recruited atheletes (usually they have no brains so it's not a surprise)
Legacy w/ parents that are donors
luck. Admissions to elite colleges has everythig to do w/ luck. someone might read your essay as humorous while another as trying to be a smartass.
[/quote]
</p>
<ol>
<li>A lopsided student (especially some of the scores in the 500s).<br>
For example, someone applying for physics, math, or engineering with 550 (verbal), 800 Math, 800 Math AP, and various science/math awards may be an excellent admit in those majors.</li>
</ol>
<p>Maybe we should start a thread reporting the scores of athletes who got 2000 or higher on their SAT's so we can dispel the myth that athletic ability and intellectual ability are mutually exclusive. I think the poster who said those scores are probably the results of people who are lopsided test takers is probably closer to the truth. Not every low scorer at a school or every student in the lowest decile is an athlete for heaven's sake. I think they only represent 1% or less of most admissions. And, I've said it before and I'll say it again: just because a student has a hard time getting IN to a school does not mean they will have a hard time doing the work.</p>
<p>Don't worry, you can score a 500 and be the President of the United States. And with luck, you might even invade a country on trump up charges and be revered as the most stupid person in politics. Go Yale!</p>
<p>if they have the score like 400~ 500 they could have been just lucky.
or they were choosed for their efforts. most school choose the students by their SAT grades, but these days they choose the students by seeing their
efforts and imprve when they are in school.</p>
<p>"if they have the score like 400~ 500 they could have been just lucky"</p>
<p>I'm afraid this just isn't so. Although the admissions process may seem arbitrary in many ways, it's not completely arbitrary. Colleges don't accidentally admit a few people with low grades and scores for no particular reason. If somebody with low grades or scores is admitted, there is a reason--the most common will be that the person is a recruited athlete, a develpment case, the child of a celebrity, or perhaps a URM with very good ECs.</p>
<p>Reddune -- As I recall, the fellow you are referring to had SAT scores in the low to mid 600 range (CR&M). And I believe his opponent in the 2004 election received similar scores. Both received "gentleman's Cs" while at Yale.</p>
<p>The Ivies certainly do recruit for athletics, they just cannot give athletic scholarships, only need-based financial aid. Top recruits get a boost in admissions, however, which some might consider priceless.</p>
<p>Kids whose parents are notable alumni (granted, of course, they donate millions) usually get the biggest boosts. It’s not because the ivies are money whores, but because they need money in order to give out financial aid (Or for fruitless securities/derivatives :P). Athletes and minorities, on the other hand, get boosts up to a certain point; they need to show some sort of academic competence. Getting into a top school is the first fight… Getting out is a completely different feat.</p>