<p>n.b., The most recent 75th percentiles of students admitted to Amherst were 800 (CR), 780 (M), and 780 (W).</p>
<p>LAC admission committees are able to pay closer attention to the individual candidate in order to diversify or round out their classes. The preferential treatment received by underrepresented Asian minorities does not match that received by Afro-American and Hispanic applicants, but it remains a considered plus factor in the application, especially when taken alongside socioeconomic and educational background.</p>
<p>“LACs’ holistic attitude extends to their admission process so they tend to accept a lot of applicants with terrific life stories.”</p>
<p>Yes, but “terrific life stories” without a confluence of other personal factors, and of course academic achievement and high testing, simply won’t do.</p>
<p>For instance, I come from a humble background, can tell a story of my own, and had respectable SAT scores, but I hovered around the median of my elite high school, and my personal essays were iffy–that got me waitlisted.</p>
<p>So, all factors of admission remain important, as well as how the individual applicant expresses these factors through his or her writing.</p>