<p>GPA: 2.0-2.5 UW Possibly 3.xX weighted (never failed a class lets say but a C avg student with a few lucky Bs somewhere)
Rank: no idea
Race: Hispanic, Black(minority makes it all that more special of a situation)
Gender:Male(doesn't really matter but I picked one)
School difficulty: Magnet High or prestigious private school(makes the situation more interesting although I'm interested to see what impact the school difficulty has)
SAT:</p>
<p>Person spends most time after school playing video games, hanging with friends, and reading on their spare time.</p>
<p>What would a college classify this person as?</p>
<p>Could he have any chance at an Ivy or other top institution?</p>
<p>Would he easily be accepted into any state university(assuming his profile isn't Ivy worthy of consideration)?</p>
<p>Would him having that same GPA at a non prestigious or difficult course school make it worse?</p>
<p>Now you're wondering why such a pointless question when this is irrelevant to you. My answer is that I'm an extremely curious individual and I thought of this situation as being extremely uncommon therefore interesting.</p>
<p>Yeah, pointless topic I guess for many. If anybody has the knowledge to present their opinions or contribute their knowledge please do so. I'm very interested in finding this out. I had a friend like this before earlier in elementary school. C- avg with perfect standardized tests or very close to perfect. Wondering how his life would turn out subconsciously maybe?</p>
<p>Interesting. I know two people with similar backgrounds. One enlisted in the Air Force, blew off the top of their placement tests for enlisted personnel, and ended up posted to the Language School at Monterey. He ended up in officer school and spent 10 years in Intelligence for the Air Force. He's now a valuable trouble shooter in the software industry.</p>
<p>Another started drinking heavily and the last time I heard anything about him he was driving a forklift in a warehouse.</p>
<p>With a 2.5 and those SAT scores most middle-tier state colleges would accept him. Or, he could follow the community college route and get two years of good grades and transfer to a top school.</p>
<p>I'm thinking that bad grades plus incredible brilliance plus some EC sign of that brilliance (writing symponies that are performed in Carnegie Hall, or publishing original research or something like that) might get you into a challenging college, but bad grades plus brilliance plus no sign of that brilliance won't get him in anywhere other than an "open door" state school.</p>
<p>Lots of really happy, successful people don't go to college. It's no crime.</p>
<p>I also hear often from here(this website) that top colleges look for real talent and brilliance more than a hard working student with very little to show. I would be wondering if a top college would just take some special students like these situations under their wing and attempt to make something great out of them like the next Picasso if his field is in the art or the next Einstein if his brilliance lies in mathematics and theorems.</p>
<p>I really would like to get some feedback from a dean or top personnel at these top institutions on how they perceive such records in all honesty.</p>
<p>Many people are bored with their classes often with such brilliance or finding those aspects as not very intriguing because they have a passion for something else. This is why I'm wondering if a top college would simply just say "To hell with this kid, he has Cs all over his record".</p>
<p>Maybe this kid has a passion for designing robots and such but their is no club at his school so he maybe goes to the park district or elsewhere to find such a club. So he does have a single EC which he devotes his life to.I wonder what a top institution would think of a master designer of robots for robot battles at some unusual club. :/</p>
<p>I've read books like "A is for Admission" and similar books but those answer very little about uncommon applicants. Those just refer to the average very hard working Bob out there which is most of us. I find the most unusual people the most interesting in all honesty. I myself consider me to be dull by my standards.</p>
<p>Thanks for sharing your stories about people you knew. :)</p>
<p>What would a college classify this person as?
-a slacker who would not be productive at their school and would not contribute positively to the academic environment or become successful post-grad</p>
<p>Could he have any chance at an Ivy or other top institution?
-not really, no</p>
<p>Would he easily be accepted into any state university(assuming his profile isn't Ivy worthy of consideration)?
