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<p>Actually, I doubt very seriously that there are many entrants whose overall “statistics” are in the bottom 25%. Mathematically, by any measure you choose, there is always going to be a bottom 25% – but my guess is that for the most part, the kids with the lower SATs probably have very high high school GPA’s or class rank. A college might overlook weak test scores for a student who has excelled academically; and a college might overlook an uneven GPA for a student who has extremely strong test scores – but they aren’t likely to admit the student with both weak test scores and a weak GPA.</p>
<p>So in one sense it’s not a surprise at all that some these high GPA/low test score kids often end up doing well in college. A kid who performs better than test scores would indicate is likely to continue that pattern. </p>
<p>I doubt very seriously that the top schools admit many students who are incapable of doing the work if they put in effort. They may very rarely make an error in judgment, but the kids with the lower test scores are getting accepted because the ad com sees something else in their records that indicates they are an appropriate candidate for admission.</p>