools even worth your time? They boast 5-15% acceptance rates and take pride in rejecting valedictorians. The worst part is that every year the applicant pool gets bigger, so the acceptance rate is just steadily dwindling down. At what point will Harvard accept 3%? When do these schools (if not already) become impossible to get accepted to without a major hook?</p>
<p>Well I know a kid who was 2350 SAT, top few in the in class, IB diploma, low income, URM rejected from Stanford SCEA this year, not even deferred. I don’t think you can tell anything from one or two cases as you mention above. Was the Asian also rejected from Yale, was he from same high school? I don’t think they take any pride in rejecting qualified students, that is your own fantasy. Having something unique about you that is outstanding is certainly to your benefit. I think it helped my kid enormously. Go to the Harvard forum and read Northstarmom’s post about what makes a good EC at Harvard. Applying is a personal decision but surely everyone who applies knows the odds are not with them.</p>
<p>Do you honestly think though that getting into these schools without a hook (legacy, athlete, URM) is practical? Is being passionate about something enough? I also take back that they take pride in rejecting qualified students, but a tour guide at Georgetown bragged about how many valedictorians they rejected to a family friend. Also, the students went to the same school. It just irked me because the kid who got rejected is everything an elite school should want. He’s not a friend, but I admire someone who worked as hard as he did. </p>
<p>I don’t think it is realistic, no. It happens to a few, though.</p>
<p>What was your kid’s hook?</p>
<p>I wouldn’t say hook, just very good EC. Some extensive science fieldwork and research in with a museum for several years, two years of extra science coursework in that specialized area (along with 4 regular years), poster presentation and abstract from professional scientific association conference, a lay article in a good publication. Very good but not the top grades, tough course schedule, very high SAT’s but not top. So went to Brown. Waitlisted at Yale, but for some reason decided to decline it, so we’ll never know.</p>
<p>Everything is unfeasible for Asians lol</p>
<p>It is a little obnoxious how much Asians get discriminated against when it comes to admissions. Many of the URMs that get accepted are just as privileged as the Asians who get rejected with better stats and ECs.</p>
<p>I’m sorry you didn’t state your true agenda at top. It is extremely unrealistic of you to expect one student to automatically get into one single highly selective college of choice. It’s a little obnoxious that my URM friend didn’t get in either I suppose, to his mind. </p>
<p>Of course it is realistic; just ask the 1800+ that do get accepted to each Ivy. Now, is it damn tough is another question.</p>
<p>5.31 weighted GPA – What does that even mean?</p>
<p>I was just agreeing with venturalize. I understand that URMs get rejected all the time, but generally it is easier to get in if you are an URM. There are cases of Asians with 1900 SATs being accepted and URMs with 35 ACTs getting rejected. My true agenda is that you need some sort of a hook. Maybe you are a legacy, heavily involved in a specific area, or an URM. It just seems with college admissions getting more and more competitive, there is no longer any room for someone who is just an excellent student with good ECs at elite schools.</p>
<p>@PolarBearVsShark </p>
<p>I think his school weighs GPA differently, out of 6.0, I think.</p>
<p>^^ “, there is no longer any room for someone who is just an excellent student with good ECs at elite schools.”</p>
<p>I suspect that has always been the case. Only now there are more similar students from which to choose. Look at it this way - the kids at top schools were the tops of their pool 30 years ago, just like the students today are tops. </p>
<p>Kawaiiiii- Actually my school uses a 4.0 scale, but since it’s extremely difficult classes are weighted heavily. You can get a 6.0 at best in honors accelerated or AP classes and a 5.0 in just honors classes. We don’t even have an unweighted GPA. </p>
<p>Everybody has an unweighted GPA, it’s just very hard to calculate with weighted systems like your school and my school. D:
If he’s only ever gotten A’s, then he had a 4.0. If not, then he wasn’t as high in that area as someone with a 4.0 UW.</p>
<p>I’m sure colleges calculate an unweighted GPA, but our school really only sends a weighted.</p>
<p>Maybe getting into an ivy league without a hook is unfeasible, but getting a great education and having a successful post-college future (regardless of prestige) certainly is.</p>
<p>crtexxx- That’s true. There are tons of great schools without the Ivy label that don’t attract prestige whores. My sister wasn’t really interested in any super competitive schools, so she went to Reed College, which seems to offer a really unique atmosphere and as challenging a curriculum as most elite schools. I feel like for a lot of people going to an Ivy is more about being able to say, “I went to (insert name of prestigious school),” than getting a great education. </p>