<p>That kid had to have some big hook that Cornell was seeking.
No way an unhooked kid with a 3.4 gets in.</p>
<p>By the time of his high school graduation he’d have already completed an associate’s in computer science.
That combined with URM and first-gen college status (I am assuming he had them) likely impressed Cornell admissions.
If anything, the low GPA and class rank functioned as very strong hooks, too - the admissions office likely wondered why someone like that would apply to Cornell, and they looked at his application closely.</p>
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<p>Oh, I am sure it happens.
But those people who are making those mistakes are probably not the ones getting into HYPMS and then rejected by WUSTL.</p>
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Note that he also had a large number of external colleges courses with a college GPA of 3.9 . Colleges that have a holistic emphasis often place greater emphasis on the grades in the classes most relevant to college performance, so a high college GPA can override a weak HS GPA. The external college classes also show personal qualities that holistic colleges often find desirable, more impressive LORs from college professors, etc. However, some state schools, like TAMU apparently, have less of a holistic focus, so a high college GPA does not override a weak HS GPA and HS class rank.</p>
<p>When I applied to colleges, I was in a similar situation, with a 3.4/3.5 HS GPA and 4.0 college GPA. I was admitted unhooked to Cornell engineering, along with Stanford, MIT, and Brown. I probably would have been rejected to TAMU like the thread poster (if I was a Texas resident) due to my weak HS GPA, HS class rank, and non math/science test scores.</p>
<p>The Binghamton situation surprises me the most too, as I have seen a lot of Naviance data for Bing and they seem consistent. Worries me because my son will be using ACT scores rather than SATs and I have a gut feeling that it is a disadvantage despite no direct cite or evidence of it. </p>
<p>However, we had a lot of trouble with Binghamton when my oldest applied. Yes, he was accepted EA, but the was mistaken for another student with the same first and last name and very similar social security number. We used to joke that we didn’t know whether he did indeed get accepted or the kid did for him. We would think it was all straightened out and then we’d get some inquiry that made it pretty clear that the wires were still crossed.</p>
<p>Some other surprising rejections are some kids that waited too long to apply to state engineering programs and so they did not get a seat when accepted to some very selected schools Like MIT. Seriously, Einstein would not get accepted to some of these programs that fill up fast if he didn’t get his app in early enough. There are often a number of specialty programs at schools that are highly selective, even though the school over all is not. If a kid forgets to indicate a second choice major or just doesn’t, yes, he can get turned down for such programs even with stellar stats and resume. </p>
<p>@Data10
Actually, the letter of rec by one of his community college professors (a Cornell alumnus himself) likely had a huge impact on the kid’s admission.</p>
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<p>I think the hypothesis here is that those are <em>exactly</em> the type of students who get into uber-selective schools and then get rejected from somewhat less selective schools. CC is replete with overconfident kids who think they can apply to all eight Ivies and then phone it in at, say, Michigan as their “safety.” </p>
<p>^^^ I think that is a weak hypothesis.</p>
<p>I doubt the student who got into all 8 Ivies was careless in his application to U of Safety.</p>
<p>The only reason that person you mentioned applies to Michigan as a “safety” is that they know that there is a chance that they won’t get into any of the Ivies - otherwise why waste the money? </p>
<p>So, by definition, that means they are not “overconfident” and if they are smart enough to eventually get into several of the Ivies through customized essays, emails, extra recommendations - they know how to market themselves and their fit/capabilities. it is widely inconsistent that they would not do that for their safety. </p>
<p>Are some careless? Sure. But those are outliers.</p>
<p>It’s not about customized essays, emails and extra LoRs. The kid who gets into 8 Ivies is the outlier. But note that [he discovered] “that each has ‘their own sense of school spirit’ and other qualities he liked. He also applied to three State University of New York campuses and Duke — and yes, they have all accepted him.”</p>
<p>Imo, he did his homework on all these schools. </p>
<p>In reference to someone getting in Cornell but not TAMU - Someone in top 28% has very little chance of getting into TAMU. This happens to many private school students who are probably superior to most other students in State but lose out in the top 10% derby.</p>
<p>“the Binghamton situation surprises me the most too, as I have seen a lot of Naviance data for Bing and they seem consistent. Worries me because my son will be using ACT scores rather than SATs and I have a gut feeling that it is a disadvantage despite no direct cite or evidence of it.”</p>
<p>My son only submitted his ACT score and he was accepted to Bing. I seriously doubt, in this day and age, when so many kids in NY/NE now take both the SAT and the ACT that Bing looks more favorably on one test then the other. </p>
<p>I have a friend who got into Brown and Cornell, but rejected from USC. Many less qualified applicants from my school got into USC while she did not.</p>
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<p>Yeah. I think students who get into HYPSM… generally are very good at doing their homework.</p>
<p>Know someone who got into Emory and Boston College but rejected from Tulane. </p>
<p>interesting thread. is there something about unexpected acceptances yet? </p>
<p>I know a super bright kid from my school who got into MIT but not the state flagship honors college (PSU schreyer). I got into the honors college but was denied at cornell human eco ED, northwestern, and UVA (waitlist). You just never know some times. </p>
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Tulane is very touchy about over-qualified applicants. I’ve known people in this situation too. They don’t want students who phone it in the week that the app is due. On the other hand, I know B/B- students who have gotten into Tulane. But they sent their applications in October or November.</p>
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<p>That is not that surprising, especially if he applied to a popular major like bioengineering or EECS.</p>
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<p>Well, that’s the key – those schools consider “level of applicant’s interest”, presumably to better guess whether an “overqualified” applicant is applying there as a top choice (admit) or as a low choice “safety” (risk of waitlist or deny).</p>
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<p>Top 28% is just outside the automatic admission categories that stop at top 25% at Texas A&M (though 10% to 25% also requires a high enough test score). Since Texas public universities appear to fill most of their classes from the automatic admission categories, it is not surprising that getting admitted outside of the automatic admission categories is unlikely. (See <a href=“http://admissions.tamu.edu/freshman/admitted”>http://admissions.tamu.edu/freshman/admitted</a> for the Texas A&M admission categories.)</p>
<p>Getting into Cornell with a 3.4 HS GPA means that he had something that Cornell really liked (like the 3.9 GPA in college courses taken while in high school). That is the more unusual part of this story.</p>