<p>Posted this in college discussion. Got no comments. Figured it was better under "admissions". </p>
<p>So if you do the math, obviously there are some kids getting in with these kinds of test scores. Now don't go "all p.c." on me here. But my question is...are the lower ACT's all kids that are diverse, or disadvantaged in some way? You can see where I'm going with this. Can a white middle class kid get in with a 28/29 or not? Obviously it would take stellar grades, and activities, and essay, and something unique. But what i'm hearing is that even with all that...there's no chance...because you really need a 33+ if you're not diverse, or disadvantaged.</p>
<p>What's the truth? And please don't post if you're just going to get on me for playing the race card. Sorry, been through that before, and I know all the proper things to say.</p>
<p>Sorry for the double post. Another CCer got mad at me. wow, really? life’s a bit too short to get pizzed at someone for a double post on a message board. LOL.</p>
<p>If these students are in the bottom 25%, they likely have a hook of some kind. Could be athletics, URM, geographic diversity (for Hopkins, think… Alaska), parents who are very large donors, or someone with an EC that is out of this world (eg, national or international caliber top performer in something). So hooks can be a lot of things – but most students don’t have hooks. If you don’t have one, you can apply, but pay a lot of attention to your safety and match schools because you are much more likely to end up attending one of them.</p>
<p>I’d wager that they are boys and girls who were recruited athletes, and more specifically, lacrosse players. I agree that they can also be URMs but my bet is that they are athletes who strengthen their top ranked LAX program. Another likelihood is they have high GPAs, could only afford to take the ACT once, and had killer essays that caught the admission committee’s interest.</p>
<p>Yeh, I think at any competitive school, if you don’t have a hook, you usually need significantly more than the average score. Most of the people with really low scores are in on money or connections, and I sure they would take a star lacrosse player with a 28. </p>
<p>If you have all As in honors and AP classes at a competitive high school, or you got 800 on a SAT II, I am sure they would overlook weak ACTs. When I went there, Hopkins was not rigid about grades and score requirements.</p>
<p>If your academic record matches your scores, I would be more realistic about schools.</p>