<p>newsmassdad, you misunderstood me. Yes, the most selective colleges are a crap shoot for even the best prepared students during admission. However by reach colleges I mean students whose high school statistics(gpa, course load, SAT,SAT 2's) place them in the bottom half or worse in the admissions pool.</p>
<p>I agree that these are not foolproof predictors of academic success but they give some indication at least. If the 25-75% SAT range is 1400-1550, a student who scores below 1450 would consider that college an academic reach and I would agree. Could he become a star student in the university? Possible, yes but probably not. Those students would more likely be those in the top quartile.</p>
<p>All I am saying is that 50% of any class has to finish in the bottom half and it is most likely to be over populated by those in the bottom half of the admissions pool. And yes there will always be exceptions. But this is the way things work in any competetive environment. The best f'ball players start, the others sit or fail to make the team. </p>
<p>I have been in the college classroom for more than 30 years and see this play out in every class. You can indentify quickly those students who just get it immediately, those who eventually get it through hard work and those who never fully get there.</p>
<p>And if the bottom third and bottom half of the graduating class is not overrepresented by those in the bottom half of the admissions pool, who is overpopulating it?? Only Lake Wobegone is able to avoid the laws of logic and statistics.</p>
<p>There are many good reasons to attend an academic reach college. But a desire to partake of advantages offered to those whose classroom performance sets them apart from their peers is not one of them.</p>