<p>yeah, maybe he was missing the "spark"</p>
<p>hmm maybe...
oh btw he was accepted into Yale, so his essays couldn't have been THAT bad</p>
<p>well... maybe he had more of a desire to go to yale... putting more heart into it, either way, he went to an excellent school</p>
<p>he applied early to Harvard <em>and</em> Yale?? I thought you couldn't do that?</p>
<p>What state does the OP live in? Where are state run exams scores ranked individually?</p>
<p>maybe he applied last year.</p>
<p>In some previous years (some of the 90's, I believe), I believe you could apply to Harvard EA and Yale ED. From what I've seen, Yale's ED program was just binding and barred you from applying to any other binding programs. Nonbinding programs were okay. Harvard also was Regular EA, rather than EASC. But if you got admitted to both Harvard and Yale early, of course you were going to Yale.</p>
<p>Joey</p>
<p>The poster never specified that this person got into both schools early, just that the person got into Yale with that essay.</p>
<p>what does EASC stand for?</p>
<p>umm..I think it's a reversal of SCEA -- instead of single-choice early action it's early action single-choice</p>
<p>SCEA - Single Choice Early Action. And yeah, SATs are surprisingly not THE most important factor...a friend of mine had a 1600 and he got deferred EA- I had a 1520 and got in.</p>
<p>oops, Avalon beat me to it for the SCEA</p>
<p>It would be interesting to know more details about the friend, to the degree that it is proper to share those details here. All's well that ends well, if the friend is happy at Yale.</p>
<p>As for what "kind" of people get into Harvard? Well, when applying I was very intimidated and really didn't expect to get in... my SATs are far far below a 1600 and my grades are merely average, I didn't even think I should be applying but my counselor kept pushing me and I thought I would just give it a try. Surprise surprise, I will be attending Harvard next year with imperfect test scores and a few Bs to boot. I realized that Harvard isn't just looking for high test scores, they could get that anywhere. What did I have? Rockin' leadership positions, good extracurriculars, and an intense life story that I tried to portray in my essays. Hard-working people get into Harvard, not saying that your friend wasn't hard working and not saying that I am the hardest working person out there, but I hope I am giving some hope to those imperfect people applying in the RD pool.</p>
<p>If the friend applied this year or last to Yale and Harvard, both of which were and are using SCEA, then the friend violated the SCEA policy. If Yale were to hear of it, the friend might get the admission rescinded.</p>
<p>this is last year where he applied to those schools regular decision</p>
<p>and the state run exams are for victoria australia</p>
<p>CAcutie -- are you a legacy or a minority? sry, just had to ask!</p>
<p>No need to be insulting, mr. sanguine.</p>
<p>it's not insulting, i think it's a valid question</p>
<p>someone at my school got in with a 1390 though, it's not all SAT scores</p>
<p>CAcutie- you certainly gave me some reassurance. It's great to know that sat scores/grades don't mean everything.</p>
<p>I was surprised to hear at first that the person who I would consider to be the smartest kid in my school-- rsi attendee who has won almost every math competition he's ever been to, straight a student, and probably got a 1600 on his SAT-- got deferred. From what I've been reading though, it seems that he wouldn't have enough ec's to make him an obvious choice. Hopefully I have a shot w/ my ec leadership positions and astro motivation.</p>