<p>How are they accepted to great schools? the percentage of people who had low GPAs and low SAT scores, and didnt have many extracurriculars? How are they chosen? Is it really just luck and at random??</p>
<p>I haven’t seen any people with low gpas, scores being accepted to top schools.</p>
<p>URM
Legacy
Athlete</p>
<p>The “right” contact helps too</p>
<p>If you’re really underqualified for a school, you had to have something (one of the things mentioned above) going for you. Luck has nothing to do with it.</p>
<p>They’re lucky enough to have a ton of money</p>
<p>Is there a chance that the school just likes the student?? With the essay or somethingg?</p>
<p>There is that is extremely special about the person. Perhaps the grades are marginal because they have devoted all of their energy to running a business that they founded, or because they have been a working actor/musician/dancer or an olympic-hopeful athlete, or because they were engaged in independent research that has been published in a top journal, or because they wrote a novel, or they have a parent on the faculty.</p>
<p>If there is a “reach” college/university that you are truly in love with, go ahead and apply. But please, be realistic about your chances of admission. Always remember that the very first rule of the college application game is “Love thy safety.”</p>