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Your statement applies to only a specific group of high schools with weaker academics and is otherwise erroneous. For example, out of the 12 kids accepted to Princeton from my school this year, 2 were in the Top 5. 2/12 were developmental admits/recruited athletes so they can be disregarded, but that still leaves 8 students outside the top 5 but inside the top 10% who were accepted.</p>
<p>Hey, if you are going to the Ivy League, not all of them are looking for GPA of 4.0 and test scores. Some of them are looking for EC, community services and most of all, Interview and essays. I found that out from my friend who was admitted at Brown University for having GPA of 2.0 and SAT of below 1500. She told me it’s the essay. She gave me a tip to get in the University are Essays and interview(Even there is no need). Good luck</p>
<p>“white-trashy diversity” — </p>
<p>I love it… Well you certainly would be underrepresented.</p>
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<p>Bull.</p>
<p>10char.</p>
<p>I found out my friend was admitted to Harvard. Apparently they liked him so much, they admitted him before they sent out likely letters. And they also apparently gave him worse financial aid than UCs.</p>
<p>Seriously people, learn to have a BS detector.</p>
<p>@redzerb</p>
<p>Its not going to be a hook if you don’t have high scores. The point would be to look at the quality of your high school, and then to see all you’ve made out of it. Its doing well despite your circumstances that will hook you, not your circumstances that hook you.</p>
<p>^Agreed. It’s a hook, not a line–it can’t pull you into a school you otherwise have little chance at, but it can serve as a “tip factor” that leads to your acceptance over another similarly qualified applicant.</p>
<p>Apparently, Redroses said that an acceptance is unlikely with median scores to an Ivy-caliber institution…</p>
<p>Guess none of us are getting into Caltech with it’s median SAT math being 770-800…</p>
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<p>It’s not that “none of us” will, but “most of us” won’t. His statement is perfectly valid. If you have median scores, and average recs/extracurriculars and such, you should have sub-20% chance of getting in, which is by all measures “unlikely”. </p>
<p>That being said, median grades won’t keep you out. If they have a 4.0 val from an average school who does average things or a 3.8 top20 kid who’s started some big project in his community and shows a lot of potential, then they’ll take the 3.8 guy. What I learned from the application process is that the Ivy League wants leaders. Period. A less than perfect GPA is OK if you show potential and demonstrate that you’ll be someone influential in your chosen endeavor in the future. A perfect GPA and class rank will not get you in if you don’t demonstrate something that lets them know what you’ll be a leader.</p>
<p>I think you failed to detect the irony in my post An0maly. I meant to say that with Caltech’s median math score being an 800, and 800 is the highest possible score on the Math I section of the SAT - that none of us will get in since the highest possible score is an 800. </p>
<p>And my post, though being laughing and joking in content - I’d like to point something out. While the Ivy-Leagues want what you said, the college I referred to specifically conducts its admissions in a way that essentially combines SAT scores, GPA, and class rank - with math/science awards playing in. Leadership isn’t a terribly important matter. Caltech is pretty known for being the school that “if all other school’s played their admissions game by, we’d have a college demographic that was primarily Asian”.</p>
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<p>So basically what happens is that college admissions is really competitive, and I think that when people see with top 5% ranks with 2200 SAT scores getting rejected instead of thinking “maybe he wasn’t great in other areas, or there were just much better applicants,” they freak out and think “oh no, being in the top 5% and 2200s aren’t good enough, you need to be valedictorian and have perfect scores to get into an Ivy!” </p>
<p>As long as you have above a 700 in each section you should be pretty good, and I think realistically you can have even a 600 score before they would throw your application out. GPA doesn’t really matter as much as rank, but as long as you’re in the top 10% you should be fine.</p>
<p>Yeah i mean i would like to think that i’m a pretty well rounded applicant. I play 2 varsity sports, im involved in music and community service, and i have test scores pretty well in the median, as well as a high class rank and GPA. I just really hope that the other stuff (EC’s, involvement) will be examined if i apply. And i would also like to think that i have excelled as a student despite the context of my academic predicament. Honestly, i just want to prove that a kid from some small, ****ty public high school in indiana is every bit as capable to succeed as kids from expensive elitist prep schools.</p>
<p>Word.</p>
<p>Also,</p>
<p>i love college confidential for *'ing out my profanity. :)</p>