<p>does it mean that you are unlikely to get in your reach school? Or is it possible that you can get in?</p>
<p>of course its possible. it means ur below average from a statistical perpective.</p>
<p>A reach is a school that you would be lucky to get into.</p>
<p>The SAT isn't everything, but it is probably the best single measure for determining reaches, matches and safeties. On the 50% SAT Range for a unhooked applicant in RD, a school is a safety if you are at or above the 75% mark, it is a match is you are around the 60% mark and a reach if you are around the 40% mark. This is a bit conservative, but I like to think that an applicant should get into most of his/her matches.</p>
<p>The reason these marks are so high is that the lower half is filled with legacies, URM's, recruited athletes, development cases, VIP's and ED applicants who all have statistically lower SAT scores. Some college fill up half their freshman classes with ED applicants.</p>
<p>You also have to consider if the 50% range bumps up against the high end. At Harvard, the range is 1400-1580. When 25% of the freshman class is 1580+, they are denying/waitlisting alot of applicants just because they don't have room. Harvards overall %-accepted is about 10%. The %-accepted for applicants with 1600's is around 40-45%.</p>
<p>Can I ask a weird question?</p>
<p>Are colleges likely to accept unique applicants with low stats? For instance, poor, disabled URM from Australia with GPA 3.6 and SAT 1200. Does he have a chance in elite colleges? Sorry if this is a bad example. This doesn't apply to me, but I am so confused with the admission process and how it works. It's so mysterious and unpredictable.</p>
<p>possibly. The SAT ranges don't take into account some of the most important factors in admission. However, the most important factors at elite schools (essays, extracurriculars, etc) are so subjective it is impossible to determine what the likelihood of admission is. It is also hard to determine how much URM and economic status play into admissions at these schools. That is why the "what are my chances?" board is so popular.</p>
<p>uniquness certianly helps. they're not deciding if you're worth as much as trying to craft a sucessful, intersting, and capable class.</p>
<p>Reach schools are schools that your odds are around 15-35%</p>