Admission Stats 2010--Read 'Em But Don't Weep

erikadizzle
Mon, 05 Apr 2010 12:49:35 +0000

It’s a complete toss up, honestly. No one knows what the AdCom wants because they all want different things at different times. I thought I had absolutely no shot at Princeton. My grades and ec’s were spectacular but my SAT score was ranging a 1900 and I had no athletic ability to compensate.

I planned to take the Kaplan course but I came up short on money, despite working over the summer. I still got in. I know it’s probably some sort of miracle but I’m terribly thankful. The AdCom’s goal is to find applicants who they think will thrive within their school. The criteria they prioritize is not only a mystery to applicants, but subjective to each school and to each person in Admissions.

Ivy Leagues may be highly ranked but they don’t guarantee success. Only the individual can do that–and, with the necessary motivation and drive, that individual can do it at Harvard or at a state school like Rutgers. College acceptances shouldn’t define people, especially since, when it comes down to it, they really don’t even know you.