-yes, i had similar grades and test scores and was given a huge scholarship to iu</p>
<p>If the student DOES something & is able to explain to the college what s/he was going that shows brilliance, some of the smaller schools MAY take an interest but will want something to show that the student can & will be a productive member of the college community rather than just blowing off college as s/he blew off school prior to college. I doubt a college would consider playing video games, hanging with friends & reading in spare time "applying brillaince." </p>
<p>There are many very bright AND hard working students--you'd have to build a strong case to explain to the college why this lazy student should be chosen over those students.</p>
<p>If the person really were a URM with those kind of stats, they would be so very unusual that I'm guessing that most colleges in the country would take a chance on them. The colleges might assume that the student's low academic performance reflected boredom, being overlooked by teachers due to racism; being in a low performing school and succumbing to peer pressure not to appear to be smart. I do think that the top colleges (among others) would take a chance on such an obviously brilliant person, and would hope that the person would succeed academically in an intellectually stimulating environment in which they were around other very bright peers.</p>
<p>The person probably would have the top scores of any URM in the country, and would have also been a presidential scholar if their grades had been excellent. Just to show how rare such a person would be, according to The Washington Post about 3 years ago, fewer than 300 African Americans in the country scored over about a 1450 on the SAT. </p>
<p>The fact that the student is male would add to their desireability as even fewer black students (and I also think Native American) students are college bound and male.</p>
<p>According to the college board, the mean SAT scores for African American seniors in 2006 were 434 cr 424 m 428 w (as compared to national means of 503, 518, and 497).</p>
<p>When it comes to majority students with those kind of stats, I also think that the majority of colleges would take a chance on them, but due to the overabundance of very high stat applicants who also have high grades I doubt that a white or Asian student with such stats would get into a top 15 college, but perhaps it could happen depending on the circumstances.</p>
<p>You know what I think? and I may be completely wrong, but
I think that maybe this student knows he is very bright and could probably do well on standardized tests, but has never really done them. I think he is hypothesizing a 36 and straight 800s, but is really just dreaming that he actually got those scores and hopes that top school's might regard him.</p>
<p>There was once a book about kids that got 2400s on the SAT, and let me tell you, they are few and far between. If your GPA is 2.0/2.5 and you got 2400 and a 36, Im sure I would have read about you somewhere because this is just too bizarre of a situation; it might even merit an international award like "greatest test taker with lowest work ethic" award or something.</p>
<p>That's only been done by a handful of people in the United States </p>
<p>Harvard, Yale, Princeton would be fighting over such an applicant </p>
<p>Grades or class rank: irrelevant - (as the poster above suggests)</p>
<p>These colleges would easily find a theory to justify an admit. They would proabably consult with a clinical psychologist to assist them in understanding the student </p>
<p>Example: "obviously gifted student and (so far) unmotivated for organized classroom work due to pervasive societal racism, which campus diversity environment will most likely correct for this applicant" or some other politically correct AD COM-speak</p>
<p>What is very odd is many of the same people who would justify an admit: would be the same people telling you (apparently for non-URMs) - that perfect SAT scores while possibly a predictor of 1st year college grades, have no provable connection to overall intelligence or apititude and often are just a sign of the ability to take a test. (This later explanation being complete nonsense of course.)</p>
<p>"Potential is a sh**ty word. People should push themselves to achieve all they can."</p>
<p>Laziness is a very un-good trait, I believe. Colleges are impressed by people who excel in all areas and are well rounded because they demonstrate discipline and vision. By that, I mean that colleges want people who understand that they can't always have what they want in the world; win some, lose some, give some, take some. I wish I could just do neurosurgery research and tutor elementary school kids and get into medical school, but I can't. I have to do well in my other classes (whether they're English or Math), even though I don't like them.</p>
<p>That being said, I agree with the above posters who said that a top-tier school would likely not accept you, but there are indeed schools that would. Is there a top-tier school out there who looks for "promising individuals who need a push"? Perhaps; I'm not qualified to answer that. But I advise you to reconsider why you don't care enough about your classes to do well in them; it seems that you don't have pride, and you don't care about doing well even though you have the potential to. I hope you will come to understand that life isn't fair, and you can't do only what you want.</p>
<p>"That being said, I agree with the above posters who said that a top-tier school would likely not accept you"</p>
<p>The original poster is posting a hypothetical only - it has nothing to do with him, nor is there likely any person,( URM or not), in the United States who would likely have stats similar to those described</p>
<p>If I was an admissions officer and I saw those stats in an applicant...the first thing that would come to my mind:</p>
<p>Did this kid cheat on his tests?</p>
<p>Because that's really the only thing noteworthy about this student, his scores on two tests. Even if he didn't cheat and the adcoms didn't suspect that he did, his success is based off of 6 hours of bubble-filling brilliance sandwiched between 4 years of general laziness and stupidity. There's absolutely no reason to think he'd suddenly translate his "potential" into something constructive once he steps onto a college campus.</p>
<p>I'd say he'd get a quick rejection at any elite university, but state colleges shouldn't be a problem. A lot of state schools (like U Kansas, Kansas State, U Missouri) will admit an in-state student based purely on test scores, given that the student has a pulse.</p>
<p>Maybe a bit of newfound maturity would help you do well...anyway if someone takes the SAT twice and gets a perfect score twice, that's not luck.</p>
<p>
[quote]
With a 2.5 and those SAT scores most middle-tier state colleges would accept him. Or, he could follow the community college route and get two years of good grades and transfer to a top school.
