Admission questions?

RememberMe1990
Tue, 13 Nov 2007 23:07:34 +0000

Hey guys…not to start a heated debate or anything, but I’d like your opinions on the following ideas regarding top universities admissions that I see keep floating around.

**How important do you think the SAT is in admissions? **Some say that it dramatically increases your chances of getting in, and others say that the range of 2100-2200’s scores can garner an acceptance easily nonetheless, provided that other areas are strong. Do you believe that schools actually do have “cut-off” lines or pools where certain applicants who do not fall within a specific range are automatically rejected, as described in an article I read regarding Stanford’s admission process?
How important is class rank? Specifically, why do schools like Duke or Penn accept up to a shocking 40% of applying vals (student with a class rank 1 during the time of application)? Does the academic index give weight to the class rank over SAT scores, as a few have hypothesized?
Why is it that, from the Naviance scattergrams, one can easily see that certain high schools have drastically lower SAT or GPA medians for acceptances than those of other schools? Is this primarily due to the acceptance of targeted individuals (URM, legacies, athletes…) or is it because top universities compare applicants within a class more than they do applicants within the pool? For example, my school has had a few non-hooked acceptances which, when compared to the number of people rejected on CC, seem unreasonable. So, could a strong individual in a weaker school with less applying students have a better shot at an Ivy League school than a more qualified individual from an extremely competitive school with a large number of applicants?
Is the idea of a “unique” essay overrated? I’ve read and heard testimonies from various individuals that 1. a wow essay is not necessarily “required” for an acceptance at the top universities, and that 2. an essay can be unique without being overdone. Many users criticize others’ essays for being “trite” or “mediocre”, but can the words of CC’ers be trusted? Some say that being honest and open can have better results than searching for a somewhat strange or shocking essay.
To what extent do you believe “character” and “extracurriculars” can affect the outcome of a decision? I know a lot of people give weight to extracurriculars, but just how influential do you think they are in determining the acceptance of one individual?
Asians take a lot of heat in the What are my Chances forum. Is it wrong to assume that Asians MUST score higher to get accepted or that they will be “hurt” by their ethnicity? I have seen cases of both low and high scoring Asians getting into top schools. Yes, there is that widespread belief that a “typical Asian resume” can diminish your chances, but one has to recognize that not all Asian Americans are the same, so therefore wouldn’t each individual deserve a comparison to other competing applicants not just by test scores alone?
How random do you believe the admissions factor is? It seems that outcomes favor an applicant who applies to many as opposed to one Ivy League school. Therefore, would you recommend that one apply to as many top colleges of his or her choice as possible, in order to maximize his or her chances? It seems that most qualified applicants typically get accepted by at least one of the five to eight top schools that they apply to, though which one specifically is up in the air.


Just a couple of questions that I had…feel free to share your opinions or ask a question yourself!