<p>I just thought of a thread idea when I saw the other one (Number-based admissions)
I know that many universities like higher numbers AND great ec's as well but are there certain colleges that admit those who aren't always numerically strong?</p>
<p>For example, I don't think this is true but I heard Columbia accepts the occasional not-so-strong gpa outlier, whereas Duke likes those high scores and grades.</p>
<p>judging from the people i know, SATs>GPA at Duke. </p>
<p>are you only including elite universities? there are many good SAT-optional schools.</p>
<p>i just wanted some enlightenment on admission trends i may not have known about. like when i first heard about columbia, i didnt believe it but it really interested me. my school has some tough competition and i know a lot of people are gambling for a spot at reaches beyond their grades' scope. is it worth even taking that shot?</p>
<p>After going through the top school admissions process with 3 kids over 7 years what I learned is that all the rumors about which school does not care about what is BS. What turned out to be most true were the records high schools keep and the school's own common data sets. What these consistently showed me is the colleges take exactly who the numbers say they will. I was only shocked at one result among my children's peers until I later learned a girl I assumed was Caucasian was Hispanic.</p>
<p>any universities known to place an emphasis on personal qualities?</p>
<p>I'm shocked that Columbia is supposedly known for taking the people with not so high GPA, but with spectular things in every other category. When I met an admissions rep from Columbia, GPA seemed so so important to them.</p>