[/quote]
[quote]
Could he have any chance at an Ivy or other top institution?
-not really, no
[/quote]
[quote]
There are many very bright AND hard working students--you'd have to build a strong case to explain to the college why this lazy student should be chosen over those students.
[/quote]
[quote]
If the person really were a URM with those kind of stats, they would be so very unusual that I'm guessing that most colleges in the country would take a chance on them.
[/quote]
[quote]
Harvard, Yale, Princeton would be fighting over such an applicant
[/quote]
It does not appear that the above posters agree that this applicant would be competitive.</p>
<p>And I apologize for not noting that this is a hypothetical situation. I also apologize for implying that the OP is not driven and lacks pride. However... I think that still applies to someone in this hypothetical situation. I have no idea if a top school would take a chance on them, as I don't know any "lazy but brilliant" people at my school or the schools I was admitted to, but I have strong doubts about people who don't show drive and passion.</p>
<p>
[Quote]
his success is based off of 6 hours of bubble-filling brilliance sandwiched between 4 years of general laziness and stupidity.
[/Quote]
Bubble-filling is easy, deciding which bubble to fill requires that the person be smart.
I have a friend who is sort of an anti-establishment nerd and refuses to care for grades. Hands in reports only if he pleases. Doesn't think he has to let teachers know that he understands the subject so his answers in exams are sketchy. I know that he sometimes studies after the exams or in the summer vacation! He aced SAT-I (800, 780, 790) because he was inspired on the day of the test to do well. He obviously knows the material. Perhaps he'd not care much to do well if the SAT were taken on another day.<br>
I am curious to know which colleges will take him in. He is not a URM, so most colleges won't be interested I guess.
He is such a nice person, I wish he gets down to doing what the teachers are expecting from him. Well, it is too late in the high school.</p>
<p>Schools that are purely numbers driven may even give your friend a merit scholarship--these would be the larger public Us probably. Some post cut-offs for automatic acceptances & scholarships. He could google "guaranteed scholarships" & see what comes up.</p>
<p>If he wants to go to a great school, he'd probably get into a better one if he went to community college for a year or more & got great grades & then could transfer into most great Us.</p>
<p>88 keys who is hypothesizing? If you are referring to me which it certainly sounds like, then no. I took the ACT and didn't get a 36. My GPA is actually a 3.6xxxUW, 4.XXX W and I don't plan to apply to the Ivies unless I'm really bored since I haven't done anything great in the EC department myself. I think I want to go to a cheaper university(Urbana in Illinois) myself and then go to a very good uni for my masters just to have the experience if I can get in. I'm not anywhere near the same profile. </p>
<p>EDIT: Just got a copy of my transcript on my hand. I will take a pic for you guys. Seriously, when I say hypothetical, I really mean just that.</p>
<p>Apparently everybody assumes this is me. IT IS NOT ME. </p>
<p>Yes, it is backwards. Why? I used my MacBook's cam feature. If you really want a good pic of it for some reason then you need to wait till friday when I get home and use my digital camera.</p>
<p>I blocked out info because I didn't want to give away what school I go to. I will say it's a magnet public high school in Chicago, IL.</p>
