I’ve been hearing that schools such as Harvard and other hard to get in schools will filter their applicants and if your sat and gpa is not withen their standards your application will be automatically discarded. I always presumed that they look at every single application. Help?
None of us sits in that admission office so none of us will know for sure. Academics are a critical part of any application so if an applicant is well below standards then it is certainly conceivable that less time might be spent on making an admissions decision.
You have another post asking of a person with an 1150 SAT should apply to Harvard and Penn. The answer is still no.
File this under “it is what it is.” Harvard will not answer the question (or if they do, they will say that they read them all; you can decide if it’s true.), and none of us knows. Whether they discard upon looking at scores or read the whole application and then reject is moot; an unhooked applicant whose stats are below the threshold is not getting in in most cases. A stellar application package will not override weak stats.
Lol not if your parents are rich. Don’t be so mean…
Not even then. Harvard will not accept a person that cannot do the work at Harvard. Rich people that gave a ton of money will certainly result in their kid’s application getting a second look, but nobody with an 1150 is getting in regardless of the hook.
It would be mean to give false hope.
Being realistic is not being mean. The seasoned posters do not make the rules, each school makes their own. We’re just fortunate they are willing to share their best interpretation of these rules based on their experience(s); experience(s) we do not have yet. I know I sure appreciated their expertise, many times, when we were in the thick of navigating the crazy and mysterious world of admissions.
There’s misunderstanding about “automatic discards.” They can read your file and still not let you past first cut, if one or more factors are not in place. No, it’s not good to have scores that just won’t work. No, considering this is an academic institution, some great EC or what you think is the best essay ever, won’t be enough. They’ll have tens of thousands of apps that hit all the marks, for very few spots.
Don’t get so hung up on admissions being “most competitive” that you forget this is about how qualified you are for the actual 4 year experience. The only place lightning strikes is in some kids’ minds, when they assume they really have a shot, “if only…” That’s just not being informed. And the Harvards want to see informed, straight-thinking kids.